Alcohol and Athletes

**warriors** · 05-14-2005, 05:47 AM

By NancyClark, MS, RD

Alcohol and athletics seems to go hand-in-hand: tail-gating before football games, quenching thirst at the pub after a team workout, celebrating victories with champaign. Athletes are supposed to be role models for health and fitness, but sometimes too much alcohol in their sports diet taints that image. Yes, athletes shoulder high expectations and great importance is placed on sports. But does this stress justify the higher alcohol intake in athletes compared to their non-athletic peers? One might think the detrimental effects of alcohol on performance would make these folks less likely to drink alcohol. Not the case. Even serious recreational runners drink more than their sedentary counterparts.

The Bad News
Alcohol is a highly addictive substance and is the most abused drug in the United States. Prolonged consumption can lead to cellular changes in the liver, heart, brain, and muscles and result in cirrhosis, pancreatitis, irregular heart beats, stroke, and malnutrition. Even moderate drinkers have a higher risk of oral cancer, and women who drink may have a higher risk of breast cancer. Alcohol is associated with adverse effects on safety and performance. For example, in a survey of 400 ski injury victims, 20% of the skiers tested positive for alcohol.

The Good News
Alcohol in moderation has health benefits. Red wine, for example,
contains health-protective phytochemicals that may reduce the risk of heart disease. Wine may explain why the people in France, who have been eating a high fat diet for years, enjoy better heart-health than might be expected. Red wine is also a good source of dietary iron, a mineral that helps prevent anemia. Beer has a few nutritional merits, such as a significant amount of B-12, a vitamin important for vegetarians.

Alcohol for Athletes

Alcohol is a depressant and--apart from killing pain--offers no edge for athletes. You can't be sharp, quick, and drunk. Late night partying that contributes to getting too little sleep before the next morning's event creates another problem. Pre-competition, you may hanker for some alcohol to calm anxiety, but alcohol has a deleterious effect on reaction time, accuracy, balance, eye-hand coordination and endurance. It will not help you exercise faster, stronger, or longer.

Alcohol is a poor source of carbohydrates. A 12-ounce can of beer has only 14 grams of carbs, as compared to 40 grams in a can of soft drink. You can get loaded with beer, but your muscles will not get carbo-loaded??unless you consume pretzels, thick-crust pizza or other carbo-rich foods along with the beer.

Alcohol is absorbed directly from the stomach into the bloodstream, appearing within 5 minutes after you drink it. After a hard workout, alcohol on an empty stomach can quickly contribute to a drunken stupor. One wise runner came to realize he'd rather enjoy the natural high from exercise than get brought down by a few post-exercise beers.

Drinks that contain congeners--red wine, cognac, whiskey--are more likely to cause hangovers than other alcoholic beverages. The best hangover remedy is to not drink excessively in the first place. But if you have a hangover, drink fruit juice or broth.

Beer is often a significant source of post-exercise fluids; athletes
commonly consume larger volumes of beer than they might of water or soft drinks. Yet, the alcohol in beer has a diuretic effect--the more you drink, the more fluids you lose. This is bad for recovery and often bad for the next exercise bout.

While low-alcohol beer allows for proper rehydration, regular beer
sends athletes running to the bathroom. One study showed that athletes who drank beer eliminated about 16 ounces more urine (over the course of 4 hours) than those who drink low-alcohol (2%) beer or alcohol-free beer. (Sherreffs. J Appl Physiol 83(40:1152, 1997) For optimal rehydration, minimize alcohol intake.

Your liver breaks down alcohol at a fixed rate--about 4 oz. wine or 1 can of beer per hour. Exercise does not hasten that process, nor does coffee. Caffeine just makes you a wide-awake drink.

Hot tubs, alcohol and athletes are a bad combination. The hotter your body, the drunker it may get. Alcohol impairs your ability to control your body temperature, plus the high temperature of the hot tub heightens the body's response to alcohol.

Winter sports and alcohol are also a dangerous combination. Don't drink while skiing. Apres-ski, if you choose to drink alcohol, alternate with soft drinks or juices for carbs and fluids.

The calories in alcohol are easily fattening. People who drink
moderately tend to consume alcohol calories on top of their regular caloric intake. These excess calories promote body fat accumulation, particularly in the trunk area--the well-known "spare tire." A study with subjects who ate a standard breakfast and then an appetizer before lunch--about 350 calories of either white wine and high-fat foods, or vegetable juice and low-fat foods--showed they ate about 200 more calories at lunch following the alcohol appetizer, and did not compensate for this overfeeding at dinnertime. (Tremblay, AJCN 1996; 63:479-82) The bottom line for dieters: it's harder to feel full when alcohol becomes a part of your diet because alcohol stimulates the appetite. If you are trying to maintain a lean machine, abstaining is preferable to imbibing.

If you are destined to drink, drink moderately. The definition of
moderate drinking is two drinks per day for men, and one for women. And have at least have a glass of water for every drink.

Alcohol Abuse
Caution: Alcoholism tends to run in families. In the general population, drinking problems occur in about 16- 24% of men and 5% of women. People under 45 years have higher rates of alcohol problems than do older folks. Be conscious of your ability to keep alcohol consumption within socially and medically acceptable bounds. Don't start drinking if you can't easily stop.

Better than Beer
Many problem drinkers choose to trade their addiction to alcohol for a healthier addiction--exercise. They've come to appreciate this "natural high" as being better than that from beer. Let's drink to that.... Drink water, that is!

Gappa238 · 05-15-2005, 03:01 AM

nice post

The Doc · 05-15-2005, 04:07 AM

Here's a medical article about how your body uses alcohol as a perferred energy source:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q..._uids=12499328

The Doc

LatsMakeTheMan · 05-25-2005, 03:22 PM

It really sucks being in your early 20's and trying your best to live the bodybuilding lifestyle, when all your friends ever want to do is go to the bar. It even makes it hard to meet women, because most girls are all about going out to bars as well. My friends joke that I'm like a 60 year old man because I never want to go to the bar (I hate crowded places in general anyways.) My idea of a great Friday night is chillin' at somebody's apartment and watching movies, shooting the shit, ya know. I could do that stuff forever and never go to a bar again.

**powerman2000** · 05-27-2005, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LatsMakeTheMan

It really sucks being in your early 20's and trying your best to live the bodybuilding lifestyle, when all your friends ever want to do is go to the bar. It even makes it hard to meet women, because most girls are all about going out to bars as well. My friends joke that I'm like a 60 year old man because I never want to go to the bar (I hate crowded places in general anyways.) My idea of a great Friday night is chillin' at somebody's apartment and watching movies, shooting the shit, ya know. I could do that stuff forever and never go to a bar again.

I think that you will be more likely to meet a woman of quality outside of a bar. I did.

Thing · 06-05-2005, 02:58 PM

All they did with me is cause trouble. I bet I could count on one hand the number of times I was in a bar and didn't get into a fight. I never started them, but once started, I couldn't resist joining in. That said, I haven't had a drink in 4 years. I cook my shrimp in beer and make beer balls, but other than they nyet on the alcohol.
ROB

**builtbeast** · 06-06-2005, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by powerman2000

I think that you will be more likely to meet a woman of quality outside of a bar.

Exactly.

mrsc · 06-06-2005, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by powerman2000

I think that you will be more likely to meet a woman of quality outside of a bar. I did.

Out of curiosity, why?

I have heard that statement plenty of times and always wondered exactly what people mean.

The Doc · 06-12-2005, 05:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrsc

Out of curiosity, why?

I have heard that statement plenty of times and always wondered exactly what people mean.

THIS IS A PERSONAL OBSERVATION ONLY, IT'S NOT INTENDED TO INSULT ANYONE!
I don't know about women, but when men go to a bar to meet women instead of just going to hang out with their friends there is a philosophy behind it, you're looking to score and that is it. Most people in general can agree that alcohol allows you to loosen up a bit and be more social than you would normally be if you were otherwise sober. We can also agree that drinking tends to lower inhibitions in most people as well, making them more likely to do things they otherwise would not. Everybody has heard of guys and their beer goggles, picking up a woman they would normally find somewhat less attractive. But this theory also works the other way where a man of questionable looks or character can pick up a drunk woman whose judgement has been compromised by alcohol. So if you meet a woman who frequents bars it is more likely that she has engaged in some risky behavior when her judgement was not at it's best. Hence her "quality" would be somewhat different than that of a woman who only frequented non-drinking social events on a regular basis and did not have the temptation of numerous horny drunk men trying to sleep with her when her judgement was compromised by alcohol. For some reason I am attracted to women who like to party, maybe because it implies that they are somewhat more wild or uninhibited. When I found out that Linda Carter was quite the drinker it just made her that much sexier to me for some reason, maybe because it made her a bad girl

.

If my assumptions are incorrect hopefully Powerman can explain his "quality" comment better than me. I'm just guessing at what he was trying to say and do not want to misrepresent the meaning of his post.

NuggzTheNinja · 06-20-2005, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LatsMakeTheMan

It really sucks being in your early 20's and trying your best to live the bodybuilding lifestyle, when all your friends ever want to do is go to the bar. It even makes it hard to meet women, because most girls are all about going out to bars as well. My friends joke that I'm like a 60 year old man because I never want to go to the bar (I hate crowded places in general anyways.) My idea of a great Friday night is chillin' at somebody's apartment and watching movies, shooting the shit, ya know. I could do that stuff forever and never go to a bar again.

Go to a bar and don't drink.

You'll have twice as much game as some sweaty red-faced drunk f-ck that's competing with you for tailfeathers.

EDIT: Powerman, EXCELLENT point. I for one could care less about the little hussies I see strutting their sh-t in bars. Good to see there are others.

bluehazard · 06-20-2005, 08:15 PM

I don't drink much, if at all when I go out. Drank a lot at my friend's wedding, but it was like a big reunion of people I hadn't seen for years. Other than that, I'm really iffy about drinking lots. I have one of those "bottomless pits" that never seems to get filled.

**NNTB** · 06-24-2005, 05:05 AM

I dont drink... period... my father is an alcoholic his father was an alcoholic... I dont wanna follow that cycle... That pretty much turned me off to alcohol. I dont even like looking at alcohol... I dont want my son to have to go through the shit i did. I end up drinking maybe once or twice a year going out with friends and such but other than that i just cant do it. Besides it interferes with my diet most of the time anyway.

... no offense to ne of you boozers out there...

n btw i would agree that a bar is probably not the best place to pick your women...

Maybe for a one nighter but for someone to become more than that there are better ways to pick up chicks...

LatsMakeTheMan · 07-12-2005, 05:09 PM

Yea you guys are right that there are quality women outside of bars. Problem is I need to get out more to find them. I go to bed pretty early because I wake up to go to the gym in the morning, so I don't do much during the week. I should join a coed basket weaving class or something

JBDW · 07-13-2005, 05:36 AM

Damn and I thought I was the only one who didn't like drinking and going to bars.

Lats: Your views reflect mine perfectly. I never could see why hanging out has to involve alcohol in some way or another..

LatsMakeTheMan · 07-13-2005, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBDW

Damn and I thought I was the only one who didn't like drinking and going to bars.

Lats: Your views reflect mine perfectly. I never could see why hanging out has to involve alcohol in some way or another..

Yea I know. Pretty much all my friends (who used to be really good athletes in highschool) just went totally downhill through and after college. They've all got beer guts now. I think they kind of resent me because I'm actually in better shape now then I was back then

05-14-2005, 05:47 AM	#1
warriors The world is yours Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 1,134 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 29	Alcohol and Athletes By NancyClark, MS, RD Alcohol and athletics seems to go hand-in-hand: tail-gating before football games, quenching thirst at the pub after a team workout, celebrating victories with champaign. Athletes are supposed to be role models for health and fitness, but sometimes too much alcohol in their sports diet taints that image. Yes, athletes shoulder high expectations and great importance is placed on sports. But does this stress justify the higher alcohol intake in athletes compared to their non-athletic peers? One might think the detrimental effects of alcohol on performance would make these folks less likely to drink alcohol. Not the case. Even serious recreational runners drink more than their sedentary counterparts. The Bad News Alcohol is a highly addictive substance and is the most abused drug in the United States. Prolonged consumption can lead to cellular changes in the liver, heart, brain, and muscles and result in cirrhosis, pancreatitis, irregular heart beats, stroke, and malnutrition. Even moderate drinkers have a higher risk of oral cancer, and women who drink may have a higher risk of breast cancer. Alcohol is associated with adverse effects on safety and performance. For example, in a survey of 400 ski injury victims, 20% of the skiers tested positive for alcohol. The Good News Alcohol in moderation has health benefits. Red wine, for example, contains health-protective phytochemicals that may reduce the risk of heart disease. Wine may explain why the people in France, who have been eating a high fat diet for years, enjoy better heart-health than might be expected. Red wine is also a good source of dietary iron, a mineral that helps prevent anemia. Beer has a few nutritional merits, such as a significant amount of B-12, a vitamin important for vegetarians. Alcohol for Athletes Alcohol is a depressant and--apart from killing pain--offers no edge for athletes. You can't be sharp, quick, and drunk. Late night partying that contributes to getting too little sleep before the next morning's event creates another problem. Pre-competition, you may hanker for some alcohol to calm anxiety, but alcohol has a deleterious effect on reaction time, accuracy, balance, eye-hand coordination and endurance. It will not help you exercise faster, stronger, or longer. Alcohol is a poor source of carbohydrates. A 12-ounce can of beer has only 14 grams of carbs, as compared to 40 grams in a can of soft drink. You can get loaded with beer, but your muscles will not get carbo-loaded??unless you consume pretzels, thick-crust pizza or other carbo-rich foods along with the beer. Alcohol is absorbed directly from the stomach into the bloodstream, appearing within 5 minutes after you drink it. After a hard workout, alcohol on an empty stomach can quickly contribute to a drunken stupor. One wise runner came to realize he'd rather enjoy the natural high from exercise than get brought down by a few post-exercise beers. Drinks that contain congeners--red wine, cognac, whiskey--are more likely to cause hangovers than other alcoholic beverages. The best hangover remedy is to not drink excessively in the first place. But if you have a hangover, drink fruit juice or broth. Beer is often a significant source of post-exercise fluids; athletes commonly consume larger volumes of beer than they might of water or soft drinks. Yet, the alcohol in beer has a diuretic effect--the more you drink, the more fluids you lose. This is bad for recovery and often bad for the next exercise bout. While low-alcohol beer allows for proper rehydration, regular beer sends athletes running to the bathroom. One study showed that athletes who drank beer eliminated about 16 ounces more urine (over the course of 4 hours) than those who drink low-alcohol (2%) beer or alcohol-free beer. (Sherreffs. J Appl Physiol 83(40:1152, 1997) For optimal rehydration, minimize alcohol intake. Your liver breaks down alcohol at a fixed rate--about 4 oz. wine or 1 can of beer per hour. Exercise does not hasten that process, nor does coffee. Caffeine just makes you a wide-awake drink. Hot tubs, alcohol and athletes are a bad combination. The hotter your body, the drunker it may get. Alcohol impairs your ability to control your body temperature, plus the high temperature of the hot tub heightens the body's response to alcohol. Winter sports and alcohol are also a dangerous combination. Don't drink while skiing. Apres-ski, if you choose to drink alcohol, alternate with soft drinks or juices for carbs and fluids. The calories in alcohol are easily fattening. People who drink moderately tend to consume alcohol calories on top of their regular caloric intake. These excess calories promote body fat accumulation, particularly in the trunk area--the well-known "spare tire." A study with subjects who ate a standard breakfast and then an appetizer before lunch--about 350 calories of either white wine and high-fat foods, or vegetable juice and low-fat foods--showed they ate about 200 more calories at lunch following the alcohol appetizer, and did not compensate for this overfeeding at dinnertime. (Tremblay, AJCN 1996; 63:479-82) The bottom line for dieters: it's harder to feel full when alcohol becomes a part of your diet because alcohol stimulates the appetite. If you are trying to maintain a lean machine, abstaining is preferable to imbibing. If you are destined to drink, drink moderately. The definition of moderate drinking is two drinks per day for men, and one for women. And have at least have a glass of water for every drink. Alcohol Abuse Caution: Alcoholism tends to run in families. In the general population, drinking problems occur in about 16- 24% of men and 5% of women. People under 45 years have higher rates of alcohol problems than do older folks. Be conscious of your ability to keep alcohol consumption within socially and medically acceptable bounds. Don't start drinking if you can't easily stop. Better than Beer Many problem drinkers choose to trade their addiction to alcohol for a healthier addiction--exercise. They've come to appreciate this "natural high" as being better than that from beer. Let's drink to that.... Drink water, that is! __________________ Not Around...

05-15-2005, 03:01 AM	#2
Gappa238 Fast guy in training Join Date: May 2005 Location: Gappaville Posts: 619 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 25	nice post __________________ My WS4SB II log -> Me pimping AX in my current Mass FX and Superdrol - NG log ->

05-15-2005, 04:07 AM	#3
The Doc Pro Stature Join Date: May 2005 Location: Lockport,NY Posts: 232 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 6	Here's a medical article about how your body uses alcohol as a perferred energy source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q..._uids=12499328 The Doc __________________ I do not have an M.D. or a Ph.D., Doc is a nickname, please don't ask me about your personal itching or psychological problems. A smart man learns from his own mistakes, a wise man learns from the mistakes of others. IAmShaman Shop

05-25-2005, 03:22 PM	#4
LatsMakeTheMan Pro Stature Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 185 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 5	It really sucks being in your early 20's and trying your best to live the bodybuilding lifestyle, when all your friends ever want to do is go to the bar. It even makes it hard to meet women, because most girls are all about going out to bars as well. My friends joke that I'm like a 60 year old man because I never want to go to the bar (I hate crowded places in general anyways.) My idea of a great Friday night is chillin' at somebody's apartment and watching movies, shooting the shit, ya know. I could do that stuff forever and never go to a bar again. __________________ Super Saiyan in training..... My MySpace account....come love me: http://www.myspace.com/eric2080

06-05-2005, 02:58 PM	#6
Thing Pro Stature Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 132 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 5	Bars All they did with me is cause trouble. I bet I could count on one hand the number of times I was in a bar and didn't get into a fight. I never started them, but once started, I couldn't resist joining in. That said, I haven't had a drink in 4 years. I cook my shrimp in beer and make beer balls, but other than they nyet on the alcohol. ROB __________________ MOTIVATED, DEDICATED, LETHAL.... US ARMY RANGERS LEAD THE WAY

06-20-2005, 08:15 PM	#11
bluehazard www.whyquit.com Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 255 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 8	I don't drink much, if at all when I go out. Drank a lot at my friend's wedding, but it was like a big reunion of people I hadn't seen for years. Other than that, I'm really iffy about drinking lots. I have one of those "bottomless pits" that never seems to get filled.

06-24-2005, 05:05 AM	#12
NNTB rEVOLutionary Join Date: May 2005 Location: FL Posts: 2,451 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 161	I dont drink... period... my father is an alcoholic his father was an alcoholic... I dont wanna follow that cycle... That pretty much turned me off to alcohol. I dont even like looking at alcohol... I dont want my son to have to go through the shit i did. I end up drinking maybe once or twice a year going out with friends and such but other than that i just cant do it. Besides it interferes with my diet most of the time anyway. ... no offense to ne of you boozers out there... n btw i would agree that a bar is probably not the best place to pick your women... Maybe for a one nighter but for someone to become more than that there are better ways to pick up chicks... __________________ "This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or exercise their revolutionary right to overthrow it." Abraham Lincoln

07-12-2005, 05:09 PM	#13
LatsMakeTheMan Pro Stature Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 185 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 5	Yea you guys are right that there are quality women outside of bars. Problem is I need to get out more to find them. I go to bed pretty early because I wake up to go to the gym in the morning, so I don't do much during the week. I should join a coed basket weaving class or something __________________ Super Saiyan in training..... My MySpace account....come love me: http://www.myspace.com/eric2080

07-13-2005, 05:36 AM	#14
JBDW Amateur Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 31 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 0	Damn and I thought I was the only one who didn't like drinking and going to bars. Lats: Your views reflect mine perfectly. I never could see why hanging out has to involve alcohol in some way or another..

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