Alcohol is the thing that is everywhere, that a large majority of our population drinks, and is typically the subject athletes become bashful with when talking about their nutrition!

With St. Patrick’s Day being tomorrow, I thought we should have a healthy talk about how alcohol plays a role in our nutrition! 

Brief History of Alcohol

Alcohol is something that has been in our society forever! Romans, Egyptians, Greeks, and many other ancient civilizations even viewed it as a type of food (like bread or fruit). 

It has been engrained in our society that alcohol is for celebration and good times. It is also leaned on in the bad times and can be a harmful force when not taken in moderation.

Alcohol can be enjoyed for a number of reasons from the taste, to refining your craftsmanship, to just being a part of a night out with friends.

But, how does it affect your body when you have it?

The Science

Well, Alcohol is great at slowing down communication pathways in your brain. It is what makes inhibition lower and can relieve stress temporarily (however, it shouldn’t be used as a stress reliever. Especially since it increases anxiety and depression in people with those conditions).

As for nutrition, alcohol has an affect on protein synthesis in the body. Making it harder for you to recover from your workouts and grow muscle in your body. It doesn’t stop it! Just makes it slower.

Alcohol is also known as a source of “empty calories” which means it doesn’t have any nutritional value. BUT, it does have an affect on your macros! If you’re tracking, you can count 25g of Carbs per 100mL and 11g of Fat per 100mL when you calculate those macros for the day!

Enjoy Responsibly!

​​​​​​​While alcohol has negative health effects, so does having donuts. The dose determines the poison, as is the case with most things.

What matters is that you treat like alcohol like everything else in your life, with moderation. 

If you live healthy 95% of the time and then have a glass of wine with friends, you’re not throwing off anything in terms of health and fitness. It’s when we take things to excess do things fall off the rails.

To talk with a coach today, click the link found HERE to schedule your No Sweat Intro