Everything strength athletes should know about alcohol

Here is a brief summary:

• Alcohol contributes less to fat storage, but suppresses fat burning.
• Heavy alcohol consumption can block muscle protein synthesis and post-workout recovery via several mechanisms.
• Athletes who drink alcohol after a competition do not seem to be affected as much as long as they take a few days off after the competition.
• The effects of alcohol depend a lot on what you drink (beer, wine or mixed drinks), how much you drink, when you drink and what you eat to accompany it.
• As long as you don't drink yourself into a coma every night, your fears about developing man boobs and shriveled mini testicles are probably exaggerated.

Looking back to 1995, I'm 22 years old. I study biochemistry in the morning and train myself and my clients to the ground in the afternoon. After 9 p.m., I'm working as a bartender at one of the hottest bars at North Carolina State University. The location was called the Cantina. I was voted by Playboy as one of the best college bartenders in the country. There was a lot of partying in that bar.

The thing that set me apart from the bar patrons was the fact that I didn't drink. Not a drop. I was a "young stud", as they said. Just over 100 kilos of body weight with less than 10% body fat and a height of 178 cm and strong as a bear. If I had had any sense of self-awareness back then, I would have realized that I was actually a "young dud". You don't realize how ridiculous you were in your twenties until you hit your mid-thirties, but I digress.

Anyway, I had this friend. He was a little lighter than me, but leaner. This guy drank like a fish. I remember making jokes about him and saying things like, "If you keep drinking like that, you're going to have to buy a bra in a few months." This was in reference to the popular belief that alcohol turns you into a fatty bursting with oestrogen.

He just laughed at this, held up his beer and said "Nah, I was in the gym today. You had your cement mixer shake 3000 and this is my post-workout meal." We laughed about this and he continued to do the same every weekend. You know what happened? He never got much more muscular, but he didn't grow man boobs either.

The alcohol metabolism

When you drink beer, wine or hard liquor, the ethanol (alcohol) contained in these drinks is metabolized by your body with the highest priority. Your body stops pretty much everything else and goes to work with a four-step process that looks like this:

Ethanol → Acetaldehyde → Acetate → Acetyl-CoA

Acetate and acetyl-CoA can be used by the body for energy, but this is costly for the body. Alcohol is said to provide 7 Kcal per gram, but just like protein, its conversion to energy is inefficient and about 17 to 20% of its energy is lost. In other words, just like protein, alcohol has a very high thermic effect. Contrary to popular belief, alcohol, like protein, cannot be easily converted into fat. This process is too costly. But all the acetate and aetyl-CoA that appears in the body's cells signals to the body that there is no need to burn sugar or fat. Alcohol is therefore less of a "fat-storer" and more of a suppressor of fat-burning.

Now you might think that I'm saying that alcohol isn't as bad as you previously thought. But what I'm saying here is that there's a lot you don't know about alcohol. And yes, if used intelligently, it's probably not that bad.

Muscle, body fat and performance

To build muscle and burn fat, you need to control calories and hormones. Alcohol affects both. When you drink alcohol, you consume calories. And under certain circumstances, alcohol can affect the hormones that help your body build muscle and stay lean. Alcohol also has its own effects on cellular messengers, affecting brain chemistry and muscle cell signaling. And all of this has an impact on building muscle, burning fat and performing at a higher athletic level.

Here's the part that will blow your mind. You could be able to consume alcohol and still be able to achieve great results. Of course, this is only true if you know how to use alcohol and what you use it for. If you drink alcohol - and you probably will - then the aim is to do so with minimal impact on your body development and performance.

Does alcohol stop muscle building?

You've probably heard that alcohol stops muscle building. And in this area, you're probably right. My friend back in college may have stayed lean, but his drinking may have been the reason he couldn't build muscle mass. Alcohol can impair muscle protein synthesis and recovery after exercise through several mechanisms. However, as long as you keep your alcohol consumption in moderation, you may be on the safe side.

Alcohol has the following effects on muscle metabolism:

• Increase in myostatin levels
• Reduction of glycogen resynthesis
• Reduction of post-workout inflammatory responses (yes, this is a bad thing)
• Suppression of exercise-induced mTOR activity (likely by reducing cellular phosphatidic acid levels)
• Impairment of insulin and IGF-1 signaling

For those who aren't biochemistry experts, note that all of this is bad for your muscles.

However, there seem to be a few precautions you can take. An excellent review by Matthew J. Barnes, published in the June 2014 issue of Sports Medicine magazine, outlines some very clear rules when it comes to alcohol and highlights a couple of studies that may interest you. In one study, Barnes gave subjects either 1 gram of alcohol per kilogram of body weight or the same amount of a non-alcoholic drink. These drinks were consumed 30 minutes after 300 eccentric repetitions of squats. Basically, there was one group that poured and another group that settled for orange juice.

Both groups were pushed hard 35 and 60 hours after training in terms of their strength in isometric (holding), concentric (lifting) and eccentric (lowering) contractions. But the muscles in the alcohol group had a much worse hangover. Their performance was 22, 12 and 15% worse than the orange juice group. To make it more tangible for you, it should be mentioned that this amount of alcohol consumed corresponds to about 80 grams for a person weighing 80 kilos. Since the average alcoholic drink (120 to 150 ml of wine, 400 ml of beer, 50 ml of liquor) contains about 14 grams of alcohol, if my calculations are correct, this equates to about six alcoholic drinks. The study results are probably what you would have expected, right? But here's the part you'll love if you like to drink alcohol. Barnes conducted a similar study where he replaced the 1.0 grams of alcohol per kilogram of body weight with 0.5 grams. The result of this research was that 1 gram of alcohol per kilogram of body weight torpedoed muscle recovery, but the 0.5 grams of alcohol per kilogram of body weight had no effect.

While 6 drinks had a devastating effect on a person weighing 80 kilograms, 3 drinks kept him in the green zone. That's a pretty useful rule of thumb, if you ask me. And this threshold of 0.5 grams of alcohol per kilogram of body weight is supported by other studies showing that higher amounts impair rehydration metabolism.

How does alcohol consumption affect performance?

There are a few general guidelines when it comes to recovery after sporting events. It may be shocking for you to learn that athletes who drink alcohol after a competition do not appear to be impaired by that alcohol. My favorite study on this topic was conducted with a couple of rugby players. Rugby players look like they can drink, don't they?

In this study, the subjects drank an average of 20 standard drinks per person. That's about 3 grams of alcohol per kilogram of body weight, which is about three times the amount of alcohol used in the Barnes study. In other words, the guys really got their rocks off after their game. Guess what happened two days later when they came to training? They performed at their best, as if nothing had happened! Based on some other studies that have looked at alcohol and performance, you can assume that if your liver doesn't explode, you'll probably be back to your usual performance after a few days. To be on the safe side, I wouldn't exercise on these days.

How do beer and wine affect fat loss?

When we get into the topic of alcohol and fat loss, things get a little tricky. In this context, we need to look at calories, endocrine effects (which also affect muscle) and the context in which alcohol is consumed. Let's summarize what we already know. The biochemistry of alcohol metabolism tells us that alcohol, like protein, has a strong thermic effect. It is also costly in terms of energy to store alcohol. When acetate and acetyl-CoA levels rise, this brings the burning of other energy sources such as carbohydrates and fats to a standstill. Studies have clearly shown this. When carbohydrates and fats are replaced calorie for calorie by alcohol, there is no fat-storing effect. Some of these studies even suggest that weight loss can occur in the same way as when fat and carbohydrates are replaced by protein.

Something else we need to look at is how alcohol affects food intake. This seems to vary from individual to individual, with some suffering from a 'disinhibiting effect' while others do not. By disinhibiting I mean that the natural control mechanisms that regulate the amount of food a person eats are reduced. Just as some people become psychologically disinhibited by alcohol and say all sorts of crazy things that they would never say when sober, others will eat things under the influence of alcohol that they might not eat when sober. This impact on appetite can vary with the type of alcohol consumed. Here are some rules you should know. Beer is bitter and bitter compounds promote the release of GLP-1, which is a hunger suppressing compound. Beer also appears to lower cortisol levels in the short term at lower doses. Higher doses may have the opposite effect. This is important because we now know that cortisol is involved in hunger and cravings and shuts down the brain's motivation center while activating the reward center. This could also be related to the hops contained in beer, as hops have a calming effect.

Red wine contains histamines, which increase cortisol levels. We can therefore assume that this would mean an increase in appetite. High proof and white wine do not contain the bitter compounds of beer, nor the histamines of red wine, so it becomes difficult to speculate on their effects on hunger and appetite.

A study published in the journal Pharmacology, Biochemistry & Behavior by Dr. Anna Kokavec shows exactly what we predicted. Beer lowers cortisol levels and has a short-term appetite suppressant effect. Red wine increases cortisol levels quite quickly and also stimulates the appetite more quickly. White wine behaved similarly to beer. High-proof drinks were not examined in this study.

It seems clear that all alcohol ultimately increases cortisol levels. In the case of beer, these effects only appear to be time-dependent and also influenced by the amount consumed. We now know that cortisol has effects on appetite, but it also plays a role in recovery after exercise. In none of these scenarios are high cortisol levels desirable.

Alcohol also appears to affect brain chemistry, which is known to influence hunger and cravings. Alcohol increases dopamine levels and decreases serotonin levels. Dopamine is associated with cravings and reward. It increases adrenaline levels and lowers melatonin levels. This can interfere with sleep, which is often associated with increased hunger and cravings.

A report in the journal Appetite gives us the following advice regarding alcohol consumption before meals. All alcohol increases food intake, but the strength of this effect depends on the type of alcoholic beverage consumed. The order is as follows according to this study and my extrapolations from other studies:

Beer & white wine < red wine < mixed drinks

Testosterone and other hormones

And what about the effects that alcohol is reported to have on testosterone, estrogen and other hormones? This seems to depend on the amount and context in which alcohol is consumed. Again, studies find the threshold of 0.5 grams of alcohol per kilogram of body weight. Alcohol in this amount appears to have little effect on testosterone levels.

Alcohol can affect you differently depending on what you do. Consuming alcohol after exhaustive endurance training sessions further reduces the reduced testosterone levels typically seen after this type of activity. The study that showed this used 1.5 grams of alcohol per kilogram of body weight, which would mean about 8 or 9 drinks for our theoretical 80 kilo man.

However, when alcohol is consumed after a workout with weights at a rate of 1.09 grams per kilogram of body weight (about 5 to 6 drinks), levels of free testosterone and total testosterone actually increase. Could it be that my college buddy was right about his post-workout beer?

As a side note, most research done with women seems to suggest that alcohol increases testosterone levels somewhat. And if you understand female physiology, this is not a great thing - especially for their midsection.

When it comes to testosterone, the following rules seem to apply:

• Keep alcohol consumption in the moderate range (less than 3 drinks)
• If you want to drink more, do so after training with weights
• Alcohol after cardio training is not such a great idea

Growth hormones and estrogen

Alcohol also lowers growth hormone levels, but it doesn't seem to affect estrogen levels in the way we once thought. A three-week intervention in men and postmenopausal women showed once again that an amount of 0.5 grams of alcohol per kilogram of body weight (about 30 to 40 grams of alcohol in this study) had no effect on circulating estrogen. And two other studies, using amounts of 1.5 and 1.75 grams of alcohol per kilogram of body weight, showed no effect on estrogen levels. Surprised? I was no different. If anyone is affected by increased estrogen levels associated with alcohol, it appears to be women, not men.

The bottom line

Obviously, you could write a whole book on this topic. Some of the research is confusing and contradictory and more studies need to be done. But we can make some general statements:

• If you drink alcohol with meals, you should avoid carbohydrates and fats. Stick to protein and vegetables. You will increase the thermic effect of the meal and avoid storing these carbohydrates and fats.
• When choosing your alcoholic beverages, stick to beer and wine. These drinks seem to have more positive effects on appetite.
• Avoid mixed drinks. The combination of alcohol and sugar in them means you are likely to store that sugar and drink more.
• Alcohol consumption below 0.5 grams of alcohol per kilogram of body weight could be the threshold that could protect you from negative effects in terms of muscle breakdown, fat gain, endocrine dysfunction and reduced performance.
• Alcohol after cardio training is probably not such a good idea.
• Drinking alcohol after a workout with weights might be the best time to drink, but stick to under 1 gram of alcohol per kilogram of body weight.
• As long as you do most other things right and don't drink yourself into a coma every night, your fears about developing man boobs and shrunken testicles are probably overblown.

Final note: Alcohol is a non-nutritious source of calories. It will reduce your levels of B vitamins, zinc, magnesium and other important micronutrients. This can increase the risk of longer term problems or illness. This can happen when your metabolism slowly starts to suffer from a poor diet over time. Therefore, every time you drink alcohol, make sure you supplement with a good multivitamin and multimineral product.

References

1. Barnes MJ. Alcohol: Impact on sports performance and recovery in male athletes. July 2014;44(7):909-919. pubmed/24748461
2. Bianco, et al. Alcohol consumption and hormonal alterations related to muscle hypertrophy: a review. Nutrition & Metabolism. June 2014;11:26. pubmed/24932207
3. Heikkonen, et al. The combined effect of alcohol and physical exercise on serum testosterone, leutininzing hormone and cortisol in males. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research. June 1996;20(4):711-716. pubmed/8800389
4. Kokavec, A., Lindner, A., Ryan, J.E., & Crowe, S.F. (2009). Ingesting alcohol prior to food can alter the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Pharmacology, Biochemistry & Behavior, 93, 170-176. pubmed/19447127
5. Raben, et al. Meals with similar energy densities but rich in protein, fat, carbohydrate or alcohol have different effects on energy expenditure and substrate metabolism but not on appetite and energy intake. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. January 2003;77(1):91-100. pubmed/12499328
6. YeomansMR. Short term effects of alcohol on appetite in humans. Effects of context and restrained eating. Appetite. December 2010;55(3):565-573. pubmed/20851724
7. ZakhariS. Overview: how is alcohol metabolized by the body? Alcohol Research & Health. 2006;29(4):245-254. pubmed/17718403

By Dr Jade Teta
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/lifters-guide-to-alcohol