Alcohol or protein shake

Can alcohol do as much harm as is always claimed or is it not too bad? And when is the best time to have a drink? An occasional drink instead of a protein shake should be possible, right? These are questions that every athlete has.

Versus your liver

Drinks affect your liver when consumed in excess. Your liver plays an important role in your metabolism. This is of course very important for building muscle mass. One function of the liver is to break down the female hormone estrogen. When the liver no longer functions properly, the breakdown of estrogen is limited. As a result, the body produces less of the male hormone testosterone, which stagnates the ability to build muscle mass and lose fat. Alcohol also inhibits protein synthesis. Protein synthesis promotes the condition, strength and mass of the muscles. It goes without saying, that drinking alcohol is not something you should do every day. Your liver will always lose the fight when the alcohol consumption is excessive.

Damage control

The most ideal scenario is of course the complete prevention of alcohol consumption. Unfortunately, this is often a utopia. Birthdays and terraces are often not the same without an alcoholic refreshment. As long as things don't get out of hand, it won't hurt, according to John Kiefer, the founder of Carb Backloading (a popular diet in the United States). He claims that fitness and alcohol can be better combined if you drink the carbohydrates from alcohol on training days. In addition, you should compensate these carbohydrates with the carbohydrates that you would normally eat. This should work for building muscle mass as well as for fat loss. Whether this is the case, however, has never been proven.

Alcohol provides 7 kilocalories per gram. Your body cannot store the energy from alcohol and wants to get rid of it as quickly as possible. If you drink in addition to your diet, your body burns the calories from alcohol first and then the calories from the food. The result of this is the well-known beer belly. A tip is to leave fatty snacks and appetizers when having a drink. If you lose the battle, make sure that you drink alcohol that is as pure as possible, such as tequila or vodka. These contain few unhealthy, extra-thickening additives.

Did you know that.. 

1. to know how much pure alcohol you drink or serve per glass, there are standard glasses for beer (250 cc), wine (100 cc) and spirits?
2. each standard glass contains about 10 grams (12.5 cc) of alcohol? It does not matter for the amount of alcohol you drink which type of alcohol you choose, as long as you use the right glass.
3. you have to cycle an average of 20 minutes and walk an average of 25 minutes to burn one glass of beer?
4. only 21% of the alcohol consumed in the Netherlands is bought in the catering industry? The rest is bought in retail, especially in the supermarket.
5. excessive alcohol can cause impotence?
6. drinking a little alcohol every day is better than a lot at once?