by Abzerd Hazim

Created on: March 01, 2006   Last Updated: April 18, 2007

The claim "drinking beer gives you a beer belly" is certainly a myth. There is no evidence in scientific research showing that beer bellies are caused by the consumption of alcohol.

A "beer belly" is actually caused by eating too much food, primarily that are high in fats and proteins. However, the primary constituents of beer are alcohol and carbohydrates; beer has no fat and very little protein content.

So, due to having a diet that is high fats and proteins, the food gets undigested and rot in the colon (large intestine).

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Still not convinced? Read further!

OK, let's begin with consumption food from the mouth. In the mouth, you chew your food to mechanically digest it and at the same time, glands in the mouth release enzymes that assist in the digestion chemically. After that, the food will be transported into the stomach, where chemical digestion takes place. After digestion in the stomach, the food will be transported into the small intestine where further digestion takes place.

After several hours of being in the small intestine, the undigested food (waste), is transported into the last section of the colon (large intestine) where it is eventually eliminated. Many people have little problems eliminating waste from the colon because there are little or no undigested waste sticking along the lining of the colon walls. But, if you have a HIGH FAT and HIGH PROTEIN diet, they will be deposited, sticking along in the colon because they have a high tendency to do so. As a result, the interior of the colon walls becomes smaller and smaller gradually.

A blocked colon (large intestine) leaves food behind to rot in the digestive tract, and therefore, the final process of digestion is not completed. The debris then rots, causing candida albicans (yeast), bacteria and toxins to live and take residence because of the nutrients they get from the food that is deposited in the colon.

The body defence system will then cause mucous to be secreted into the colon so as remove these toxins, bacteria and undigested food. But, the mucous is not strong enough to do so. As a natural defence mechanism, the body tend to produce more and more mucous. This will then cause the colon to grow in diameter and create the appearance of the belly.

So, in conclusion, "beer belly" is not caused by drinking beer, but is due to excessive consumption of food that are high in fats and proteins which will cause these food not to be digested, rot and deposited in the colon, which causes mucous to be secreted, resulting in the increase in diameter of the colon and create the appearance of the belly.

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