Alcohol and Your Health & Fitness Goals

This question is posed to us quite often so I figured I would hit upon it a little bit.

In no way am I advocating for or against alcohol in this post. I do, however, think it is important to be well informed when making decisions about your health. The consumption of alcohol seems to be a question that comes up often, so I will use this as a platform to write a few facts about alcohol and its effects on your body. Remember that if you do enjoy having an alcoholic beverage, then moderation and balance is the key.

-Alcohol drastically effects the amount of fat your body can and will burn for energy. Here is the deal – when alcohol goes through the liver it creates a by-product called Acetate. Acetate is no good when trying to burn fat. Acetate does the opposite of fat burning; it puts the brakes on it. How so? Your body uses many types of fuel (protein, carbohydrates and fat) but the fuel used by your body is dictated by its availability. When you drink alcohol your acetate levels increase, therefore your body burns more acetate as fuel and stores the excess calories from food as fat.

-Alcohol decreases testosterone and increases Cortisol.

-Vitamin and mineral absorption is decreased. Your liver is too busy converting the alcohol to acetate to be concerned about the vitamins and minerals you have just consumed.

-Decrease in protein synthesis of Type II fibers – these are the fast-twitch fibers that make you strong and explosive. No! We love Type II fibers and want to avoid the possibility of ever decreasing the creation and accumulation of Type II fibers.

-Dehydration – dehydrated muscles are weak and more prone to injury.

-Osteoporosis and some forms of arthritis can be advanced by alcohol abuse. Alcohol can also lead to muscle atrophy.

-Prolonged exposure to alcohol can erode the stomach lining and cause chronic blood seepage into the stomach.

-Sleep! Alcohol can affect the quality of ones sleep. Please refer back to this informative post about the benefits of sleep.

http://lookbetternaked2011.blogspot.com/2011/01/good-sleep-more-important-than-food.html

Alcohol has a significant effect on the body and your possible health goals. So next time you go out for a drink or pour yourself a glass of wine, consider some of the effects that alcohol can have on your fitness goals.

Aricle Courtesy of Nichole DeHart of CrossFit Invictus