Download `You Booze, You Lose` Oct Nov 2012

Life| Nutrition
www.fitpro.com
What causes hangovers?
Yo u booze,
the physiological effects of a hangover
Although many factors can contribute to
hangover symptoms, the two main factors
are dehydration and the toxic effects of
alcohol on the body’s systems. Alcohol
is a diuretic which means that it speeds
the loss of water from the body causing
the body to dehydrate. This then leads to
many of the common hangover symptoms
you can experience including thirst,
weakness, dizziness, and headaches and
so on.
In the liver alcohol is broken down
to acetaldehyde by an enzyme called
alcohol dehydrogenase. Acetaldehyde is
then further broken down into a harmless
substance called acetate and eventually
leaves your body as carbon dioxide and
water. The average person takes about 60
minutes to break down 10g alcohol into
acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde is then rapidly
converted to acetate. If you drink a large
glass of wine (250ml) for example, your
body takes about three hours to break
down the alcohol. How quickly you break
down alcohol will depend on a number
of factors such as body size, gender and if
you have food in your digestive system or
not. If you drink more than your body can
process you will have higher amounts of
both alcohol and acetaldehyde circulating
the body. Acetaldehyde is between 10-30
times more toxic than alcohol itself. At
high doses in the body it causes nausea,
vomiting, sweating and other symptoms
akin to the hangover. Although there is
no acetaldehyde in your system when you
have a zero blood alcohol level, some of
the after-effects of the toxin may persist
the morning after.2
Effect of a hangover on
physical performance
It happens to many of us at some time or another. You drink too much, pay for it
the next day and then think you can make up for a drinking binge with a workout.
Sadly, the reality is that you can’t, says Linia Patel, as even a little alcohol can
hamper progress and performance.
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| Oct Nov 2012 |
Make no mistake, once the high is over, it
does not mean that the effects from the
alcohol are over. The effects linger long
after the blood concentration has fallen to
zero. Therefore even the day after a night
of boozing the chemical effects of alcohol
on the body are still very prevalent.7
Exercise is a complex activity utilising many
of the body’s organs including the central
nervous system, the cardiovascular system
and the muscular system. Each of these
elements is negatively affected by alcohol.
Alcohol is a depressant, not a stimulant.
It slows down the activity in the central
nervous system, which means the brain.
Concentration, co-ordination, reaction
time and balance are all negatively
affected by alcohol consumption.8 A
study done on a group of rugby players
looked at the impact of alcohol on aerobic
performance the morning after. The study
found that even the ‘smallest dose’ of
alcohol (i.e., a single unit) had a negative
effect on aerobic performance. Other
studies confirm these findings suggesting
that aerobic performance capacity can be
affected by as much as 11-25% due to a
hangover.7,8 There is also strong evidence
that shows that other performance areas
that are compromised include strength,
power, speed, muscular endurance and
cardiovascular endurance as well as
recovery.8
Alcohol and muscle
development
Research shows that alcohol cancels out
physiological gains that you may have
received from your workout. A study
done on rats reported that long-term
alcohol use diminishes protein synthesis
and causes muscle wasting. Findings also
suggested that even short-term alcohol
use can impede muscle growth.9
There’s also a
suggestion that when
exercising with alcohol
in the body, the body
will produce far greater
amounts of lactate
which causes muscle
pain and cramps
It is thought that alcohol affects muscle
development both directly and indirectly.
Alcohol’s direct impact is at cellular level
where it has been shown to decrease
protein synthesis and increase the process
of muscle atrophy. Indirectly, alcohol
affects sleep patterns and hormonal
production. In order to build bigger,
stronger muscles or to simply increase
muscle tone your body needs the right
hormones and balance of calories as
well as time to repair. Alcohol reduces
sleep quality; which in turn hinders the
production of important hormones (like
human growth hormone). Research also
shows that alcohol can negatively affect
the muscle building hormone testosterone.
A recent study showed that low levels
of testosterone, induced by alcohol
intake, limited conditioning progress
in individuals. The research compared
levels of protein synthesis in participants
consuming beer or non-alcohol beer for
three weeks while following the same diet
composition. Scientists found that the beer
group had significantly lower
testosterone levels and also
lower protein synthesis activity
compared to the non-alcohol
beer. Low testosterone
levels can compromise muscle
building, since the hormone plays a vital
role in initiating this.8,9
Alcohol and
muscles at work
Alcohol dehydrates your body. Your liver
needs water to dissolve and expel the
toxins produced from alcohol breakdown.
When your body’s reserves run out, the
liver borrows water from other organs
including muscles and the brain. Muscle
is composed of 75% water.9 When your
muscle cells are dehydrated, they can’t
work as efficiently.
Disrupting the water balance in your
muscle cells affects your ability to produce
adenosine triphosphate (ATP) within the
muscle. ATP is your muscles’ source of
energy. It provides the fuel necessary for
your muscles to contract. Loss of ATP will
result in a muscle weakness as well as
a loss of endurance. Muscle weakness
may then be further exacerbated by
low blood sugar levels that you may
experience when you are hung over.10
Your liver is slow at metabolising
ethanol: on average, it takes about
one hour for every unit of alcohol.
The undivided attention that your
liver has to give to alcohol means that
it is not able to produce the glucose that
exercising muscles need. Abnormally low
levels of blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) may
be of particular concern if you are doing
a longer moderate to intense exercise
session. While some may argue that
exercising without glucose is a plus as it
burns fat, without glucose it will not be
possible to exercise at anywhere near your
maximum capacity.
There’s also a suggestion that when
exercising with alcohol in the body, the
body will produce far greater amounts
of lactate. This causes muscle pain and
cramps. 8,10 When it comes to physical
performance, it’s not hard to see that
alcohol detracts rather than enhances
overall physical performance. You booze
– you lose. Fitness orientated individuals
particularly need to be aware of the
physiological effects of booze – and how if
we choose to drink you can minimise the
impact of the hangover.fp
To see the references mentioned visit
www.fitpro.com/references
| Oct Nov 2012 |
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