Why We Eat (Too Much): The New Science of Appetite

by Andrew Jenkinson

How is alcohol energy processed in most of us? Alcohol energy itself cannot be stored in the body in the same way that fat or carbohydrates can be. The body treats it like a poison, breaking it down first into a chemical called acetaldehyde (which causes your hangover) and then into acetate (vinegar’s essential component), before finally being converted to carbon dioxide and water. During the breaking down of alcohol, small particles of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) are released. These particles contain the energy to charge up those ATP micro-batteries (discussed in chapter 7) in our liver cells. So some energy is produced during alcohol breakdown, but none is directly stored and must be used immediately. The liver cells suddenly have lots of cellular ATP batteries charged, lots of energy on board. During the period that alcohol is being degraded (averaging 2 units per hour), the liver uses this free supply of energy. This means that it does not have to use its normal source of energy: fat. Therefore fat starts to accumulate in the liver cells, resulting in a condition called fatty liver.

Alcohol metabolism until fatty liver