Alcohol and Exercise Don't Mix? Shock.

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." - Benjamin Franklin

Yes, it's a Saturday and I have a weekend of bacchanalia planned.  Also, in a few weeks, I will also be tested for the Green Glove in my Savate class.  So why am I online looking up info on alcohol and its effects?

I know that alcohol consumption isn't good for me or my training, but I guess I wanted to find out how bad is it, really?  Here it is: the good, the bad, and the sober.  

So, there's "bad"?  Thanks a lot, Captain Bringdown.

At first, everything I was reading was quite encouraging;  "Beer Beats Water for Hydration", and that "One Or Two Drinks A Day May Be Better For Women Than None" (that article seems suspect since the source is the "University of Newcastle".  With their delicious brown ale, what else are they going to say?)  

I found that beer contains a slew of protein, B vitamins and isoflavanoids (which have been shown to slow the growth of some cancers), but unfortunately, for most of us "non-moderate drinkers", the news isn't good.  So what does that say about God, Ben?

"Everything is better in moderation."  What's moderation?

I can tell you that if you are a moderate drinker, it's all roses for you.  As a moderately drinking female, you must imbibe in no more than one glass of beer a day.  The amount is lower for a woman than a man (who may have 2 drinks a day) because we have smaller bodies, more fat, and smaller livers than a guy.  Whoopidy, doo, look at me!  I'm a man and I have a bigger liver!  Whatever.

If you drink "moderately", you may be reducing the risks of heart attack and cardiovascular disease, and lowering your cholesterol and blood pressure.

This doesn't mean you can save it all up for the weekend and drink your five drinks in one sitting.  It doesn't work like that.  "A little bit is good, but too much is very bad..." warns Dr. Denke, a researcher at the UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

So how bad is "very bad"?  

Guess what causes that crappy hangover feeling the next day after a long night of drinking?  It's a chemical called acetaldehyde, which processes the ethanol in your body from alcoholic beverages.  It also damages certain genetic building blocks that can be efficiently inserted into your DNA.  When the nucleotides are altered, it can cause mutations that lead to can...  Whoa!  TMI!  Let's stop reading this, shall we?  I've got parties to go to!

Fine, I don't drink like an idiot.  What does it have to do with my performance in sports?  

Whether you drink occasionally or frequently, alcohol is no good for the athlete.  Since alcohol dehydrates you, the abundant water from your muscle cells are used for re-hydration purposes.  Even though you're drinking Gatorade,  you're burning muscles instead of fat during your workout.  This also means protein synthesis is decreased, so drinking after a workout impedes muscle growth and maintenance.  See:  Alcohol and exercise don't mix - Sports

Beer sucks in altitude as well by sapping your body of its fluids, and may contribute to Acute Mountain Sickness.  Obviously, that didn't stop us in the Hims as you can see from the above photos.

  

Alcohol interferes with the absorption and utilization of vitamins and minerals, which slows the processing of carbs and protein.  Speaking of carbs, beer has a crapload of calories too.  But check this out, it's an awesome guide for how many calories you are consuming in your favorite beer.

So Heferweizen has 152 calories and 11.8 carbs?  Hey, at least it's not a Big Mac!  And I add extra lemons to it...and that's..fruit.

Hope you found this informative.  Holy cats, look at the time!  I've got to hurry up and get ready!  I have to pick up my friend and drink moderately tonight.