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Beer helps your workout? It's a myth

When "beer" and "running" appear in the same sentence, what follows is usually some elaborate description about the value of carbohydrates or calories -- basically an excuse for drinking to replace what the body loses during a workout.

But alcohol consumption -- particularly before or after a workout -- is a regimen most should reconsider.

Aside from the adverse effects of overconsumption, including impaired driving and an inability to think clearly, drinking carries other negative effects.

For example, think back to a recent night on the town that included several drinks. Now, think about what happened later that night, when you woke up and headed to the fridge for some cold water or a soft drink to relieve an undeniable thirst.

That's the alcohol. It takes up shop in muscles where water should be. Once the water is gone, the body needs more.

But its negative effects don't stop there. As alcohol intake increases, blood vessels constrict, reducing blood flow to muscles and therefore reducing endurance during workouts and extending recovery time afterward.

For long-distance runners, the effects are even more serious. Restricted blood flow negatively affects the body's heat regulators -- and the door swings both ways. That means both the inability to stay cool in high heat and an abundance of heat loss on a cold day.

The brain isn't immune, either. If the heart can't pump efficiently, the brain won't get enough blood, so your balance and ability to focus suffer. But this also means the body can't detect problems down the road. If you can't balance or focus, you might not know when you're thirsty.

And negative physical effects are only part of the story. From a nutritional standpoint, alcohol calories are empty. They contain few, if any, vitamins or nutrients.

Unfortunately, alcohol's most noticeable effect helps mask everything mentioned above. Euphoria, a sense of power, reduced inhibitions and an overall calming effect can tell the brain everything is OK.

There's no digestion involved, either. Alcohol is absorbed. And that rate depends upon an individual's weight, liver efficiency and food consumption. There's no set time frame for alcohol to pass through the body and stop affecting virtually every organ.

Studies often tout the positive effects of a glass of red wine. Even some beer consumption is considered a healthy diversion. But any positive effects quickly disappear if you don't drink in moderation.

So, should runners drink at all? Overall, alcohol's negative effects outweigh the positive ones. In fact, too much of anything will hinder performance -- whether it's alcohol, fatty foods or even soft drinks.

If you do end up having a few too many one night, you should take an extra day off so that the negative effects on your body don't affect your workout.

Of course, it's easier -- and safer -- to stop after one or two and never let it get that far.

Christopher Prawdzik is a runner and freelance writer in Northern Virginia. You may e-mail him at runnerslifeccp@yahoo.com.