Those who play sports, especially with the heat, know that after a race or a game you need to drink. But there are those who, instead of water or drinks for sportsmen, choose one beer, widespread habit, especially among friends. But is it good or is it just an excuse to toast? Several studies, in recent years, have tried to understand whether to drink beer after physical activity is just a social gesture or if it may have some concrete advantage, especially in the case of alcoholic beer. Thanks to its content in carbohydrates, vitamins and salts such as potassium and magnesium, a beer it would seem have a composition similar to that of traditional sports drinks, except for the sodium content, much higher in the latter. Prefer non -alcoholic beers or with alcohol concentrations lower than 4% could in some cases help to reintegrate some mineral salts lost during training. In any case, even if some studies have not found differences between drinking alcoholic beer or water, it is little searches and with a small number of participants. The negative sides of the intake of alcohol on the entire body are however greater than the potential benefits: not only an increase in diuresis e dehydrationbut it can also hinder post-exercise muscle recovery.
What really is in beer?
Beer is one fermented drink mainly made ofwaterfallbut not only this. Inside we find simple sugars, some B vitamins, and minerals such as potassium, phosphorus and magnesium. The sodium however, that it is the more important salt for recovery After sweating a lot, there is but in small doses: much less than a sports isotonic drink formulated on purpose.
According to the compositional data shown in the studies, alcoholic beer contains very low sodium quantities, approximately 4 mg per 100 mlwhile the analyzed sports drinks contain about 29.6 mmol/l of sodium (equivalent to about 68.1 mg per 100 ml). So yes, it would seem to integrate in part how much lost with training, but not enough to make the difference When it is needed to recover quickly or in a complete way.
And after the effort, what effect does it have?
A study that appeared on the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition He observed what happened in two different scenarios: in one, the athletes only drank water; In the other, they started with a 660 ml beer and then they could drink all the water they wanted. The participants were young sportsmen who had raced for about an hour under the sun, with a temperature of 35 ° C and a humidity of 60%. The researchers detected body mass, body composition, blood values and urinary analysis.
The verdict? At first glance, there were no substantial differences between the two modes: drinking a moderate amount of beer did not worsen hydration or increased the diuresis compared to pure water. But there is an important detail: who was in the “beer” group could still take water freely later, And this may have “softened” any negative alcohol effects. In addition, in both groups the lost weight with sweat was not entirely recovered. It is a rather common outcome when we simply rely on the feeling of thirst, because the body tends to rehydrate gradually.
It should be added that research of this type are few and conducted on very small champions, So the results must be interpreted with caution. Another work, published on Nutrientshighlights that any post-exercise advantages are linked to Alcohol -free beer. The alcoholic version, on the contrary, can alter the balance of electrolytes and compromise optimal rehydration.
There are also “modified” beers: with little alcohol and with theaddition of sodium. Some experiments have shown that these versions help a retain more liquids compared to traditional beer. But they are not always welcome to those looking for the “true” taste of beer.
Alcohol has negative effects on hydration and post -exercise muscle recovery
However, it should not be forgotten that, although there would seem to be positive effects, alcohol reduces the production of vasopressin, the hormone that regulates the organism’s water balance, increasing the production of urine and therefore favoring body dehydration: For a body that has already suffered the loss of water through the sweat of training, it would not be the best.
After an intense training, the muscles need to shelter using the proteins we ate: this is how strength and volume is built. But if we drink alcohol immediately after, something important happens: a famous study from 2014 has in fact shown that, even taking proteins, a significant amount of alcohol (about 1.5 g per kg of body weight) reduces muscle protein synthesis of 24 %. If you take alcohol without taking proteins, the drop comes to 37 %. In other words, half of the work done in the gym can end up being canceled.
The scientific explanation lies in the fact that our body works with a series of chemical “switches” that automatically start after sport for Build new muscle tissue. The alcohol, however, extinguishes part of this system: interferes with the muscle reconstruction route (via Mtor), reducing the activation of key proteins such as P70S6K and 4E -BP1essential to start protein synthesis. Even if we ate correctly, the signals to grow the muscle would remain attenuated. Result: muscle recovery becomes slower and less effective.
