(6 estimates, average: 5,00 out of 5)

Alcohol and sports are incompatible things. Everyone knows about it. However, due to the current circumstances, we live in the real world, in which there are such events as birthdays, new year, corporate events, all kinds of feasts and parties. The question that arises among exercising people is how to behave with alcohol: can you afford a few sips of wine or once a week can you “go into oblivion”? And how will all this affect sports achievements?

About the effect of alcohol on muscles, the permissible dose of alcohol

Alcohol (alcoholic beverages) is a solution that contains ethyl alcohol (or ethanol). In its effect, ethanol has a strong psychoactive effect, inhibiting the action of the central nervous system.

Once in our body, alcohol is very quickly included in intracellular metabolism and is processed to form energy. Oxidation of 1 g of ethanol releases 7 kcal of energy. This is more than proteins and carbohydrates (about 4 kcal), and slightly less than fats (about 9 kcal). Alcohol taken internally does not contain any useful substances, being in fact an “empty” source of calories.

The breakdown of alcohol (its utilization) occurs in the liver cells from 75 to 98% of the total volume. This is why excessive doses of alcohol can damage the liver so badly. Our body is capable of producing ethyl alcohol for our own needs. The enzyme system produces from 1 to 9 g of ethyl alcohol per day, which is a natural metabolic product and is easily oxidized, releasing energy.

Taking alcohol from the outside is a completely different matter. Oxidizing enzymes are unlikely to cope here (knowing the "breadth of the Russian soul"). The accumulation of ethanol will occur, which will cause symptoms of general intoxication (nausea, headaches, disruption of the cardiovascular system).

Any exercising person should understand that excessive alcohol consumption will have a negative impact on muscle growth and strength. On the doses of alcohol that have a minimal effect on the body and athletic performance we will talk a little below, but now we will briefly go over the main factors that alcohol has on muscles.

Decreased muscle protein synthesis.

The process of building new muscle structures is slowed down by 20%, due to the release of the hormone cortisol into the bloodstream. Eight men were examined (Valimaki, M.J., Harkonen, M., Eriksson, C.J., & Ylikahri, R.H., 1984). After a single intake of 1.75 g of alcohol per 1 kg of body weight, an increased content of cortisol was found even a day after the experiment.

Decreased growth hormone levels.

Significant inhibition of muscle growth occurs due to the suppression of the secretion of growth hormone. The level of this important hormone is reduced over the next few days after taking a dose of alcohol in excess of 35 g for a man weighing 70 kg.

Decreased testosterone levels and increased estrogen levels.

There are several reasons here:

• an increase in the amount of proteins that bind testosterone,
• an increase in the conversion of testosterone to estrogen,
• beer directly contains estrogen-like compounds,
• alcohol and its products stimulate estrogen receptors, adding symptoms to drinking men female body(presence of fat in the waist, chest, hips).

Dehydration of the body.

Utilization of alcohol is accompanied by increased excretion of fluid from our body. Along with alcohol, the body loses valuable water, risking dehydration. The process of building muscles occurs only in the presence of water, with a lack of it in the tissues, growth stops. Your recovery rate is slowing down.

Alcohol reduces the supply of vitamins and minerals.

Drinking alcohol flushes out vitamins C, A, group B, as well as calcium, zinc and phosphates from the body. All of these elements are necessary not only for building muscle, but also for the synthesis of anabolic hormones.

Increase in the percentage of body fat.

In addition to the fact that alcohol itself is a high-calorie compound, which also causes a strong appetite, it also disrupts the processes of fat oxidation. Those. most of the incoming energy (eaten and drunk during the feast) will go into fats.

We figured out the influence of alcohol on the body, it remains to find out how much and how often you can drink alcohol for minimal harm to health and sports success.

Doses of less than 25 g of pure alcohol per 70 kg of weight.

Alcohol in such doses has a slight tonic effect. Inhibition of the functions of the thyroid gland and activation of the adrenal medulla are manifested. There is a mild inhibition of the activity of the nervous system. The breakdown of fat is slowed down, the catabolism of muscle tissue is not inhibited. The ratio of fat to muscle changes in non better side for athletes.

Doses from 25 to 35 g of pure alcohol per 70 kg of weight.

Such doses correspond to a glass of wine or 65-90 g of vodka. The release of the catabolic hormone cortisol into the bloodstream increases. The tonic effect of alcohol is reduced. The synthesis of new cellular structures and the decay of old ones is balanced.

Doses of more than 35 g of pure alcohol per 70 kg of weight.

At such doses, the secretion of growth hormone is blocked, which significantly reduces the intensity of anabolic processes. A decrease in growth hormone also leads to a slowdown in natural fat burning. Tendency to accumulate fat and decrease muscle mass with the constant use of alcohol in such doses, it will only increase.

Brief conclusions

Despite the fact that there are practically no positive arguments in favor of alcohol, talking about the global negative effect alcohol on muscle mass is incorrect. Small doses of alcohol can be the very compromise when you have a dead end situation - you need to "drink for brotherhood" or when a refusal may cost you your job, position, etc.

• For men, 25-30 g of pure alcohol per 70 kg of weight is acceptable,
• For women 15-20 g.

How often can alcohol be consumed with minimal application possible harm health? Baking enzymes and proteins involved in the utilization of alcohol are renewed approximately once every 4 days. Guide this period by taking the above safe doses.

Conclusion

Alcohol and bodybuilding are not friends going hand in hand. Ethyl alcohol will not help you in solving sports problems. If you really need to take alcohol, then stick to the doses described above (about a glass of vodka or a glass of wine) and do not often - once a week will be a safe break.

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Hi guys! With you Vadim with a very interesting article, which will be devoted to the effect of alcohol on human growth. Sure, 9 willing to grow from 10 to New Year face a difficult choice: to drink alcohol and to score on any methods of increasing growth for a couple of weeks or not to drink. In general, now I’ll tell you why I don’t drink myself and what effects alcohol has on us.

Here I will tell all sorts of things that may not be clear to you, but still I will try to make you understand me. Whoever is in the subject, is interested in increasing growth and the factors that inhibit this process, I think they will figure it out, but beginners will need to strain their brain. To business!

Topics for today's article:

The child's height and physical parameters bodies are mostly laid by men in the male line in the family and to a lesser extent by men in the female line. This is as far as I can understand from reading various sources. This concept is confirmed by practice. Here are some of the data that I managed to find out about my family.

On the line of my father, all great-great-grandfathers were quite tall - over 180 cm. They even say that there was one great-great-grandfather, whose height reached 190 cm. The shortest man I know in this line was my grandfather. About 165 cm. Without going into details, the following scheme turns out: 180 (great-great-grandfathers) - 170 - 165 - 170 - 174 (my height). With maternal males, a similar picture is observed, only there growth starts from 175 and now 160.

Naturally, the numbers are approximate and adjusted for declining height with age. What do these 2 schemes have in common? Starting with my great-grandfathers, all relatives on both lines drank alcohol all their lives. Moreover, many lived in villages, and there is still a problem with drunkenness. Someone drank heavily, someone “cultured”, but there were no sober ones. Even now, not a single big holiday is complete without the “cultural” destruction of a vodka box to the song “about me and my horse”.

Unfortunately, no one knows what happened a long time ago, but my grandmother told me that her grandfather definitely never drank anything stronger than berry kvass. By strength, this drink is 1-2%. In those days, it was considered a sin for peasants to drink just like that, so they did it mainly on some holidays and very little. So my great-great-grandfathers were the most sober in the family and the tallest.

My father also did not take the path of drunkenness. Only in his youth he sometimes drank weak alcohol, but quickly gave up, as there were health problems, and when he recovered, he no longer used. He quit drinking about 10 years before I was born. It seems that dad suspected that his own health was not badly undermined by the drunkenness of his parents, but he did not want to speak directly about it. He only occasionally hinted that alcohol and health are incompatible things. He was the only person who stood up for me as a child at feasts like the New Year, when all my relatives tried to pour champagne into my mouth. As if this is some kind of water and a 10-year-old child will not get anything from it. By the way, my father outgrew his father by about 5 cm.

Concluding this story about my family, I will say about myself. I have drunk alcohol 3 times in my entire life. The first time in 14 years at my friend's birthday, after which I felt terribly bad for several days. When I recovered, the desire to drink disappeared for a long time (For the next 4 years, for some reason I did not grow at all. Despite the fact that I actively went in for sports and ate normally in general. Coincidence? Maybe. At the age of 18 I still managed to achieve an additional increase in height). The second and third times I drank alcohol at the age of 19, when I graduated from high school (I wrote a story about one case). Each time I walked away for a long time and hard, so I decided in the end that nafig such happiness. And since then I don't drink anything stronger than tea. Coincidental or not, at the moment I have also outgrown my father by about 5 cm.

It was a small introduction, which I just wanted to show the history of alcohol in my family, its possible impact on the growth of my relatives and on my height. Of course, there were enough factors for the deterioration of health and growth during this time, in addition to alcohol - the same wars and other problems. We will now look at how alcohol affects human development. Perhaps you, like me, will understand that he was one of the key factors.

The benefits of alcohol

There are so many different points of view on the Internet proving the benefits of alcohol that you cannot count. There is even more about "cultural drinking". I always try to listen to the opinions of different specialists, to different points of view, but rely on the natural laws of nature. If some theory goes against the laws of nature, then it would be foolish because of this to refute the laws of nature.

In my opinion, the theory of the benefits of alcohol runs counter to common sense unambiguously. With nature in general, too, because from the point of view of nature, ethyl alcohol (we will not consider other alcohols here, since there is definitely no benefit from their ingestion) is a substance that leads to the poisoning of a healthy organism of any mammal if consumed internally. Weak or strong - depends on the amount and degree of alcohol consumed. Poisoning leads to waste of vitality, illness and premature death. I doubt that nature wants us to drink and poison our whole lives. It would be weird. Okay, let's start in order and consider what types of alcohol there are.

Types of alcohol

When I said that I only drank alcohol 3 times, I exaggerated. Because ethyl alcohol is found in many overripe and very sweet fruits that I accidentally or deliberately tried. For example, a slightly overripe mango or durian (here even the name speaks for itself) is intoxicating in the literal sense. These foods also contain alcohol. But there is an important clarification to be made.

An analogy can be drawn here by comparing natural sugar in fruits and concentrated refined sugar (ordinary granulated sugar, artificially created by man). I have already partially compared these products in the article, but I will repeat myself. Fruits do contain a lot of sugar, but they also contain substances that help to absorb this sugar, for example, vitamin B1, fiber, and so on. Thus, although the glycemic index of sweet fruits can be high, the glycemic load from them is small, so insulin is not released abruptly and in excessive amounts. The chances of getting a disease like diabetes by eating even the extremely sweet whole fruit is actually very small. What can not be said when it comes to refined sugar. Products with it will 100% lead to a jump in insulin, since this sugar does not contain any auxiliary substances for assimilation. If you eat concentrated sugar (and even mercilessly absorb fats), then problems will appear very quickly. A similar result will be the case if you squeeze the juice from a whole sweet fruit.

Different sugar triggers different processes... Have we learned to deceive nature by excreting sugar and eating it? Hardly considering how many diseases modern people receive only thanks to him. Of it, only a good preservative. Now let's get back to alcohol. It can also be different. It can be roughly divided into natural ethyl alcohol, which occurs in nature in its entirety - up to 15 degrees - and concentrated, invented by man - up to 96 degrees. Let's start with natural.

Natural alcohol

In big Medical Encyclopedia it is written that in free form in nature, alcohol is rare. I repeat, in some plant fruits, especially overripe ones, there are alkaloids. Mostly due to fermentation. Also in the bodies of animals, in some plants and so on. But the strength of such alcohol and its amount there are ten times less than what people are used to drinking. However, for example, animals eating fruits with alcohol are enough to get drunk. Check out the video below.

The predators in those parts probably do not know the problems of hunger =).

Why are they doing that? To have some fun? Somewhat differently. It is actually very difficult to find a wild animal that does anything for the sake of fun. They have powerful instincts and senses. In overripe, organic fruits, under certain conditions, self-digestion is triggered. They are full of enzymes. Animals subconsciously understand this. By eating such fruits, they do not waste energy on their digestion and at the same time receive a lot of strength. Also, if you read the composition of the marupa fruits, which were discussed in the video, you will understand that they are very useful and have a lot of medicinal properties.

Nature is an amazing thing and takes care of each of its creatures. For each creature, she creates her ideal product, and for the one for whom it is intended, she gives receptors to recognize this product among others. The alcohol in fermented fruit attracts the animal's receptors and acts like a drug so that the animal always eats the food that suits it best. But not for the sake of alcohol itself or for fun, they eat them, as many people think. It's a matter of survival.

Does this alcohol harm animals? Mostly not, since due to other substances in the whole product, it is absorbed by the body and participates in metabolism. Plus, the sugar in the fruit slows down the absorption of alcohol from the stomach into the bloodstream. Another thing is that in such a state it is unlikely that it will be possible to escape from a predator, but that is another story. As I said, nature cares about everyone and about predators too.

True, I very much doubt that every animal that ate the fruit was as drunk as it was shown in the video. Most likely, there were also other factors, and if you study the state of the organisms of those animals and their life before, then there will be a reasonable explanation for everything. Perhaps they just did not eat for a long time (and hunger, you yourself know, enhances the effect of alcohol) or something else, but in any case from alcohol in this form more use than harm.

Concentrated alcohol

The man went further and decided to make alcohol himself. This is how we got concentrated alcohol, on which our ancestors had high hopes, including in medicine. But "it turned out as always" and people quickly got hooked on it, starting to drink with or without reason, like a drink.

Most likely, a wild animal will not willingly drink concentrated alcohol (and neither will humans). But domesticated animals, whose owners managed to pour vodka into the mouths of their pets once, can easily drink it from a bowl and demand more. By the way, it is interesting that both animals and even plants quickly become addicted to concentrated alcohol. Literally from the first time, they have no concept of measure at all. They drink to the last until they die. Just like the mouse that was given the pleasure button.

The man is more fortunate. First, his body can process more alcohol. Secondly, at some point, he can understand with his mind that if he does not stop, then everything will end badly. And stop. But no matter what they say about the high development of man in comparison with animals, at the level of the physical body he hardly differs from animals, and at the molecular level he is similar to many animals and even plants. And alcohol has its main effect precisely at the molecular level. Therefore, there is a rather big chance that when the neurons of a drinking person are completely destroyed by alcohol, then the concept of the norm will also disappear, and the person will drink until he dies. I think you yourself know alcoholics or smokers who cannot live without their habit for a day, no matter how convinced they are, although they are already with one foot in the grave.

So, we have decided that there is natural alcohol and concentrated. Concentrated alcohol is much more difficult to digest, and more poisons the body, since it has a high degree and does not contain any additional enzymes. In nature, alcohol has a specific function and is rarely used only for fun. It's time to move on to specific influences on a person. Naturally, it will not be possible to cover all the points within the framework of this article, so I will give the Top-3, which I consider the most significant - the effect on calcium, the death of nerve cells, dopamine dependence. First in line is calcium. Further, it will be about concentrated alcohol, which includes alcohol-containing products created by man, since they are usually consumed.

Does alcohol flush out calcium?

Calcium is the main bone-forming material. It acts like glue (from Latin calcium is translated as "lime", and lime, as we know, is used as the main binder of cement). Once in the body, it attracts a lot of things. Anyway, this is the main mineral, no matter how you look. Not only because it is in the body the most, but also because it makes sure that the pH of the body (acid-base balance) is always normal. It did not shift towards acidification or re-alkalization. If there is a shift in pH, the person is in trouble. Let's dwell on this in more detail.

Our body for the most part consists of alkaline environments and only the stomach is weakly acidic. Calcium is the main mineral that is able to alkalize the environment inside the body. When there is a threat of acidification, the body takes calcium and sends it to the area of ​​the body where the acidity begins to rise.

Alcohol is a powerful acidifier... Due to the small size of its molecules, it quickly enters the bloodstream and spreads throughout the body, creating an acidic environment everywhere. At the same time, the calcium content in it is exactly 0%, so where will the body get calcium from to neutralize acidity? From the bones. For calcium, other minerals go from the bones to the blood. Cramps and weakness for the next few days or weeks after drinking alcohol is an indicator that the body has lost a lot of nutrients.

So the first point to remember is alcohol flushes calcium out of the body(as well as other minerals, vitamins) to neutralize its own strong acidifying effect. Decreases bone mass. In childhood and adolescence, this is how it can go sideways. But the main thing is not even that the bone mass will become smaller, but that it is extremely difficult to restore it. Calcium is very difficult to assimilate from the outside, but it is consumed very easily.

By consuming such powerful acidifiers as alcohol, a growing body is likely to have an acute calcium deficiency, which will cause developmental delays on all fronts, from hormones to bones.

Nerve cell death

When alcohol enters the human body, it leads to poisoning, dehydration and starvation of nerve cells (neurons). Let's consider these points separately.

It is not the alcohol itself that leads to poisoning, but the decay products - let's call them toxins, which are formed in the liver during the neutralization of alcohol and are carried through the blood. Naturally, they have nothing to do in the blood, so the defense system catches them further, destroys them and removes them through the excretory systems. Until that happens, the toxins disrupt the nutrition of the neurons, killing them. Now a few words about dehydration, and then let's return to the starvation of neurons, because it deserves special attention.

Dehydration occurs because most of the resulting toxins can only be broken down by water molecules. Since water, like almost all of our body, has a negative charge, and toxins are positive, they are perfectly attracted. Slowly but surely, toxins dissolve and are eliminated, and at the same time a person wants water all the time.

Now the neurons. Alcohol is a powerful fat solvent. It destroys the fatty membranes of erythrocytes - the cells responsible for providing neurons with oxygen, nutrients and disposal of their waste products. When red blood cells stick together, they cannot perform their function. If the neuron does not receive oxygen for more than 20 minutes, it dies.

The network contains information that 7-8 thousand neurons die only in the brain from 100 grams of vodka. This figure is named by V.G. Zhdanov in his lectures, referring to American scientists, in particular Dr. Melvin H. Nicely, and she was spread all over the Internet. Everything would be fine, but no one gives a link to the research. I searched a little online for the work of Dr. Nicely and his colleagues, I found some studies regarding the killing of a large number of brain neurons from alcohol, but there is no specific figure there either. Howbeit, alcohol neurons die in large numbers... How much exactly? While the question is open (if anyone knows the links to research, please drop them in the comments below), but most likely, no stress kills as much as alcohol does.

What does the death of nerve cells lead to in a growing organism? The electrical activity of the brain changes, the transmission of nerve impulses between cells worsens, the recovery time after physical activity etc. As a result, the results from practicing growth techniques for the next few days, weeks, or months after drinking alcohol will be weak. Concentration on goals and work with self-hypnosis also deteriorate.

Worse, human neurons are rarely created and renewed. They may not be renewed at all during life. That is, it is not provided for their production in large quantities after each "cultural and alcoholic" feast. This means that with each new drop of drunk neurons only get smaller, and the ability of the brain to control the body only gets worse. Add oxygen-depleted air, stress, improper nutrition, unwillingness to move the brain and other factors that destroy neurons, and you will get a crippled nervous system that interferes with any development.

Dopamine addiction

Wikipedia writes that in 1975 the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized alcohol as a drug. Later, WHO published a list of the most dangerous drugs in the world, in which alcohol took 5th place. In their report, they explained it as dangerous the influence of alcohol on the genome a person and his offspring. It's kind of clear about the person himself, but as for his offspring, the topic is this.

Alcohol toxins can penetrate the female ovum and disrupt its structure. In this case, the cell either dies or remains damaged. In the second case, active biochemical processes are disturbed inside it, which should occur there until fertilization. In fact, the damaged cell lives, but degrades. Let me remind you that women have a limited supply of eggs. The more alcohol, the more damaged eggs and the greater the chance that one of them will be fertilized, causing sick offspring.

For men, the situation is no better. Despite the fact that many people think that sperm can be renewed and there will be no problems, in reality you need to keep in mind the cells from which sperm are formed. For example, Sertoli and Leydig cells are involved in spermatogenesis. They are also damaged by alcohol and are found in a man's body in limited quantities. Like eggs, if these cells are renewed, it is either extremely rare or never. And their damage leads to a weak production of testosterone, sick offspring and, as an option, to infertility.

This is the reason why I believe that my great-grandfather, grandfather, father, and I have ended up being inferior to our older relatives. Considering how my relatives drink alcohol from generation to generation, I see nothing surprising.

On the mother's side, the growth of the relatives who live in Belarus in men decreased from 175 to 160. Meanwhile, Belarus is currently the most drinking country in the world. The situation has not been much better for the previous 100 years. Recently I looked at a report in some of their local newspaper, which said that the average height for men over the past 10 years has increased by 4 cm - from 170 to 174, for women by 2 cm - from 163 to 165. Who measured it there. , I still do not understand, but I admit that this is the case in cities, given that there are also a lot of visitors there. And in the end, not everyone drinks there and not everything depends on alcohol. But if you take a ride through the countryside, where the indigenous population lives, which for the most part is not the first generation to drink, then I assure you that growth of 170 is real high growth for them. I go there several times a year and see mainly growth in men 160-165, women 150-155. I am not asserting anything, I am simply speaking after the fact. You can see for yourself if you go there.

Let's get back to the topic. The narcotic effect of alcohol is explained by the same dopamine, the pleasure hormone that I mentioned (I recommend reading it to understand what it is about).

A study published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & ExperimentalResearch shows that when released into the bloodstream, alcohol stimulates the production of huge doses of dopamine... The first time this happens because the body is under severe stress (when nervous system destroyed by the decay products of alcohol, in order to calm her down, "pleasure hormones" are released in large quantities). Plus, if a person has a pleasant anticipation or a strong desire to try alcohol for the first time, even more dopamine is released. In subsequent times, they are addicted to receiving large doses of dopamine and, accordingly, to the source of these doses - alcohol.

It's exactly like sex, food, and other legal drugs. But if there is a positive opposite effect from eating or having sex, then from drinking alcohol, which does not provide either calories or satisfaction, it does not. He simply expends the vitality of a person, giving nothing in return. Therefore, the next few days, weeks, months, the person has depression and a bad mood.

Dopamine addiction is a dangerous thing. I have already spoken about this more than once. It is much easier to bypass habits that burn out dopamine receptors than to try to get rid of them later. In the case of alcohol, the danger is even greater, because alcohol destroys those areas in the brain that are responsible for the assimilation of new information. In advanced cases, it is almost impossible to overcome addiction alone. This is the perfect drug that has made itself safe from all sides.

Unfortunately, many people drink, they know that it is harmful, but physically they cannot quit. These are ordinary people who drink on holidays, and not those who lie under the fences. But even them physically breaks without alcohol. My uncle, for example, after all the operations and lectures with the doctors who operated on him, who said that the cause of his illness was in alcohol, he could not get off this needle. It was the same with my grandfather, who, by the way, ran 10 km at 70 almost every day. I mean, he had extraordinary willpower, but it doesn't mean anything when it comes to dopamine. Yes, in the same Russia, if you look, the willpower of people is enormous (it's not just that they have withstood so many wars), but they drink mercilessly.

How to opt out

What should a person who wants to remove alcohol from their life do?

1. Understand the principle of the hormonal mechanism and try to control it, gradually replacing bad habits with useful ones, which would stimulate the release of "pleasure hormones" no less than alcohol. It can be sports, work, loved one, family, and so on.

2. Engage in self-education. First, find on YouTube the lectures of V. A. Fakhreev, which are called "Lessons in sobriety." In total, there are 5 parts for about an hour. Second, read Allen Carr's book The Easy Way to Stop Drinking. Sober up quickly and 100%. The main thing is to take a notebook and write down all the facts there, then the effect of these materials will be many times stronger. The facts about alcohol should be fixed in the head and be a mainstay. When a person understands all the harmfulness of an occupation, then his brain is less likely to react to this occupation by releasing "pleasure hormones" and wait with pleasant anticipation.

3. Be prepared for resistance from the environment. For the most part, people don't like change. Neither ours nor strangers. Therefore, many friends, who in fact were only drinking companions, can turn away.

4. Understand why you need it. If a person's values ​​lie in the horizontal plane - drinking, sex, food - then it will be difficult to give up alcohol. If values ​​prevail that develop personality, do not allow degradation, then everything is ok.

5. Just do it.

Outcome

This concludes today's article, what is the result? Have we learned to deceive nature by extracting alcohol from fruits or by creating it ourselves? Alcohol is attractive because in nature a person would receive useful substances along with it. As in the case of sugar, when we began to use it separately from the source, this brought another problem, from which 3 million people die in the world every year, of which half a million are in Russia. In addition, it is not the first generation with undermined genetics and health. Alcohol was very useful for medicine, but in life healthy person- unlikely.

Undesirable effects on growth and development are especially noticeable if alcohol is consumed from early adolescence, when the body is actively growing. There are studies showing that children who drink alcohol from 12-14 years of age and earlier grow worse. I didn't write about it today, but if you're interested, look online for information about the effects of alcohol on children and adolescents. This influence is many times greater than that of adults.

The period of active growth is the only time when natural hormones are released in large quantities and all mechanisms are aimed at growth. Growth processes can be disrupted very quickly. It is better to practice growth techniques, think about goals and not interfere with your body's development. It is clear that alcohol is just one of the inhibiting factors, but practice shows that it is often decisive. As always, I warn you, the choice is yours!

In conclusion, watch a cool video, which, in my opinion, very well reflects the position on alcohol, which I also adhere to. A video from one of my YouTube channels, where I try not to forget my English and translate the video. Since the topic with the article, I decided to add.

That's all! See you in the last post this year, in which I will summarize (subscribe not to miss). Bye everyone !!

p.s. Check out the updated support service for Yarastu ru - link. In the Knowledge Base section, there are many of the frequently asked questions about increasing growth and answers to them. There will also soon be added specific analyzes of growth programs from the guys who turn to us for advice. You'll like it!

Best regards, Vadim Dmitriev

The systematic intake of alcoholic beverages reduces the volume of muscle mass, increases the amount of fat in muscle tissues, muscle fibers... Alcohol is a strong toxin that the body spends a lot of time and energy on processing, which it draws from the energy stored in the muscles. Alcoholic drinks have a destructive and weakening effect on muscle tone.

Drop in muscle mass from alcohol

When answering the question of how alcohol affects muscles, it is important to understand that ethanol, when released into the bloodstream, creates an emergency situation for the body. A sharply acidic environment is created in the stomach, which destroys the mucous membranes and further muscle tissue.

After the liver is involved in the processing of elements containing ethanol, dehydrogenase is produced - an enzyme that breaks down ethanol. All vital processes in the body are suspended due to a more serious danger. The level of hemoglobin in the blood decreases, which negatively affects a stable increase in muscle tone.

With regular use of alcohol, the volume of adipose tissue increases, and the amount of protein in the muscles decreases sharply. Muscle volume decreases while increasing total weight body.

Distortion of muscle relief

To remove alcohol from the body, you need a large amount of water. If it is not enough, then the body draws it as much as possible from its reserves - primarily from muscle tissue. The drying process takes place. So alcohol affects the growth of muscles and their relief. Visually, it is visible that the biceps seem to be dry.

Drying of the muscular system affects appearance

Beer contains hops and malt, which stimulate the production of estrogen and progesterone - female sex hormones. With its excessive use, over time, the relief of the muscles and the figure becomes similar to that of a woman: the hips blur, the stomach grows, the muscles become loose. The abdominal line sags, the triceps flabbers and sags. Muscles lose strength and endurance.

Alcohol has a dehydrating effect on all systems and organs. Protein structures become fragile, which is fraught with sprains, ligament ruptures, and metabolic disorders in muscles.

Alcohol and muscle facts

There are medical statistics that clearly demonstrate the interaction of alcohol and muscles:

• One gram of alcohol contains up to 10 calories.
• With the regular use of alcoholic beverages (at the rate of 50 grams of pure alcohol per day), testosterone production decreases by 30%.
• Reduces the production of growth hormone by 60%.
• Protein breakdown in muscles is increased by 25%.
• There is a deficiency of most vitamins, amino acids, minerals and trace elements.
• After drinking 50 grams of alcohol, the body needs up to three weeks to completely eliminate the consequences.

From these data, it can be seen that alcohol has a detrimental effect on the entire body. Muscle tissue is the most valuable resource from which it is easiest to draw energy. Alcohol has a detrimental effect on muscle growth. It destroys the liver, strains the kidneys, increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, and adversely affects the functioning of the digestive system.

During deep sleep, the body cannot fully relax after drinking alcohol. This leads to a delay in energy exchange between cells, especially in the muscular apparatus. A person is unable to qualitatively rest and recuperate. Uncontrolled intake of alcoholic beverages has an extremely negative effect on the whole body, including the growth of muscle tissues.

While some people find it difficult to limit their food intake, others find it difficult to reduce the amount of alcohol they drink. How alcohol affects muscles and the formation of muscle mass, we will tell you in this article.

Alcohol and growth hormone.

Alcohol reduces the production of growth hormone, which is responsible for the growth and development of bone and muscle cells. As a result, you don't get the bang for your buck after the hard workouts.

Growth hormone is mainly produced during the initial phase of sleep. Since alcohol has a negative effect on sleep rhythms, growth hormone production can be reduced by 70%. Alcohol consumption causes sleep disturbance, disrupting the sequence of its fast and slow phases, as a result of which the restorative effect of sleep on muscles is reduced.

Alcohol lowers testosterone levels and raises estrogen levels.

Testosterone is a hormone that is responsible for the growth of muscle mass. Men are more muscular than women, and it is easier to build muscle mass, as in male body initially more testosterone than female.

This process occurs for several reasons. First, it increases the amount of proteins that bind testosterone. Secondly, the conversion of testosterone to estrogen is accelerated. Third, some alcoholic beverages (mainly beer) contain estrogen-like substances. Fourth, alcohol and its metabolites are capable of stimulating estrogen receptors themselves. It is for this reason that many alcoholics may show signs of gynecomastia.

Alcohol and muscle recovery after exercise.

Since alcohol is a toxin, the body spends energy on removing toxins from the body, and not on recovering from physical training... As a result, it affects not only the growth of muscle mass, but also your activity in the gym in the following days.

Alcohol and dehydration.

Alcohol leads to dehydration of the body. Dehydration causes weakness, increased hunger, and reduces the normal functioning of muscle cells. Alcohol metabolism is accompanied by intense secretion of fluid by the kidneys, which leads to dehydration. At the same time, it is known that water plays important role in the construction of muscles, and with its lack, muscle growth stops, and in severe cases, muscle destruction begins. Even drinks with a low alcohol content (4%) can damage muscles and slow down recovery by dehydration.

Alcohol and glycogen synthesis.

Muscles have stores of glycogen, which is an energy source for muscle function. Alcohol, when it enters the body, does not allow glycogen synthesis to take place, since the body throws all its strength into removing toxins from the body.

If alcohol gets into your body after a workout, you can assume that it was wasted, since the muscles will not increase in volume by one iota. If you are going to workout the next day after drinking alcohol, then you will not work efficiently, as the body will feel weak.

Alcohol and aerobic exercise.

If in the case of strength exercises you may not feel the effect of alcohol on your body, then with aerobic exercise which give a load on cardiovascular system, it is better to think twice before having a couple of glasses. Alcohol gives additional load on the heart and blood vessels, in this regard, blood pressure can increase and the heart rate can become more frequent.

Alcohol and adipose tissue.

Alcoholic drinks are high in calories, so they affect the increase in body weight. Imagine what would happen if all this is combined with pizza, chips, etc. Alcohol is a high-calorie compound, 1 g contains 7 calories, which is more than protein and carbohydrates. In addition, alcohol disrupts the function of the Krebs cycle, which plays an important role in the breakdown of fats. In a study by the American Journal of Clinical Research, it was determined that 24 grams of alcohol can reduce fat oxidation by 73%, so most of the energy in alcohol will be converted to fat. Another reason for increased fat formation is increased appetite under the influence of alcohol. This is just a blow to the figure.

Keep these factors in mind if you are serious about training. If you work in the gym only occasionally, then you can have 1-2 glasses with friends from time to time, but 1 or 2, and not as we usually do.

Alcohol inhibits muscle protein synthesis

Protein synthesis is the process of reuniting amino acids in sequence. Alcohol consumption in moderation slows down this process by about 20%, due to the release of the catabolic hormone cortisol. A study was conducted in which 8 healthy men were tested after taking a single significant (1.75 g / kg body weight) dose of alcohol. Scientists found a significant decrease in testosterone levels and an increase in cortisol levels within 24 hours after drinking alcohol.

Alcohol consumption depletes vitamins and minerals

When alcohol is consumed, there is a deficiency of vitamins A, C, almost all B vitamins, calcium, zinc and phosphates. These vitamins and minerals play an important role in bodybuilding as they are all required for muscle building and the synthesis of endogenous anabolic hormones.

Consuming large amounts of alcohol can significantly reduce muscle development. Moreover, alcoholism affects not only muscles, but also your whole life, family, mind, body, work, relationships with colleagues, friends, peers, etc. etc.

But in this article we will discuss the effects of alcohol on muscles without touching on other related topics. And so, alcohol in any quantity and in any form has a very detrimental effect on muscle growth and strength in particular.

The effects of alcohol on muscles:

1. Mild drunkenness = skipping one workout is considered
2. Heavy drunkenness = skipping 2 weeks of training.
3. The systematic intake of alcohol in 80% of athletes leads to stagnation and a decrease in muscle growth by 100%.

So if you are serious, then you should exclude alcohol altogether and, on the contrary, aim for a healthy lifestyle.

Physiological mechanisms of the effect of alcohol on muscles:

1) The athlete's sleep is disturbed. When an athlete takes alcohol, it causes a sleep disorder, thereby reducing the recovery processes and the effect of sleep on muscles.

2) Alcohol lowers testosterone levels and increases estrogen levels.

Testosterone- male sex hormone, it accelerates protein synthesis and increases lean body mass.

Estrogen- female sex hormone. In small quantities, they normally appear in men.

The process of lowering testosterone levels and increasing estrogen levels occurs for many reasons. Below are a few of them:

• increase the number of proteins that bind testosterone.
• the conversion of testosterone to estrogen is accelerated.
• alcohol is able to stimulate estrogen receptors (by the way, because of this, gynecomastia can be noticed in many alcoholics).
• Some alcohol contains an estrogen-like substance (such as beer)

3) Fat is formed ... Under the influence of alcohol, appetite increases, as a result of which fat formation is formed. It is known that 1 gram contains 7 calories, which is more than protein and carbohydrates. Moreover, alcohol disrupts the function of the Krebs cycle, it plays an important role in the body in the form of fat breakdown. That is why most of the energy you drink from alcohol will be converted to fat. Sad but true.

4) Drinking alcohol leads to depletion of vitamins and minerals

Alcohol consumption is deficient vitamins C, A, B, zinc, calcium, phosphates. These minerals and vitamins play a huge role in bodybuilding and muscle building. They are the ones that the body needs to build muscle!

5) Dehydration of the body. Alcohol can dehydrate the body, and muscles are 70% water. And water plays a huge role in building muscles, with a lack of it, muscle growth will stop, in severe cases, muscle destruction will begin.

6) Protein synthesis - the process of producing proteins in cells. When alcohol is consumed, this process slows down by 20%. Our muscles are made up of protein, they simply cannot grow due to a decrease in their levels.

Ways to Reduce Alcohol Harm to Muscles

1. The best way is not to even start drinking.
2. Do not consume alcoholic beverages within two days after training, otherwise past training will be considered in vain.
3. Also, do not exercise for two days after drinking alcohol. Otherwise, if you do go to workout the next day, your muscles will undergo severe stress BUT without the effect of muscle growth, that is, you simply will not get anything from such a workout.
4. Drink as much liquid (water) as possible throughout the day, and especially the next day, in order to maintain endurance.
5. While drinking alcohol, use a protein snack (fish, meat, cheese, etc.) This will reduce the catabolic effect of alcohol in the body.