Alcohol and sports workouts: Is it possible to eat alcoholic beverages before training, in which harm and risks for the body, what to do if you used alcohol before training.

Alcohol and training: why they should not be combined, the effect of alcohol on the body

But sometimes amateur athletes go to the morning workout after the evening, where they consumed alcoholic beverages. Today we understand how dangerous it is for the body and after how much after the party can begin to start sports.

What happens to your body when a person uses alcohol

After a person drinks alcohol, there are three important stages in his body. This is how they describe researchers from the State University of Bowlin Green (USA):

Absorption

After swallowing, alcohol is digested by the body not entirely as food. First, a small amount is absorbed directly by the language and mucous membrane of the mouth. Finding into the stomach, alcohol is absorbed directly into the bloodstream through its mucous membrane and the small intestine.

If there is food in the stomach, it can prevent alcohol suction in two ways:

– physically prevents alcohol from the stomach mucosa. Food is able to either absorb alcohol, or simply "take place", so alcohol immediately does not fall into the bloodstream through contact with the stomach wall;

– Food in the stomach prevents alcohol in the duodenum – the upper part of the small intestine. The overall surface of the entire small intestine is very large (size with a tennis court), so alcohol has more opportunities to get into the bloodstream after the stomach. And if alcohol is delayed in the stomach, it is slower absorbed.

Transportation

As soon as alcohol enters the bloodstream, it is distributed through all human body bodies. Most healthy people have blood circulates by the body in 90 seconds, which allows alcohol in a short time to influence your brain and all other organs. The full effect of drinking is felt for 15-45 minutes, depending on the suction rate and the very type of alcoholic beverage.

Alcohol penetrates all body tissues, except bone and fat. In an adult man, alcohol can penetrate about 68% of the body tissues.

The effect of alcohol on the body depends on:

– the amount of alcohol consumed;

– The presence of food and the ability of the liver to produce alcoholdehythrogenase enzymes (substances that catalyzes alcohol oxidation to aldehydes and ketones).

How does m eetabolism of alcohol?

Alcohol is a toxin that needs to be neutralized or derived from the body. Only about ten percent of alcohol is removed through sweat, breathing and urine.

Alcohol is volatile (evaporates in the air), so when it comes into contact in the blood with air in the alveoli of the lungs, it can be expelled from the body through breathing.

The liver is the main organ responsible for detoxifying alcohol. Liver cells produce the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase, which breaks down alcohol.

Nothing will speed up the detox process, but the efficiency of alcohol metabolism can be limited by drugs and liver disease and damage.

How does alcohol affect the physical condition?

The most obvious problem from alcohol for the physical condition is, of course, impaired coordination and balance.

There are also complex processes in the human brain that can reduce the level of control of human behavior, since alcohol toxins can affect brain chemistry even after a small dose. This may result in injury or harm to others. Very high risks arise as a result of training after heavy drinking the night before or at night.

Alcohol is a diuretic, so it increases the need to urinate. In combination with sweat during training, you can subject the body to serious dehydration.

Serious risks

There are more serious risks, such as cardiac arrhythmia, but this is more common in people with cardiovascular disease in the case of heavy drinking or chronic alcohol use.

Scientific journal Sport Medicine writes that alcohol consumption:

reduces the use of glucose and amino acids by skeletal muscle tissue;

negatively affects the energy supply of the body;

disrupts metabolic processes during exercise.

Alcohol is a depressant, so it slows down certain processes in the body. It will also affect the athlete's reaction time, strength, endurance and aerobic metabolism.

Is there a beneficial effect of alcohol?

Journal of Sports Medicine describes studies indicating that the consumption of certain types of alcoholic beverages may reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. This may be due to an increase in the level of "good" cholesterol, or high-density lipoprotein, in the body.

However, scientists point out that these studies require further study, and that, in combination with other consequences of alcohol, the negative effects greatly outweigh in their significance.

What to do if you're thirsty but can't skip a workout

The impact of alcohol on a person depends on the amount consumed and the individual tolerance of each individual organism. Fitness trainers and doctors in an interview with Healthline magazine advise : if you are going to drink an alcoholic drink, then it is definitely best to transfer the workout to the next day. Or go to the gym and then drink.Otherwise, it is very likely that you will be very unfocused and the session will be ineffective and at the same time traumatic.

However, if a person is determined to visit the gym after drinking alcohol, experts recommend doing all of the following to minimize the risk of serious injury or other complications:

– take a long break and rest. A standard unit of alcohol (about 8-14 milliliters in European countries) is eliminated from the body in one to two hours. But in many ways it all depends on the individual characteristics of the body of each person;

– drink plenty of fluids and make the workout shorter in time and not as intense as usual;

– Consume food while drinking alcohol. Food will slow down the absorption of alcohol.

Alcohol has a strong effect on the body, so it is best to avoid it if you want to achieve maximum physical activity through exercise.

Does alcohol affect weight loss?

There are no studies confirming that alcohol can have a positive effect on weight loss. Medical News Today Magazine writes that drinking alcohol can make it difficult to lose weight. This is due to the fact that:

– Calories from alcohol are empty calories, as they do not allow the body to satisfy the need for nutrition;

People typically consume alcoholic beverages as a supplement to their normal daily calorie intake.

– alcohol changes the mechanism of fat burning in the body;

Excessive alcohol consumption can affect a person's motivation and attitude to exercise.

Research 2015 showed that drinking small amounts of alcohol is not necessarily associated with weight gain, but alcohol may be a risk factor for obesity in different groups of people.