Muscleaddict wrote: Alcohol and ketosis can be a dangerous combo. Alcohol stops your body from producing ketones as it inhinits the process where fatty acids and amino acids are converted to glucose. This can leave you with dangerously low blood sugar and make you feel really crap or even pass out. Alcohol is not broken down into glucose or stored as glycogen but it does have an effect on insulin so once the energy from the booze wears off you will probably regret the dop in the first place.
If you have an alcoholic drink that contains no carbs like vodka and coke zero then as soon as you burn off the alcohol you will go back into ketosis but you are still messing with your blood sugar levels so best not to drink.
Astute reply as always MA. I think the major conclusion regarding alcohol on a ketogenic diet is that certain types of alcohol can be consumed on the diet, in moderation of course, without hampering the effects of the diet too much. Here is an excerpt from Lyle Mcdonald' Ketogenic Diet: A Complete Guide for the Dieter and Practitioner pertaining to the use of alcohol while on the diet.
"Although alcohol intake has been discussed briefly in previous sections, its effects on ketosis need to be discussed here, especially since many individuals want to know if alcohol is allowed on a ketogenic diet. In general, once ketosis is established alcohol tends to deepen the level of ketosis seen. Additionally, the pathological state of alcoholic ketoacidosis (which occurs
when individuals consume nothing except alcohol for long periods) is known to result in potentially dangerous levels of ketones in the bloodstream. Alcohol may affect ketone body production in the liver and alcohol itself can be converted to ketones. As well, the production of ketones from alcohol tends to result in less fat loss since less FFA is converted to ketones.
Strictly speaking there is no reason that small amounts of alcohol cannot be consumed during a ketogenic diet although it should be realized that fat loss will be slowed. Additionally, anecdotal reports suggest that alcohol may affect individuals more (in terms of drunkenness, etc.) when they are in ketosis versus when they are not. Care should be taken by anyone
consuming alcohol."
Something else for you to consider, possibly a problem depending on the amount of alcohol consumed: "alcohol intake will have an effect on the depth of ketosis and the amount of body fat used by the body. .... excessive alcohol intake while in ketosis can cause runaway acidosis to develope, which is potentially very dangerous. Additionally as alcohol intake limits how much FFA can be processed by the liver, calories from alcohol will detract from overall fat loss."
As mentioned, the excerpt completely supports MA's theory about the dangers of alcohol consumption whilst on a keto diet but definately states that small (emphasis on the small) is allowed.
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