Alcohol

Alcohol is not really a nutrient, but it belongs in this category. It has no actual nutrition, no vitamins, minerals, amino acids, etc. but contains 7 calories per gram. So consuming alcohol is the worst thing you can do dietarily. Even eating a candy bar has some nutrition. And when consuming calories with no nutrition the body begins to become malnourished.

Once ingested, alcohol serves to disrupt glycolysis and the Krebs cycle (more on these later in the Science section). This causes the pH of the blood to become more acidic due to buildup of lactic acid. With the Krebs cycle not functioning properly, fats cannot be broken down and they begin to buildup in the liver turning it fatty. If heavy drinking continues, the liver begins to form scar tissue and ultimately leads to cirrhosis when the liver starts hardening and turns orange causing liver cells to die.

Alcohol can also cause hormonal alterations that include reductions of serum testosterone and increased conversion of testosterone and other aromatizable androgens to estrogen-with the resulting chronologically elevated estrogen and decreased androgen/estrogen ratios contributing to fat deposition, gynecomastria (male breast enlargement), and fluid retention. (Even though, over the short term, alcohol acts as a diuretic, it can severely impair not just protein synthesis and growth but also immune function.)

Alcohol can also deplete minerals critical to muscle contraction, relaxation and growth, including calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus. What's more, alcohol-induced suppressions of the rhythms of growth-hormone secretion can adversely influence body composition, performance, and recuperation. Alcohol depresses the central nervous system, impairing strength and other neuromuscular capacities, as well as mental performance. It can precipitate hypoglycemia, mood swings and legal and behavioral problems that can cost one relationships, jobs and careers. Long-term use can lead to addiction (alcoholism) and a host of other serious physical and psychological problems, including feminization (in males), loss of sex drive and impotence, skeletal-muscle myopathy, gout, high blood pressure, life-threatening liver problems and strokes.