Alcohol Indulgence Affects Your Muscle Building

Seductive taste of alcohol can make you say ‘one more’ after every shot. But, if you are looking to build muscle, understand that enjoying too much of alcohol can also take a serious toll on your muscle growth. Recent researches have shown that alcohol can impair the process that builds new muscle. Scientists say that alcohol may affect the proteins that activate muscle growth. “Alcohol decreased the production of human growth hormone, a key part of the muscle repair and growth process, by up to 70%,” researchers state.

Bouncing back from that workout may take longer if you go mad at happy hour afterward. Researchers say, “Those who downed 1 gram of alcohol per kilogram — about five drinks for a 160-pound man — after a work out session experienced more tenderness than those who drank juice. They also had higher levels of creatine kinase or creatine phosphokinase an enzyme that signals tissue damage, afterward.”

Drinking also affects your metabolism. Consuming 24 grams of alcohol — the equivalent of about two drinks — slowed fat metabolism (a metabolic process that breaks down ingested fats into fatty acids and glycerol and then into simpler compounds that can be used by cells of the body) by a whopping 73%.

Researchers said, “Human body prefers to burn alcohol as fuel first, pushing any other calories to the back of the line. As a consequence, your fat burn slows dramatically each time you toss back a cocktail.”

Drinking regularly is one of the fastest paths to weight gain. Liquor packs 7 calories per gram, or approximately 100 to 165 calories in a serving — and that’s not counting sugary mixers. Alcohol can loosen up your inhibitions and stimulate your appetite, which promotes overeating.

“Men consumed 168 more calories on the days they had a shot than when they didn’t. Though that doesn’t sound like much, it can add up. Consuming a glass of wine or beer with dinner three days of the week, and you’ll wind up nearly eight pounds heavier at the end of the year,” researchers said.

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Though a cold beer seems thirst quenching after a hard workout, it has the opposite effect. As alcohol is a diuretic, it can lead to dehydration (the excessive loss of body water, with an accompanying disruption of metabolic processes). It causes your body to lose 3% more body fluid. “So avoid that post-workout beer until you’ve replenished with water. Not having enough fluid can decrease blood flow to the muscles, which can slow down your recovery,” say the experts.

Also, having a head-pounding hangover can affect your next-day work out activities. It has also been shown to interfere with your sleep quality, which can further contribute to an overall feeling of indolence.

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Source-Medindia