Topic: Thought's on alcohol?

[Alec Furtado]

I don't really have an exact question but I'm curious of the effects of alcohol... on training, on the brain long term in general, whatever.

Sorry this is so extremely broad and unspecific.

I don't drink and this isn't about deciding anything anway, I'm just wondering effects of consumption of alcohol in general/long term. If nothing comes to mind, then just say you can't think of anything important and we'll leave it there.

Not over-consumption, I know that's probably a bad idea. Just consumption in general. What about one over-consumption vs none vs a lot? There's a starter lol

[Chris Salvato]

Your question is vague, imho.  As a result, I will just answer it in regards to training and alcoholism.  These lists are NOT exhaustive.

Training:
 - Increased Soreness
 - Overall Dehydration
 - Inflammation
 - Training Constraints (hard/impossible to train if you are hungover)
 - Performance decreases within 48 hours of significant consumption (1-3 drinks for most people)
 - Vitamin Depletion (due to detoxification -- mostly the B vitamins..which is why "Chaser" is really just a megadose of the B vitamins)

Alcoholism:
 - Severe Liver Problems (e.g. Cirrhosis aka scarring of the liver)
 - Depression
 - Dependence on the substance

[Alec Furtado]

Actually, EXTREMELY vague, as I said lol. But that's actually along that lines of what I was looking for.

If you get drunk like once (or a few times), will anything from that come back to bite you later on? Like when you're 80? Like there are various tips people have to live a longer/better life, does alcohol consumption factor in or does your body just process it and you're done? I'm talking moderate use... not heavy drinking or anything. 2-3 light drinks at a party every few months, idk.

Once again I do apologize for the pathetic state of these questions but I honestly don't know how to ask it and it's just been on my mind.

[Eli Kurtz]

I've read articles that say a glass of wine every night for dinner can be very good for the body (not sure if it's true).  I'd also heard the same thing about a glass of beer, but not as many times as I have with wine.

I think alcohol is among the least of your worries if you're talking about getting buzzed once every few months, especially if you're thinking about your 80s, but I could be wrong.

[Chris Salvato]

I've read articles that say a glass of wine every night for dinner can be very good for the body (not sure if it's true).  I'd also heard the same thing about a glass of beer, but not as many times as I have with wine.

The statements about wine are true -- but red wine...and from what I understand, its because of the anti-oxidants found in the wine.  That's because it is made from red grapes.  You can get the same benefits by eating a diet rich in berries and green tea without the nasty side effects of alcohol

If you get drunk like once (or a few times), will anything from that come back to bite you later on? Like when you're 80? Like there are various tips people have to live a longer/better life, does alcohol consumption factor in or does your body just process it and you're done? I'm talking moderate use... not heavy drinking or anything. 2-3 light drinks at a party every few months, idk.

Let's be clear here.  Alcohol is a drug.  So is THC (active component of marijuana).  So is LSD.  So is Ibuprofen.  So is penicillin.

Any drug, good or bad, must be processed/detoxified by the liver.  This means any drugs are going to put a stress on your liver and your body.  The more you stress your body (and mind, for that matter) the shorter you live.  This isn't psychobabble -- thoughts, negative emotions, recovery from drugs, withdrawls -- all elicit a hormonal response to stress which will shorten lifespan if this state is chronic.

Will getting shitcanned on 10 drinks in a night be bad for you?  I bet you will feel shitty the next day...but it depends entirely upon how often you drink.  If you drink that way every day, you won't live very long.  Once in a while...you should be OK...

Personally, I don't like to drink that much anymore -- the carbs make it hard to balance a meal and the actual drinking will screw with my training/recovery to the point where a whole week of hard work can be negated.  To me, its just not worth it anymore...though i wouldn't have ever thought that 5 years ago.

[tombb]

Yes, as Chris said, red grapes (or a resveratrol pill) would be better than red wine, nothing good per se with alchool, aside from using rubbing alcohol as a disinfectant.
I never liked alcohol so I might be a bit biased, but I think people really want to find health benefits to wine or beer just because they like to drink it.

If you like to drink it, that's fine as long as you don't try to pretend it's exactly good for you. It's not too bad if you know how to be moderate about it, but it's the same as eating a supersized basked of cheese fries, you shouldn't assume it's good for you just because you really enjoy it, and you might want to at least try to find moderation and compromise between enjoying life and taking good care of your body

There are many things that are bad for you that have some random good side effect. For example, if you carry the gene for sickle-cell anemia, it will help you survive malaria, but it's still not a positive thing in pretty much every other situation.

[Muse_of_Fire]

^^What they said, more or less, with differences in nuance of opinion here and there.

My personal feeling is this:

Very few of us has a truly optimized diet and training schedule. Arguably most traceurs do better than the average public with regard to diet and exercise, but I would bet that probably only about 5% of the regular "forons" here has a truly ideal/optimized diet.

If you are planning to make parkour (or some other physical activity) your life, then there is no reason you should drink alcohol. You can get any of the health benefits one finds in alcohol (e.g wine), in other foods.

However if you are planning to do something else with your life and have parkour (or some other physical activity) simply be a large part of your life and be your main form of exercise/physical activity/enjoyment, and you also enjoy the taste of alcohol (and in my view there is no other reason really to like it; drinking it for a buzz/to get drunk is just plain dumb IMO, and the "health benefits" can be gotten in other means), then enjoying in moderation isn't that huge a deal.

But you have to realize that it will impact your training, and you have to be willing to accept that impact. If the slower gains bother you, then accept the fact that you will have to give up alcohol to get faster gains (whether for a brief spurt of training or for life, depending on what you want to get out of your training).

For me personally, I drink regularly but in moderation (i.e. I tend to enjoy a drink with dinner a few times a week). My alcohol of choice is wine, and I'm actually a pretty big oenophile. Liqueurs make it onto the menu once in a while, and beer is a very rare, once-in-a-great-while treat. But I accept that this means my training gains will be slower. However I genuinely enjoy the taste of a great wine (or an artisanal, small-batch liqueur, or a fine microbrew), so for me it is something to be savored slowly with great food and conversation. However I realize that it means I have to do more to get the same kinds of gains in my training as my non-drinking friends do.

Drinking plonk just to get smashed is just stupid, IMO, no matter how you frame it, but I don't think that's what you were asking.

So I guess the answer to your question is pretty much that you have to decide what is more worth it to you--the occasional enjoyment of a drink (with the "price" being that it will negatively impact your progress), or the enjoyment of regular, steady gains (with the "price" being that you can't ever--or often--enjoy a drink). And that's something that only you can decide based on your own priorities and goals.

[Alec Furtado]

Well it wasn't really to decide anything at all but that did help get some good points out for your post.

One thing I've been struggling with (now this thread will be more appropriate for Off Topic lol) is that I'll be graduating from HS in a few months and entering the college environment next school year. I know for sure there will be a lot of drinking, pretty much "everybody will be doing it." I don't at all drink now (nor have I ever) and I can't stand the taste of any alcoholic beverage unless it's extremely saturated with sugar or something. I'm afraid that if I don't participate at least a little bit I'll be somewhat left out or "lame." I'm convinced I'm not going to drink at all probably because I usually don't do stuff just to do it but my brother thinks I'll cave for some reason. My bro is a junior in college at Santa Clara right now and it seems like all the social events involve drinking, not just having the drinks but drinking.

I guess the thing is, I'm going to be in college and not drink and be "boring"? That'll suck. Yea, it's BS but that's the way it is. (I've learned to keep to myself about health stuff and good life choices because most just don't give a crap and ignore me anyway) I'm not even sure how to deal with it... it just seems like an inevitability. I thought of maybe just having little sips and always holding a beer or something but still, in my head I just think "Uh... no." Mix of emotions but I still just don't want to... just not at all.

Stories? Thoughts? Tips?

Plus, I always seem to get tackled by drunk people when I'm around them. Don't know why.

[ZacharyCohn]

I'm in my third year of college, and I do not drink, nor do I plan on drinking. A lot of people around drink - some socially, some more than socially. Sometime's you'll be around it, but no one really cares if you're not drinking. Someone offers you a drink, say no thank you. Have a cup of water instead.

One idea if you feel awkward would be to just say you're DDing.

A lot of college students drink. A lot of college students don't drink too. It totally depends on who you're associating with. Never feel pressured into drinking (or doing anything you don't want to do).

[Chris Salvato]

Well, this is going to be a do-as-i-say-not-as-i-do post

I went through college and when I started out I was overweight and knew nothing about training or taking care of my body.  I wanted to make friends and I wound up drinking like 5 nights a week and hanging out.  My GPA plummetted to a 2.7 my first quarter and a 2.8 my second quarter.  After that, I realized I had to kick it into gear...and started studying more and drinking 1-2x a week...but I would still get absolutely bombed on the weekends.

In my experience, as someone who drank heavy for 2 years, is that it is not worth it.  My last two years of college I drank maybe 1ce every 2 months -- except for my very last year, where I drank once every 3 weeks or so.

These days, I don't drink more than 1ce every 3 months -- if that.  Really, I only do it for the social aspect...and I actually have MORE fun when I am not drinking..even if I am out at the bars.

In short, I guess u can say that I "lived it all" in that I was a total degenerate drinker, light drinker and somewhat abstinent drinker.

People who look at you as a "loser" for not drinking are not people that you want to be around.  It is hard to realize this at first in college because it looks like EVERYONE is drinking.  You can drink in moderation if you want to experiment with your body and alcohol...thats up to you.  However, if you really dont want to, then don't and to be honest f#ck anyone who thinks you are a loser for how you choose to treat your own body.  I will reiterate, these are not people you want to be friends with.  It took me 4 years to learn that these people are not cool people -- they are negative and insecure and use alcohol as a crutch.  Someone who drinks to have fun will be happy to just be in your company -- drink or not.

The best piece of advice I ever got was from a former drug addict that lived on my block growing up.  When I left for college he told me, "Remember, Chris, you don't have to stop anything that you don't start"

[Patrick Yang]

People don't care much whether you drink in college.  Even if there is alcohol at an event, I've found that most people will respect your choice if you choose not to drink.  The people who don't tend to be the type you don't want to associate with, anyway.  There's no reason to drink if you don't want to.

I try not to drink, simply because it's detrimental to my health and training, and it's expensive.  I'd say try it out anyway, even if you don't think you'll like it.  You've heard our arguments against it, and you'll hear plenty of arguments for it in college.  Keep 'em in mind, try it out, and then decide intelligently whether it's for you.

[Alec Furtado]

DDing?

Could you pretty much call alcohol poison?

I guess maybe it looks like they all drink since like... people just normally focus on the bad aspect in a lot of things since they stand out. Hopefully it's not actually bad at all.

Probably the only reason alcohol isn't illegal since so many deaths come from it's overuse is that it's such a gigantic industry. Taking that out could cripple the economy I think. A friend told me that's why pot should be legal since people never really die from it like alcohol... they just get lazy and sit down or sleep, lol.

[Patrick Yang]

DDing?

Designated driver.  It means you've volunteered to drive, and therefore won't drink.

Could you pretty much call alcohol poison?

It's called "intoxication" for a reason.  It's a toxin.

[Alec Furtado]

Oh yea... just never heard it as "DDing"

Good point lol

[tombb]

Nobody cares if you drink or not in college. And while alcohol tends to help people socialize (and even hookup  ), that's more about other people drinking, not you
Your friends will like to have a free designated driver to drive them to and from parties. They might occasionally try a little to make you drink, I suppose because it can be fun to see other people drunk, but won't mean much by it and will give up quickly if they see you're not into falling for peer pressure.

Just make sure you are not judgmental and nagging when others drink around you, that's never very nice or sociable, and tell people you still want to go to parties in case they assume you wouldn't. I often went to parties and would just fill my cup with water, especially if we were toasting to something.

[Sat Santokh]

Yeah to reiterate people really don't care if you drink or not.  More alcohol for them if you don't so its actually a good thing, sometimes its hard to find something to drink.

[PKAB]

more for them yeah id bring my own drinks

[Alec Furtado]

K thanks guys... not worried anymore

[DickTraceur]

This topic is pretty much resolved, but I read this a while back and was very influential on my views on booze.

Prepare for a goddamn book. I also left out the first part which dealt with the chemistry of Ethanol on the body. I'll bold some parts I thought were important.

Part 2
With that out of the way, we can turn to the ways in which ethanol can affect our fat loss and muscle building efforts.

They are several.

And, they are not good.

Fat Loss

First, unlike most drugs, ethanol is nutritive -- and densely so. It contains 7.1 calories per gram (1) -- almost twice that of carbohydrates and protein. And, unlike the other nutrients, it does not appear to cause a significant amount of satiety (2). In other words, it typically does not replace calories, it adds to them.

Considering o­ne drink (1 beer, 1 shot, 1 glass of wine) has about 12g of ethanol, this can add up in a hurry. I would not consider it unusual for a 200lb person to put down 20 drinks o­n a good Friday night -- this is about 1600 calories just from the alcohol. That should put to rest the notion that beer makes you fat but hard liquor doesn't (though, the carbohydrates in beer would provide another 500-1000 calories depending o­n if it were light or not). This is pretty much the entire day's calorie allowance for someone trying to lose bodyfat -- and I don't think I have to mention that we often follow this up with a 3 A.M. trip to a fast-food joint or all-you-can-eat buffet where we might get a couple thousand more.

There is some speculation in the literature that ethanol calories do not count, so we need to look at this notion. This idea primarily comes from the fact that epidemiological studies have shown that drinkers have lower Body Mass Indexes (BMI's) than their caloric intake would predict. In men, identical and even lower BMI's, despite calorie intakes several hundred higher than nondrinkers, and in women, it consistently LOWER BMI's despite higher calorie intakes than nondrinkers (3,4,5).

Most of these studies have not looked at actual body composition (3,4,5), thus weight differences could be explained by lower LBM levels -- and this would not be at all surprising considering some of ethanol's effects o­n anabolic hormones which you will find out about later. In addition, both dietary intake and anthropometric measures have merely been self-reported by subjects and obtained by mail by the researchers (6), with the reported daily calorie intake representing o­nly 60-70% of the population's average daily energy needs (7).

However, a more interesting study is o­ne by Addolorato et al. which looked at not o­nly BMI, but body composition (via DEXA) as well, in 34 alcoholics vs. 43 matched controls -- all male (. The alcoholic group had lower bodyfat levels, but they had identical LBM. o­ne possible explanation is that the alcoholic group had increased levels of extracellular water, as is known to occur in alcoholic cirrhosis (9) and more recently has been found to occur in alcoholics without liver disease (10). It should also be noted that these are chronic alcoholics who could have some metabolic abnormalities that do not pertain to us.

Another study found weight loss with isocaloric substitution of ethanol for carbohydrates as well as less than expected weight gains when ethanol was added to a maintenance diet (11). Though, this could be accounted for to some extent by differences in glycogen storage (unlike carbohydrate, alcohol is not stored as glycogen), as well as muscle (due to hormonal issues -- more o­n this below).

There are also several studies suggesting that alcohol calories do indeed count. Nearly 100 years ago, Atwater and Benedict conducted a series of 13 whole-body calorimetry experiments to test alcohol's nutritive value. They found that the difference in energy given off as heat when alcohol was consumed vs. when it was not was a mere 1% (12). Numerous studies looking at the short-term (less than 4 hours) thermogenic effect of alcohol all found less than 10% dissipation of alcohol energy (13) -- however, it appears that longer studies give a more accurate representation, so we will look at a couple of those.

1.32g/kg (10 drinks for a 200lb person) of alcohol given at meals resulted in a 7% increase in total energy expenditure over 24 hours -- equivalent to 25% of the total alcohol energy (14). Another study using a smaller amount of alcohol (.55g/kg) observed thermogenic dissipation equivalent to o­nly 15% of the total alcohol energy (15).

Two other studies offer strong evidence that alcohol calories count. The first measured body weight and metabolic rate with isocaloric substitution of 75g of alcohol per day for two weeks, finding results identical to that of control (16). A 5 week study using both high (172g/day) and moderate (97g/day) alcohol substitution, along with control, found the fuel value of alcohol to be 95% and 99% of control, respectively, with the high and moderate intakes (17).

Now that we have seen some empirical studies, lets turn to the more basic physiology involved. Ethanol is well digested and absorbed, and losses through breath, sweat, and urine are negligible, so those can be ruled out (1).

At high concentration, the afore mentioned (part 1) Microsomal Ethanol Oxidizing System can come into play -- this results in oxidation of ethanol but with less efficient production of ATP vs. the ADH pathway (18). This hypothesis, however, cannot fully explain the claimed inefficiencies of alcohol metabolism, because the bulk of the energy produced from alcohol is in the final steps of its metabolism -- which is the same in both the MEOS and ADH pathways (3)

Another possibility is a futile cycle involving oxidation of alcohol to aldehyde followed by reduction back to alcohol (19). A few such cycles would completely eliminate net energy gain from alcohol, however, though there is some evidence for the existence of such cycles (20), there is no data o­n its quantitative significance.

Also, as mentioned, ethanol stimulates catecholamine release which could enhance thermogenesis (21). Changes in physical activity is an uninvestigated possibility. There is also data to suggest an interaction between ethanol and leptin, though the consequences of this are yet to be elucidated.

On the other side of the coin, alcohol's metabolic byproduct, acetate, directly suppress fat oxidation (22), as opposed to carbohydrates, whose suppression is mediated by insulin. De novo lipogenesis from ethanol does occur, though it is less than 5% of the total calories -- the rest is oxidized to CO2 and H20 (23). However, as noted in part 1, this oxidation takes priority over fat and carbohydrate oxidation, so with a calorie surplus, it would be expected to result in a shift toward lipogenesis for these substrates.

So, while it should be clear that alcohol calories do indeed count, the notion that ethanol will magically cause fat gain is also mistaken. Basically, as always, it comes down to total caloric intake vs. caloric expenditure -- and ethanol will add about 85 calories per drink to intake, while increasing expenditure by an amount equal to about 15-25% of that value, depending o­n amount ingested.

Muscle Gains

If the caloric content of ethanol has not convinced you that it is not the best thing for body composition, its effects on muscle building hopefully will. Ethanol has been consistently shown to result in sustained, significant decreases in testosterone and GH levels -- as well as to increase cortisol in many studies (Hopefully, and in depth analysis of the importance of these hormones on body composition is not necessary). In addition, it also directly inhibits protein synthesis.

Growth Hormone

The deleterious effects of ethanol on humans and animals is consistent and well-established in both adults and adolescents, with decreases in GH levels, GH mRNA (24), as well as GH releasing factor mRNA levels (25). In adolescent rats, administration of 3g/kg of ethanol, which, due to the faster metabolism of rats produced blood alcohol levels equivalent to only about 4-6 drinks for humans, caused a massive drop in GH levels to just 4-7% of control by the 1.5 hour mark (26) -- Levels were still down 66-86% after 24 hours. In adult rats, the same 3g/kg caused total suppression of GH release, with 2g/kg causing significant but not total suppression (27).

In young adult male humans, 1.5mg/kg disrupted the nocturnal rhythm of GH secretion in all subjects, as well as decreasing overall release by 30% (28). 1g/kg almost completely inhibited the nocturnal rise in growth hormone levels, while a mere .5mg/kg resulted in levels 1/3 that of control (29). Inhibition of hepatic IGF-1 synthesis (30, 31), and the IGF-1/IGFBP-1 ratio (31, 32), a marker of IGF-1 bioavailability, have also been shown to be negatively effected by ethanol.

Cortisol

Ethanol has been found to both directly, and indirectly -- via increases in ACTH (33), increase cortisol production. 1.75g/kg increased levels by 152% at 4 hours and was still significantly higher than control at 24 hours in adult males (34). In addition, consumption of ethanol along with exercise resulted in a 61% increase in cortisol over alcohol alone (35) . A study of adolescents admitted to the hospital with acute alcohol intoxication showed ACTH and cortisol levels 10 and 1.6 times that of controls in females, and 5.9 and 1.4 times as high in males -- however, a general stress response much be considered as a possibility in these circumstances (36).

Other studies, however, have not found such effects (28, 37, 38). Thus, some researchers have concluded that any increases in cortisol are due to a stress response from nausea rather than a direct effect of ethanol (38, 39). And, indded, in one study, a subjects that vomited displayed cortisol levels 5 times as high as his baseline value (28).

Leptin

Leptin secretion is signaled by glucose metabolism in the fat cell -- most likely via the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway (40). The metabolism of ethanol to acetate followed by oxidation does not directly contribute to hexosamine flux, thus they are likely very much empty calories in this regard. However, there are a few interesting studies linking leptin and ethanol.

Serum leptin concentrations were found to be elevated in active alcoholics versus controls and former alcoholics, suggesting that it might be increasing leptin levels (41). Prolactin is increased by ethanol and it has been found to increase leptin (42,43), thus providing a possible mechanism. Subsequent studies have found elevations in leptin to be associated with increases in cravings and consumption of ethanol (44, 45), indicating that it might be leptin modulating alcohol intake rather than the vice versa. The only study that looked at the effects of ethanol consumption on leptin, found a decrease in leptin (46), but this could be explained by the aforementioned differences in metabolic pathways between glucose and ethanol. There really is no other data, so conclusions on what is going on are pretty much impossible to draw, but this should be a very interesting area to watch in the future.

Testosterone

Finally, we get to the good part -- or bad, if you like to hit the sauce with regularity. Acute ingestion of ethanol has been fairly consistently shown to significantly suppress testosterone production in both animals and humans, adults and adolescents. We will first look at the mechanisms involved, then turn to studies looking at actual testosterone levels.

Ethanol exerts its hypogonadic effects through several direct and indirect mechanisms. The primary mechanism is through direct suppression of leydig cell functions, either through a direct toxic effect (including reduction of LH receptors) (47,48), free radical activity -- selenium was found to ameliorate ethanol induced testosterone suppression (49), through reductions of 3beta-HSD (this is the enzyme that converts androstenediol to testosterone as well as DHEA to androstenedione) (50), 17beta-HSD (converts androstenedione to testosterone) (51), and 17,20 lysase (converts progesterone to androstenedione) (50), and through depletion of NADPH generating enzymes -- NADPH is a cofactor utilized in many steps of steroidogenesis (52), and ethanol administration has been shown to result in a decrease in the enzymes responsible for the generation of NADPH (53, 54).

Ethanol has also been shown to decrease LH releasing hormone at the hypothalamus (55), to decrease LH release at the pituitary (56), as well as to inhibit betaLH mRNA in vitro (57). This could be mediated by endogenous opiates as they are known to be increased by ethanol, and opiate antagonists have been shown to increase LH release as well as to block ethanol induced testosterone suppression at the testicular level (58).

Nitric oxide (NO) has also been implicated in this suppression (remember that next time you pop some Viagra or a tribulus product). While NO stimulates LH releasing hormone in the hypothalamus (59) and LH release in the pituitary (60), its overall effect o­n testosterone is negative due to its effects at the gonadal level (61). Substances that increase NO levels have been shown to inhibit testosterone secretion (61), as well as possibly inhibiting steroidogenic enzymes (62). Concomitant use of L-NAME, L-NA, or 7Ni (nitric oxide synthase inhibitors) with ethanol completely prevented the fall in testosterone seen with 3g/kg ethanol (63,64).

Another interesting possibility is a mechanism involving a neural connection between the brain and the gonads via adrenergic receptors. It has been shown that direct injection of adrenergic agonists into the hypothalamus decreased testosterone production at the testes, without a change in LH levels (65). As we saw in part 1, ethanol is known to increase catecholamine levels in the CNS. And, indeed injection of both phentolamine (alpha adrenergic antagonist) and propranolol (beta antagonist) were found to partially overcome ethanol's suppressive effect o­n HCG stimulated testosterone production (66).

Before you go out and get these drugs, remember that adrenergic stimulation, PERIPHERALLY, has a positive effect o­n testosterone levels. However, if anyone knows of adrenergic antagonists that o­nly act centrally, not peripherally, feel free to let us know.

Let's now turn to some studies that looked directly at testosterone levels following acute alcohol administration. In adult males, 1.3g/kg of ethanol (about 10 drinks for a 200 lb person), caused a significant decrease vs. basal levels at the 60 minute mark. Differences for the next two hours were not significant, though the researches did not utilize a control group, so the natural morning rise in testosterone could have masked any effects (38). 1.5g/kg lowered levels by an average of 23% over a 24 hour period (28). 1.75g/kg lowered levels by 27% and 16% at 12 and 24 hours, respectively (34). Adolescent males admitted to the hospital for alcohol intoxication were found to have 21% lower testosterone levels than controls (36).

A couple of studies have looked at alcohol and exercise. 1.5g/kg depressed testosterone by more than 20% by 1 hour and was still depressed by the same margin at hour 10 (37). Interestingly, when the same ethanol dose was preceded by an exercise session, the suppressive effect continued for 22 hours -- and when exercise was performed during a hangover, significant suppression (21-32%) vs. ethanol alone continued for 26 hours. Compared to control, both ethanol groups had significantly lower testosterone levels for 42 hours - this is almost 2 full days. A much smaller intake (.83g/kg) did not result in a significant decrease (35).

All of this is at what are fairly moderate doses. Let's take a look at binge drinking doses.

Probably for ethical reasons, doses equating to 20+ drinks have not been studied in humans, so we must settle for rat data, but considering the effects at lower doses seem quite similar, these studies are likely quite relevant -- and could actually underestimate the effect, since, as we mentioned, these doses resulted in much lower blood alcohol levels in rats than humans.

3g/kg caused massive suppression of testosterone (67). Between hours 1.5 and 96 (yes, 4 days later), testosterone was reduced between 50-75% and, even a full week later, it was still down 40%. By week two, it was finally back to control level. 3g/kg also reduced HCG stimulated testosterone secretion by 75% (66). In male macaque monkeys, 2.5 and 3.5g/kg reduced testosterone levels by 63 and 70%, respectively (68)

One study in adolescent rats found that testosterone levels doubled for the first 3 of weeks of ethanol ingestion (69) -- however, this was with an intake equal to 90 drinks per day for a 200 lb person. If anyone tries this, please report back with your results.

On the other hand, levels below 1g/kg seem to have no deleritous effects (35, 70).

Another interesting tidbit -- increased testosterone levels were found to correlate with decreased symptoms of withdrawal in alcoholics -- and the authors recommended supplemental testosterone as a possible treatment strategy (71). Wonder if a doctor would buy this??

Alcohol and Estrogen

Chronic alcoholics, in addition to being hypogonadal, exhibit sign of overt feminization (72). There is some evidence to suggest that ethanol might also increase the aromatization of testosterone to estradiol. Consumption of .9 - 2.1g/kg of beer or wine significantly (P <0.05 to P< 0.001) increased estradiol levels in healthy adult humans (73). A study in rats found levels of estradiol increased by 60% (to go along with 55% lower test levels) - however, this was with the equivalent of about 13 drinks/day for 1-2 months (74).

In addition, alcohol administration has been shown to increase estrogen receptor density (75, 76) and to decrease levels of a estradiol binding protein (77, 78) -- as well as to lower androgen receptor numbers (76). However, this has primarily been found in conjunction with alcoholic liver disease, so its relevance to acute consumption in questionable.

Another possibility is the existence of phytoestrogens in alcoholic beverages. Hops, used as a flavoring agent and preservative in beer, contains several powerful phytoestrogens, including 8-prenylnaringenin, genistein, and daidzein (79, 80). And, congeners, which are found primarily in dark liquors such as bourbon and wines have been found to contain biochanin A, beta-sitosterol (72, 80)

Testosterone and Females

Ethanol's effects o­n the female bodybuilder, however, are not so bleak. Because female testosterone production occurs primarily outside the gonadal structures (81), ethanol's effect o­n LH is not as relevant -- and its effects o­n Leydig cells obviously are not at all relevant. In addition, ethanol is known to stimulate adrenal activity (82) -- 25% of female testosterone production is produced as an intermediate in the production of cortisol in the adrenals (81).

This results in INCREASED testosterone levels in women after ethanol consumption. As little as .4g/kg caused a significant increase in testosterone levels (83),and 1.2g/kg and 2g/kg caused increases of 25% and 54% respectively (84).

Interestingly, serum epitestosterone is not proportionally increased, nor are urinary levels, thus the testosterone to epitestosterone ratio (T:Ep) used in athletic drug screenings is skewed. The same study mentioned above resulted in a T:Ep ratio of around 4.5 compared to 1.5 before drinking. Individual increases ranged from 1.9 to 8.7 times baseline (84). Given that the testing cutoff is 6:1, it is easy to see that this could result in a false positive (or perhaps be used as a handy excuse for a true positive).

Protein Synthesis

Both ethanol and its metabolic byproduct, aldehyde, have been shown to reduce protein synthesis in skeletal muscle (85, 86, 87, 88). To make matters worse, it is predominately Type II, fast-twitch fibers that are affected, with type IIB being hit the hardest (85, 86, 87). This is not a good thing for bodybuilders, and it is a very bad thing for athletes.

With acute administration of real-world doses (.8 - 2.0g/kg) of ethanol, reductions in protein synthesis of 20-30% have been seen within about o­ne to two hours of administration, this is before the previously reviewed hormonal changes occur, indicating that alcohol is exerting a direct effect (85, 86, 88). Within 24 hours, decreases of as high as 63% have been shown to occur (86), which likely reflects the added contribution of negative hormonal changes.

The mechanism behind this is not fully characterized. Reduction in both mRNA (86) and translational efficiency (87) have been observed. The generation of free-radicals, which are known to be increased by ethanol (89, 90), could be involved (91). Low levels of selenium and alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) are found in alcoholics with myopathy (muscle wasting) (92). However, there is also evidence that does not support this theory (93). Another possibility is direct ischemic damage (94).

Given alcohol's hormonal effects and its direct effects o­n protein synthesis, if you are going to indulge in fairly heavy alcohol consumption, it would probably be a very good idea to utilize a topical prohormone formulation (or a short-acting injectable ester of the real thing) the evening of drinking and the next day in order to minimize the damage to your hard earned muscle.

Indirect Effects: Immune System

Even moderate, acute ethanol consumption can significantly influence susceptibility to infections caused by viral and bacterial pathogens -- and alcohol is usually consumed in a social setting, where exposure to pathogens will be increased. Obviously, if o­ne is sick, workouts will suffer. -- thus, this is important.

Both in vitro and in vivo administration of ethanol blunts inflammatory cytokine response to bacterial stimulation (95, 96). Monocyte production of IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-alpha are decreased (97) - leading to defective host defense against microbial infection (98). In addition, immunomodulatory cytokines such as IL-10 and TGF-beta as well as the prostaglandin PGE2, are increased (97), leading to a downregulation of production of antigen specific T-cells - increasing susceptibility to viral infections (99).

Sleep

Though, it is a CNS depressant, and can thus facilitate the onset of sleep (100, 101), ethanol has negative effects on its quality. Of particular importance is REM sleep, which is the deepest stage of sleep, and is most important for mental and physical recovery. Ethanol reliably disrupts REM sleep, at doses as low as 2-3 drinks (102, 103, 104). It increases the time to induction of REM as well as total time spent in REM, due to decreases in the number of REM sleep episodes as well as a prolongation of the non-REM phase of the REM-nonREM cycles (102, 103). These effects are dose dependent, so the more you drink, the more it is affected (103).

Hangover

The cause of ethanol induced hangover is not fully elucidated, however there are several mechanism likely to contribute. The formation of prostaglandins (PG) is increased by ethanol (105), and the use of aspirin like drugs before and during drinking has been shown to significantly reduce the severity of hangover (106). The use of linoleic and linolenic acid, which can both act as inhibitors of PG formation, also reduced the severity of hangover (107). Fish oils, which reduce cytokine formation might be useful as well.

Congeners -- byproducts of ethanol preparation which occur mainly in dark liquors and wine -- are also a likely culprit (108) -- and indeed in patients consuming 1.5g/kg of ethanol, 33% of those who consumed bourbon reported severe hangover vs. only 3% of those who consumed vodka (109). In other words, if you can't see through it, don't do it.

Ethanol inhibits anti-diuretic hormone, and hydration attenuates but does not fully relieve hangover symptoms (110). Aldehyde may be a factor as well -- the use of an herbal preparation called Liv.52 was found to decrease hangover symptoms vs. placebo, and indeed lower aldehyde levels were found (11). However, this study was done by the makers of the product, so its results could be viewed as questionable. Prophylactic use of vitamin b6 (400mg before, during, and after) was shown to reduce hangover symptoms by 50% (112). Other factors contributing to hangovers include lack of sleep, lack of food consumption, increased physical activity while intoxicated, and overall poor physical health (108).

Conclusion

Health issues aside, it should be clear that the regular consumption of significant quantities of alcohol is absolutely detrimental to one's efforts to improve body composition. However, we all know its consumption is woven into the very fabric of our society, so most of us are not going to do away with it completely. We will have to be content with merely minimizing the negative consequences of its consumption. Other than the numerous specific recommendations that appear in the body of this article, the main general thing you can do is limit total consumption.

Bottoms up!

[Alec Furtado]

Holy crap... I'll read this whole thing eventually but I'll have to take it in steps lol. THANKS SOOO MUCH!!!