June Russell's Health Facts

Alcohol - Exercise

Alcohol is a diuretic, leading to dehydration, which causes the body’s cooling down system to work improperly. Becoming flushed is the way your body compensates, sending blood (which contains oxygen) to the skin to help cool off. One of the symptoms of dehydration is fatigue. Because alcohol affects reason, judgment, and coordination, drinking alcohol and exercising makes a dangerous duo. Muscles cannot contract properly without certain valuable electrolytes, such as magnesium, calcium, and potassium: these are lost because of alcohol’s diuretic effect.
(goaskalice.columbia.edu, Apr. 2001}

Casual drinking can put extra stress on the body, countering the claims that moderate alcohol consumption can be healthy. Researchers at Penn State University said that drinking small amounts of alcohol before work or exercise makes the body work harder to perform. “Practically speaking, after drinking, it takes more energy to do the same job,” said researcher Dr. Mary E. Nicholson. People with high blood pressure and cardiovascular problems may be particularly at risk.
{“Healthy drinking debunked,” Join Together; HN3078@handsnet.org, May 2001}

Exercise and alcohol do not mix. Alcohol is a depressant and will slow physiological and psychological systems which retard performance. The use of alcohol increases the risk of injury, can hinder accuracy, balance, hand-eye coordination, reaction time and general coordination.
{American College of Sportsmedicine, "Fitness," Parade magazine, Sept. 9, 1990}

Alcohol reduces the body's ability to convert food to energy and also reduces carbohydrate/blood sugar levels. Alcohol has a diuretic effect, and this added to the loss from sweat puts an individual at a greater risk of dehydration. These effects, together with the lactic acid build-up and dehydration combines to reduce aerobic performance. Alcohol the night before will take the edge off your fitness. Alcohol increases the swelling around soft tissue injuries (sprains, bruises and cuts, the most common sports injuries) so it takes longer to recover. Alcohol also masks pain which may delay treatment. If you've been injured, avoid alcohol.

Alcohol in your system makes you feel feverish, then you lose body heat too fast which can lead to hypothermia. The longer you play or train, or the colder the weather, the greater the risk. The relaxant properties of alcohol can flow on into your sport even well after you've finished drinking. Alcohol slows down the information processing ability of the brain. This in turn affects your reactions, co-ordination, accuracy and balance, all the things that are most important.

Even small amounts of alcohol rob the body of B-vitamins and minerals (such as zinc) that are essential for converting food to energy and in helping repair body tissue after injury.
{alcohol.org.nz, Dec. 2001}

Alcohol is a diuretic and one symptom of the resulting dehydration is fatigue. Dehydration can also cause the body's cooling system to work improperly. Many people think alcohol is a stimulant because it makes them lively and uninhibited at first, but it does this by sedating inhibitory nerves! Reasoning and judgment are impaired first, followed by effects on speech, vision, and large muscle control. This impairment of coordination and motor skills can make drinking alcohol and exercising a dangerous duo. You need energy to work out, but the calories from alcohol are unique in that they cannot be stored for energy in the muscles. Muscles cannot contract properly without certain valuable electrolytes, such as magnesium, calcium, and potassium, minerals which are lost along with fluids that are excreted in the urine because of the diuretic effect. Staying well-hydrated and fully alert when hiking, exercising, driving, operating other heavy machinery, etc., can only help you stay safer.
{goaskalice.columbia.edu, Dec. 2001}

Lactic acid: a chemical present in body tissue. However, too much lactic acid can lead to muscle fatigue and cramps. Alcohol use increases level of lactic acid and the chance of cramping up.
{alcohol.org.nz, Dec. 30, 2001}

Beer as a sports drink is absolutely counterproductive. Alcohol in any form does not fit into the lifestyle of an average athlete, let alone a first-class one. Alcohol does a fine job of robbing your body of minerals, strains the liver, is fattening, deadens the nerves, destroys the brain, promotes injuries, slows healing (the body identifies alcohol as a toxin).
{“No place for alcohol in professional sports,” guest editorial by Erwin Kaussner, author of High Performance for Champions: A New Vision of Sports Nutrition, Jan. 2004}