alThis, my dear followers, is an unfortunate but real problem that we are faced with in today’s society. In South Africa, the drinking culture is very prominent. I know that in Europe and Australia it is very similar. It is seen as normal to have a glass of wine every night with dinner and to head to pub for an ‘after graft draught’. You are dubbed ‘strange’ if you don’t partake in the regular social drinking that takes place in moderation during the week, but in large doses on the weekends.
Now that I am a university student I am much more exposed to the more severe forms of binge drinking. I knew it was going to be one of the biggest forms of socialising, but WOW! The students here have taken it to another level. Now, I’m no stranger to drinking. I will admit that I took part on a weekly basis when I was at school, but I slowed down significantly when I finished and found my passion for health and fitness. Saying that, I do still go out on the weekends and occasionally have a bit too much, but the effects on my fitness levels are detrimental.
As much as I love the social aspect of drinking and the fun that comes from it, the effects on my body and overall health and fitness just don’t seem worth it anymore. I have even heard stories of people at this very university drinking so much that the doctor eventually told them they have to stop completely otherwise there could be fatal consequence’s!
I have now started asking myself the question: “how do EDUCATED young adults end up doing this to themselves?”
The only possible answer I can come up with is that they really just don’t care about their wellbeing. The sad truth is that people know the risks involved with excessive alcohol consumption, yet continue to do it anyway. I assume it is also because it is the ‘cool’ thing to do.
I have often been told I’m ‘lame’ or ‘boring’ because I would rather stay in and watch a movie or go out for dinner instead of going to a party. I have also been told “you need to drink more because you’re too sober”. Surely in today’s society where we know so much about how important health and fitness is that instead of being seen as ‘uncool’ for not drinking people would admire that quality and learn from it?
Now for the question at hand… Does alcohol affect your fitness levels?
It is true that a glass of red wine a night is actually beneficial to your body because it contains resveratrol and a number of other anti oxidants which protects your heart and arteries against the effects of saturated fats. The flavonoids and sapponins in red wine also help to protect your heart against cardiovascular disease. The alcohol in red wine, when consumed in moderation, raises your levels of “good” HDL cholesterol, helps prevent the formation of blood clots and can help to protect your arteries from the damage caused by “bad” LDL cholesterol. Red wine also prevents cancer and tooth decay.
Red wine is the exception to the rule. Drinking alcohol in excess has serious consequences to your health:
- Slower recovery: Hard workouts drain your glycogen stores and leave your muscle tissues in need of repair. High levels of alcohol displace the carbs, leaving your stores still 50 percent lower than normal even eight hours later, according to one study. Sip or snack on a combo of muscle-repairing protein and carbs (think low-fat chocolate milk or peanut butter on whole-wheat crackers) before tipping back.
- Fat Burning Seizes: Besides the fact that alcohol packs on a tonne of unnecessary calories, your body then prioritizes metabolizing the alcohol over carbohydrates. Alcohol also breaks down amino acids and converts them to fat. Excessive alcohol consumption breaks down muscle mostly in the thighs and glutes AND it increases the stress hormone, cortisol, which encourages fat storage around your stomach.
- Sleep Stealer: Drinking inhibits your muscle recovery by disrupting your sleep. Alcohol decreases sleep duration and increases wakefulness. “Disrupting the sleep cycle can reduce your human growth hormone output—which builds muscle—by as much as 70 percent,” says Piattoly.
- Depleted water and nutrients: Alcohol irritates the stomach lining, which can reduce your capacity to absorb nutrients (the reason you have an upset stomach after a few too many), says Brian R. Christie, Ph.D.—not to mention that alcohol makes you pee. For every gram of ethanol you suck down, you pump out 10 millilitres of urine (that’s about 9.5 ounces for two beers). As little as 2 percent dehydration hurts endurance performance. And by the way, you can’t rehydrate with a dehydrating drink (e.g., beer).
So, the next time your ‘buddies’ make fun of you for sticking to one or two drinks for the night, just remember you ill be better off then they will. You can still go out and have fun, just don’t over do it and mess up a good, hard week of training for one night of fun that will in turn lead to an unwanted hangover.
Live, Love, Lift 