Are you spending these wintery days dreaming ahead to running, cycling, or other outdoor athletic activities and rituals – your first marathon or 5K, a long-distance hike along Killarney’s La Cloche Silhouette Trail? You might be developing your training strategy, or pondering the changes you want to make to improve your performance. Same applies if this is the year you simply want to push your physical boundaries a bit.
The recent updates to Canadian (and US) Low Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines were a surprise to many, including those who enjoy their physical activities.
No one relishes a beer more than me after a spirited day riding with friends, but what if such celebrating means that those post-ride beers are making the next day’s ride even tougher? I mean, it’s not like most of us are Olympic hopefuls or anything, so what’s adding a few seconds per kilometre compared to that relaxing, post-ride bonding buzz?
Exploration into the increasing research on how alcohol consumption relates to athletic performance indicates that apparently we have more than just a few seconds per kilometre to lose. Recent experience tells us that some of our guidelines, and even science, are becoming moving targets; but in general, alcohol has numerous ways in which it decreases athletic performance, including reducing the benefits of our workouts, compromising our mental health, and impacting our endurance negatively.
From my perspective, anything that reduces the performance of a finely tuned athlete likely has even worse consequences for a never-was athlete. Check the list below and see if it might change your perspective on that pre- or post-activity drink, no matter what level of physical exploits you enjoy.
Alcohol decreases muscle growth and repair. Exercise breaks muscle tissue down, which releases amino acids, which in turn signals our muscles to rebuild by consuming, or synthesizing, dietary protein. Alcohol in our system disrupts these signal pathways for up to three days post-drink, and there is speculation that this signal disruption may cause our body to purposely atrophy some muscle tissue.
Muscles burn sugar during exercise, creating lactic acid as a byproduct, which is a common cause of muscle cramps and fatigue. Lactic acid also reduces aerobic performance by increasing muscle cell acidity. This acidity reduces our efficiency at processing energy and sustaining higher levels of performance. Alcohol consumption, even as much as 24 hours before an event, increases lactic acid production.
Alcohol dehydrates us, depleting our energy and affecting our endurance in a multitude of ways. Our bodies need blood sugar to produce energy, which our liver creates by releasing glucose into our blood, a process alcohol constrains.
Alcohol has also been found to restrict the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), an essential fuel for all our cells, including muscle. A 2023 meta-analysis (study of many studies) published by the United States National Library of Medicine titled, “Energy Availability and Alcohol-related Liver Pathology,” found that, “Cells in the perivenous region of the liver are predisposed to show alcohol-related decreases in ATP levels. Reduced ATP concentrations, in turn, could limit the cells’ ability to repair damage caused by toxic byproducts of alcohol metabolism.”
Our bodies need blood sugar to produce energy
Dehydration can result in vitamin and mineral depletion and imbalance, especially vitamins B1 and B12, both intrinsic to our ability to transport oxygen in our blood. Zinc, calcium, potassium, and magnesium are lost as we dehydrate, all of which are involved in regulating our metabolism, electrolyte production, and maintaining muscle and nerve coordination. All the above increase risk for cramps, muscle pulls and strains in athletes from pickle-ballers to marathoners.
Speaking of pickleball and its cognitive benefits, alcohol is a known sedative. A slowing of hand-eye coordination, reflexes and response times can result for up to 72 hours after your last drink.
Good sleep and sleep cycles are essential in many ways for strong sports performance, and alcohol is again a disrupter. Alcohol reduces rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which increases fatigue, and inhibits our body’s production of human growth hormone (HGH) by as much as 70 percent. HGH is important for muscle repair and rebuilding, as is testosterone, which heavier alcohol consumption can also reduce. Decreased testosterone levels are associated with reduced lean muscle mass and slower muscle recovery.
Forget thinking in terms of bulked-up body-builders or slender runners; we all need to maintain as much well-functioning muscle as we can. As we age the average adult loses three to eight percent of their muscle mass per decade, eventually leading to sarcopenia, a common trigger to many chronic health conditions in older people. Testosterone-reducing alcohol consumption doesn’t help.
Some studies indicate alcohol hides pain, others that it embellishes our perception of pain, depending on the quantity consumed. Either way, a late diagnosis and postponement of treatment, or a premature false diagnosis, complicates injury detection and optimal recovery. Alcohol increases bleeding and swelling in the soft tissue around bruises, cuts, sprains and muscle injuries, which affects our immune system’s response. Alcohol is also known to restrict the effectiveness of some pain medications.
As more Canadian women are participating in sports, it’s important to realize that body size and a different array of hormones, among other contributors, mean female and male athletes are affected differently by alcohol consumption. In very broad terms, women absorb a higher percentage of the alcohol they consume, and take longer to process it. The result is higher and longer-lasting alcohol blood levels than men after drinking the same amount.
There’s more, but the evidence seems clear that one’s athletic performance may be affected negatively by alcohol consumption. How that translates for each of us personally as weekend warriors or retirees fighting to maintain our athletic approach to life, is for you to decide. Pondering the subject over a glass of wine or beer may not be the best approach to future athletic performance or longevity.