Last November the Editors of Bicycling Magazine conducted a Reader’s Choice survey of “all things cycling”; over 5,000 readers responded and the results are published in this month’s issue (March 2012). Scanning through the results, I wanted to know what people like to drink after a long, hot, grueling ride. Here’s what they chose (in order): Beer; Chocolate milk and Coffee. (More on this survey at, http://www.bicycling.com/news/featured-stories/2012-readers-choice-results.)
The readers of Bicycling Magazine have spoken; beer is their number one post-ride beverage. Farfetched? Not really. Beer is rising in popularity. Micro-breweries are popping up all over the country; grocery store shelves are filled with a variety of craft beers providing an endless array of choices. Competitive and non-competitive cyclists can even partake in group rides focused on the reward of a nice cool mug of beer: Beercycling, based in Portland, OR, provides group destination packages where cyclists leisurely travel to a different (European) brewery every day over the course of a week or more (http://beercycling.com/); on a more competitive note, The Harpoon Brewery to Brewery Ride (http://www.harpoonb2b.com/), is an annual 148-mile ride in Vermont. 1,000 riders have already signed up, closing out this year’s June 16th ride.
The camaraderie and the sense of a shared mutual goal make for a good time, but is this good time overshadowed by any negatives? Is it a good idea to consume alcohol at the commencement of a really hard ride? It’s a question that comes up with frequency, and for good reason. Beer is loaded with brewer’s yeast; barley; malt; hops; sugars; etc.; aside from all of the good things in beer, is alcohol, in any form, good for our bodies, post-ride or pre-ride?
People who log into bike forums discuss this question fairly regularly; a quick scan of their answers showed many of the respondents opting to imbibe because they want to enjoy themselves. I found the responses almost portrayed a light at the end of the tunnel type of mentality, where the cyclists worked hard at cycling and deserved the reward of a cool brew afterward. When told that alcohol is not conducive to the aerobic activity they’ve just undertaken, they poo, poo the message. They want the freedom to work hard and play hard.
I think the article that really grabbed me was the one written by a biker lady I respect, entitled, Drinking and Exercise: How Alcohol Affects Your Body, by Selene Yeager. It’s posted in this month’s Women’s Health Magazine (March 2012 issue, at: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/drinking-and-exercise#axzz1n2nQqGOz). In the article Ms. Yeager bluntly says, alcohol and exercise do not mix. Her opening paragraph states, “Alcohol in your system is detrimental to any kind of fitness activity.” She goes on to cite the various ways alcohol interferes with the body’s ability to recover. Her citations are good, her research is credible and the article is quick and easy to read. Most importantly, it gets to the point about the deleterious effects of alcohol on the body, pre and post exercise.
Ms. Yeager’s companion article, Exercise and Alcohol: Running on Empty Bottles (http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/exercise-and-alcohol?page=1#axzz1n2nQqGOz) delves into the psychological aspects of imbibing and ratcheting up the exercise routine – each to excess. She cites a 2009 study from the University of Miami which found that the more people exercise, the more they drink—with the most active women consuming the highest amounts every month. There’s a concern that there may be a trend developing among young people that could reverberate in the years to come.
Finally, I wanted to look at some of the scholarly research, just to see the conclusions for myself. Using Google Scholar, I found many relevant, credible studies, about Alcohol and Athletes/Exercise, none of which condone the consumption of alcohol. Briefly, I’ll list a couple of the studies and provide links for additional research.
A study by Mahmoud S. El-Sayed; Nagia Ali; Zeinab El-Sayed Ali, published in Sports Medicine, states “Although the effects of alcohol consumption on the rheological properties of the blood are not known, recent experimental evidence suggests that alcohol use following exercise is associated with unfavourable changes in the main determinants of blood viscosity. It is well documented that alcohol use modulates the immune system and impairs host defence. Compelling evidence is also mounting to suggest that chronic alcohol use is linked with adverse effects on the body systems and organs including the brain, the cardiovascular system and the liver.”
Another study produced similar results stating, “alcohol interferes with the metabolism of carbohydrates during and after anaerobic exercise by decreasing the availability of circulating glucose. Furthermore, during recovery from exercise, alcohol decreases the supply of free fatty acids for the body” (Erkki Heikkonen, Reino Ylikahri, Risto Roine, Matti Välimäki, Matti Härkönen, Mikko Salaspuro, Effect of Alcohol on Exercise-Induced Changes in Serum Glucose and Serum Free Fatty Acids, April 1998, in Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, Volume 22, Issue 2, pages 437-443, retrieved online at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1530-0277.1998.tb03671.x/abstracton February 23, 2012).
In conclusion, the answer to the original question is a resounding no. If you’re looking to hydrate your body after a hard workout, an alcoholic beverage is not a good choice. To pull this all together I went to another of my ‘go to’ resources, Bicycling Medicine, by Arnie Baker, M.D. (Fireside Books, New York, NY, 1998), where Dr. Baker says, “alcohol is a poison”. He goes on to say that “[O]ne-third of Americans who die each year from bicycle accidents are found to be riding under the influence of alcohol. The calories in alcohol displace other valuable food sources and alcohol consumption is associated with many nutritional deficiencies, including deficiencies in folic acid, iron, and B vitamins.” Among the many negative effects he states, “[A]lcohol may negatively affect heart rate, stroke volume, work capacity, peak lactate levels, blood pressure and respiratory dynamics. It is poisonous to muscle cells. It increases the risk of dehydration and hypothermia” (pp. 47-48).
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