Alcohol and metabolism

[suzbyrd]

Does anyone know the effects that alcohol has on the metabolism. I've looked through some websites that say a beer or glass of wine actually slows the metabolism. Is this true? I've been known to drink a few beers and thought the last thing I need is to slow my metabolism down. Any info would be appreciated.

[alpinerabbit]

All I know is it adds loads of calories, and while breaking down alcohol your liver is less able to break down fat, which accumulates. I'd have to do a websearch for the specifics. But both the above are not something you want.

On the other hand, I really enjoy wine, and beer, and I'll live with the consequences.

Not to be recommended, but alcohol is also a form of doping, especially for sprints towards the end of a long race, be it in cycling (I have read they give mixes of coke and bubbly to teenage racers for sprints) or cross-country skiing (my dad's secret weapon in military competitions when he was young - a beer on the last 5 k. There was no penalty.). It desensitizes a bit and thus makes it easier to go all-out (have noticed myself when riding home after a night out).

[Grog]

Champagne is supposed to be a great disinhibitor for going down high mountains. :eek:

I know nothing about the effect on matabolism though...

[tattiefritter]

Not sure if it slows the metabolism down or just gives the liver something to work on at the expense of other bodily functions. I don't think the odd couple of beers a week or so will make that much difference to your metabolism - crash dieting, now thats a metabolism destroyer!

I can't drink alcohol and ride, not even a tiny little bit, it just seems to make my legs feel like bits of chewed string, I think my body makes processing the alcohol a higher priority than fuelling the muscles. Drinking a little too much the night before also drops my blood sugar noticeably the next day.

Like AlpineRabbit I like beer and wine so live with the consequences.

[lph]

I can't drink alcohol and ride a bike either - my legs go all wobbly and weak.

Funny thing is I can dance (we're talking energetic, Jane Fonda aerobic dancing here!) forever, and I can rock climb after having a few drinks. My arms and legs are a bit wobbly, but I don't really care :D

[alpinerabbit]

I also get wobbly muscles sometimes, but then again I get the "killer instinct".

I notice a single beer after riding - it shoots into my muscles and makes them burn. But in a nice way it's the reward for having biked hard :cool:

[momof4greatkids]

I personally wouldn't be able to ride and imbibe, but I have noticed this phenomenon: When I am running a lot, or cycling a lot, it seems like I can drink more alcohol and feel it's effects less. I would deduct from this that the running/cycling speeds up my metabolism, and therefore, the alcohol is more quickly metabolized and the buzz wears off quicker.

I am NOT a physican, though, and I don't play one on TV either :o

Colleen

[hellosunshine]

im the opposite,when im in the racing season any alcohol that hits my system has me under the table instantly and then i guarantee i wont get a winks sleep,ah!does that indicate its thrown my metabolism into overdrive,adn when i say alcohol ,i get this reaction after one shot of whisky,terrible:D

[margo49]

Has anybody else noticed the restraint and modesty of the New Zealanders and Australians in *not* posting on this thread ?

[han-grrl]

Alcohol is brutal on the metabolism of women. For whatever reason, the studies that show a glass of red wine or whatever is good for us, does not seem to hold true for ANY of my clients or friends. those who drink keep gaining weight, those who don't manage their weight better.

[Geonz]

I"d have to agree... when I stop drinking beer, I can lose weight. There's this pretty direct correlation. Whether it's just the calories or whether it has a more general effect, I dunno, but in a way it's nice, because I know what works.

[spokewench]

I do drink - but when in the winter when my exercise level is down, I just have to cut down on the beer - If I don't, I have the after 45 flabby tummy syndrome that was talked about on another thread. Actually, I have it right now cause I just went on vacation and drank lots of beer and didn't have a bike with me!

[tattiefritter]

I also notice a correlation between drinking and weight, I don't drink at all during the week, usually wine at the weekends. I find that more than a couple of glasses (ok large glasses) or beers then I feel puffy the next morning, like my body is retaining fluid. I find that lots of cycling doesn't effect my alcohol tolerance but running does - In my training for my recent 10K I was running 3 times a week I got my longest run up to 8 miles and was doing intervals etc I would get drunk on half a glass of wine, who knows what I'll be like at the end of my half marathon training, probably won't be able to even walk into a pub!

I caught part of a TV program a few weeks ago (Diet Doctors or something I wouldn't normally watch). It had an experiment where a British athlete (Katherine Merry I think - 400m runner) who was almost teatotal was to drink two bottles of wine in one sitting every three days. :eek:

First of all she ended up really ill and on antibiotics, however being a trooper she got back on the experiment and the results were interesting. One of which being that she got really flabby although her weight stayed the same, she put a couple of inches on all over. I normally don't bother with these kind of programs but for some reason that really stuck in my head.

http://www.five.tv/programmes/dietdoctor/labrat/