Alcohol and sport don't mix. Yet many sportsmen and women allow themselves a beer right after their training session. Could this little ritual be wrong? So far, it's hard to answer that question.
Few studies have been carried out to determine the real impact of alcohol consumption on muscle recovery. However, specialists agree that one glass too many can ruin your efforts, slowing down mass gain and/or muscle recovery. On the other hand, under certain conditions, moderate consumption may not be particularly harmful. Here's how.
Endurance or strength sports: can athletes drink alcohol?
Whether you're into sports or not, alcohol disrupts many biological functions. Not only does it affect mood, it also disrupts the nervous system and adds unwanted calories. As a result, alcohol is both a public health problem and a sportsman's false friend.
Despite the disruption it causes, alcohol will not necessarily reduce the body's ability to rebuild damaged muscle fibers. It all depends on how much you drink.
Above a certain threshold, alcohol affects the immune system. When blood alcohol levels are too high, the body no longer reacts correctly to inflammation. As a result, the body is no longer able to repair the damage sustained by muscles after strenuous training. As a result, recovery is slowed down, as is your progress.
Some studies1 also show that alcohol may be responsible for poorer quality sleep and rest phases. They also show that alcohol delays the secretion of certain essential hormones. With, for example, reduced salivary secretion of the sleep hormone melatonin, a person may find it difficult to enter the deep sleep phase. Yet it is during this phase that the body mobilizes amino acids for muscle reconstruction. A sportsman or woman who has consumed a lot of alcohol will therefore not recover as effectively as a sober or "moderately alcoholic" sportsman or woman.
Other studies2 show that alcohol consumption reduces post-exercise physical capacity, and therefore has a direct impact on muscle recovery. In a basal state (without exercise), alcohol has been shown to decrease the rate of muscle protein synthesis. Although further research is needed to extend this mechanism to post-training situations, this suggests that the body's ability to repair muscle fibers in the post-training phase may suffer as a result of alcohol intake. Under these conditions, recovery would leave much to be desired.
In any case, this phenomenon may have more to do with alcoholic by-products than with the alcohol itself. These compounds disrupt the signals that tell the body to synthesize proteins and repair muscle fibers stimulated and recruited by effort.
Even so, these data are not enough to make a clear statement that alcohol will be systematically and directly harmful to athletes and body-builders. On the one hand, the effects of this substance will depend on the quantity ingested and also on the frequency. On the other hand, it's important to understand that everyone's body reacts differently. Remember, for example, that some people metabolize alcohol better than others. Consequently, even if we advise you not to drink alcohol, it is possible for an athlete to drink it from time to time, as long as you don't give in to excess, and keep your consumption to a minimum.
How can you preserve muscle recovery by taking a break now and then?
Finally, alcohol (in moderation) after training is not directly detrimental to your progress. But what are the rules to follow to preserve muscle recovery? First and foremost, you need to watch the amount of alcohol you consume.
In practice, no one would be able to perfectly quantify the alcohol they consume, especially as alcohol concentration varies from one drink to another. To remedy this problem, fitness trainers advise athletes to follow the recommendations of health authorities. To reduce the risks, they are advised to limit their consumption to a maximum of two glasses a day, and not to drink alcohol every day.
The message is simple: no more than 2 drinks a day, and not every day!
If you want to treat yourself to something special, which alcoholic beverages should you choose?
Not all alcoholic beverages on the market have the same composition. As a result, some will have far more disastrous effects on your recovery than others. A study published in the "Journal of The International Society of Sports Nutrition "3 suggests that beer is the least harmful. This much-loved beverage is far more conducive to rehydration, since it contains water. When alcohol is diluted, the body will tend to assimilate the water before the alcohol. As a result, sportsmen and women should prefer beer to cocktails and drinks based on distilled alcohol.
That said, we don't want to mislead you! Drinking beer doesn't help you rehydrate more effectively. We're simply saying that a person who drinks enough water and a person who drinks enough water and beer (without excess) would be relatively close when it comes to rehydration.
Despite the results of the studies, we can't ignore the diuretic effects of beer, which can lead to dehydration. You'll need to drink more water to compensate for this loss. Everyone reacts differently to alcohol, so dehydration will be more or less severe. In any case, the famous "hangover" is one of the symptoms of water deprivation. Headaches occur because of dehydration. This leads to a number of disturbances which are responsible for the poor general state of health.
Drinking enough and eating enough will reduce the harmful effects of alcohol. Water will dilute the alcohol, while digesting food will slow down its absorption. This minimizes the harmful effects of alcohol on muscle recovery.
In all cases, athletes need to drink enough water to rehydrate themselves. For optimum recovery, whether in strength or endurance sports, it's advisable to consume a post-exercise water drink containing a mix of carbohydrates and proteins. The right mix of proteins, carbohydrates and minerals produces a drink that is close to the concentration of blood (isotonic). This facilitates the assimilation of essential nutrients and optimizes overall muscle recovery.
As part of your "classic" diet, you are also strongly advised to eat a varied and balanced diet, with foods containing fiber, carbohydrates and protein. By providing the body with these nutrients, it will be in good condition to pursue muscle recovery over the longer term.
A drunken evening: a catastrophe?
Clearly, alcohol won't help you achieve the physique and performance you've always dreamed of. Nevertheless, moments spent with loved ones over a drink are part of life and contribute to your general well-being. In that case, could a drunken evening be the end of all your efforts?
The answer is no, according to the specialists. Exceeding recommended blood alcohol levels won't take you away from your goals overnight. It would be like taking in more calories than you need for a day or two. This excess may upset your weight balance for the moment, but it won't negate your efforts to gain muscle or stamina.
In any case, these drunken evenings should never become a habit. For some people, alcohol consumption is accompanied by gastric and intestinal problems of varying degrees of severity. So be careful not to ruin your training program. One glass too many should be the exception. Excessive alcohol consumption over the long term can cause irreversible damage to organs such as the liver and kidneys. Alcoholism is a real scourge in our society. Practising a sport doesn't save you from the harmful effects of alcohol addiction. So drink in moderation!
What can you do to recover after a night of drinking?
When you drink excessively, dehydration is not the only deleterious effect of alcohol. Its metabolism produces free radicals in the body, substances which impair various metabolic functions, including testosterone production. The result is slower mass gain and unsatisfactory muscle building.
To remedy this, you'll need to drink plenty of water. Staying hydrated even when drinking alcohol will help prevent dehydration.Alcohol inhibits the secretion of ADH by the neurohypophysis. This anti-diuretic hormone, also known as vasopressin, has a primarily antidiuretic role in the kidney. It enables water reabsorption by acting on the collecting tube. By inhibiting it, the kidney no longer has this brake and drains large quantities of water, dehydrating the body.
The consumption of nutrients and/or food supplements rich in vitamins and minerals may also be of interest. It's important to choose dietary supplements that are easily assimilated and healthy, with no additives or sweeteners.
In the 3 days following an overindulgence, eat light meals. Introduce more vegetables and fruit into your diet to replenish fiber and vitamins. You'll also want to take care of your digestive system. Opt for protein sources that are easily assimilated by the body. Finally, consider using natural products to purify the liver and preserve your metabolism.
How many calories are there in alcohol?
Alcohol consumption doesn't just affect muscle recovery. One gram of alcohol provides 7 calories, almost as much as fat, which provides 9 calories per gram. So it's worth taking into account the caloric intake of alcoholic beverages you ingest.
However, as alcohol provides no macronutrients or minerals, some authors refer to it as "empty calories".
When it comes to calories, beer is not necessarily more interesting than other spirits. Given the volume consumed, distilled spirits provide fewer calories per dose. In fact, a pint of beer provides around 300 calories, while a martini will deliver 170 calories.
Generally speaking, alcoholic cocktails such as a pina colada or a long island iced tea are much higher in calories. A glass of pina colada can provide up to 600 calories, while the same amount of mojito provides less than 200 calories. So, apart from taking precautions to preserve your muscle recovery, you also need to watch your calorie intake if your aim is weight loss.
What impact does alcohol have on testosterone?
Alcohol disrupts many biological processes, including the endocrine functions of certain organs. Among other things, it reduces testosterone production, disrupting the functioning of the male reproductive system and the central nervous system. This substance acts on the testicles, hypothalamus and pituitary gland. According to numerous studies, alcohol promotes impotence, infertility and other disorders.
In the testicles, it disrupts the Leydig cells that secrete testosterone.Excessive or regular alcohol consumption has been shown tosignificantly reduce blood testosterone levels. Scientists also maintain that alcohol impairs the proper functioning of testicular Sertoli cells. These are involved in sperm maturation. Hence the harmful effects of alcohol on fertility.
In the pituitary gland, alcohol reduces the production of luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone. These two hormones are essential for reproductive function. This molecule also disrupts the secretion of various hormones in the hypothalamus.
If we focus on its interactions with testosterone, alcohol is clearly an obstacle to muscle building and mass gain. Remember that testosterone is the main anabolic hormone. In fact, it's because of their lower testosterone secretion that women aren't able to put on as much muscle as men. Athletes and body-builders should therefore consume alcohol in moderation and with caution.
To find out more about recovery :
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- Are massage guns effective for recovery?
- What dietary supplements should I take to improve my physical condition?
