As social beings, alcohol is part of the lives of many for enjoyment and spending time with friends, relatives, and loved ones. At ang isang rason kung bakit free-willing uminom (ng alak) ang ilan ay dahil sa thinking na “Ok lang uminom (ng alak) tutal i-iihi ko lang din naman yun!”. Ang idea na ito ay most likely associated sa madalas na pag-banyo or mas madaming volume ng urine kapag may alcohol intake.
Tulad ng mga ordinary individuals, hindi rin malinaw sa karamihan ng mga atleta at active individuals ang totoong effect ng alcohol intake sa katawan… na hindi lang ito simpleng dadaan lang ng basta sa katawan at ilalabas lahat pag nagpunta sa banyo para umihi.
Ang post-game or post-training alcohol consumption ay common lalo na sa mga professional athletes and sports teams tulad ng mga basketball and football players at maging sa mga recreational athletes na itinuturing na bonding moment with friends ang training sessions tulad ng bike rides and long runs ng mga professional or recreational cyclists, triathletes, and runners.
Ang totoo, iba-iba talaga ang level ng effect ng alcohol consumption sa bawat tao. May ibang tao na mas mabilis malasing, meron din naman na kayang i-tolerate ang mas maraming volume ng alcohol intake. Ngunit pag dating sa effect ng POST-EXERCISE ALCOHOL INTAKE SA RECOVERY, heto ang sinasabi ng mga pag-aaral:
ON ALCOHOL AND MUSCLE RECOVERY OR GLYCOGEN REPLENISHMENT
Ang isa sa goals ng post exercise fuelling ay palitan ang nagamit na stored energy or carbohydrate sa muscles (i.e. glycogen) para mas maihanda ang katawan sa susunod na exercise session. Napaka-importante na sapat ang dami ng carbs sa post workout nutrition lalo na kung energy depleting ang training or competition na pinagdaanan ng isang atleta. At ang pag-inom ng alcoholic beverage, lalo na kung languan ang habol nyo, ay nakitang pumipigil sa effective muscle carbohydrate (glycogen) replenishment ayon sa isang pag-aaral.
In this study (1), a group of cyclists did an exhaustive cycling session and undertook 3 different diets for recovery.
Diet A: high carb diet (control)
Diet B: alcohol displacement diet (lower carb + alcohol but equal in calories with diet A)
Diet C: high carb + alcohol diet (120g alcohol added to diet A).
They found that the lower carb + alcohol diet (DIET B) significantly reduced muscle glycogen (carbs/energy) storage by 50% at 8 hours and by 16% at 24h.
So ano ang ibig sabihin nito? Kung may naka-plano nang inuman after ng isang exhaustive competition or training session, malaking chance na mawala sa focus ang athlete na sundin ang tamang post-exercise nutrition protocol.
Which means very likely na bumaba ang carb intake at mataas ang alcohol intake, tulad ng sa “diet b” na makaka-compromise sa recovery ng athlete lalo na kung may kasunod pang competition or training session.
ON ALCOHOL AND MUSCLE REPAIR OR MUSCLE PROTEIN SYNTHESIS:
Pag dating naman sa muscles repair and “gainz”importante ang post-workout protein intake para ma-stimulate ang muscle protein synthesis or ang process ng pag-build ng bagong muscle cells.
Pero nakita din sa isang study (2) na ang alcohol binge-drinking even with protein intake after an exhaustive team-sport like training, that is resistance training (RT) + continuous cardio + high intensity intervals, ay nakakapag-compromise ng muscle protein synthesis by as much as 24% which means hindi na-mamaximize ang expected gainz kahit na present ang 2 primary stimulator of MPS na resistance training at protein feeding.
Ano ang ibig sabihin nito? Kung maximum stimulation ng MPS ang habol mo dahil gusto or kailangan magpalaki ng katawan para sa sport mo, o di kaya’y masyadyong nakakapagod ang training session na ginawa mo at gusto mong “makabawi ng pahinga at recovery” para sa susunod na training session, hindi makakatulong ang inuman session. Sayang ang effort mo sa training at pag-inom ng protein recovery drink.
So in summary, hindi talaga makakatulong sa recovery ang excessive alcohol intake pagkatapos ng exercise session base sa mg evidences. Though I don’t really encourage alcohol consumption in athletes, it is apparent that this practice is common especially among professional and recreational athletes. And in order to manage and lead to a sensible use try to understand the context of the evidences I mentioned so you’ll know when to schedule yung mga bonding sessions, which is pag rest day. And for instances na hindi maiiwasan, such as victory parties, kailangan parin na mauna ang pagsunod sa tamang sports nutrition protocol hanggat maari.
You can watch the video version of this article here:
References:
(1) PMID: 12740311
(2) PMID: 24533082