There are many mechanisms that are important to the building of muscle. Alcohol can disrupt many pathways and cause the breakdown of muscle.
For body builders and people who are trying to gain a bit of muscle, consumption of alcohol can reverse all the effects of exercising, as well as the effects of the supplements they take.
Alcohol adds excess calories and interferes with mechanisms that the body uses to synthesize new proteins in the muscle fibers. Chronic alcoholism has also been shown to cause serious degradation of muscle cells.
Alcohol does have some good effects on the body, such as antioxidant power, but when used in excess it can inhibit muscle fiber repair.
Alcohol-induced muscle catabolism, which involves the breaking down of muscle tissue to make up for a lack of protein, is a big topic in sports medicine and research. Many coaches know to tell their athletes not to drink after training, but the reason why is still being explored today.
Even with the knowledge that large quantities of alcohol have negative effects on the body, many young people and athletes still consume alcoholic beverages.
Alcohol has been shown to affect insulin levels. Insulin is a major player in the build up of skeletal muscle.
It coordinates glucose, amino acids and fatty acids as glycogen, proteins and triglycerides, respectively. The negative effects of alcohol on these levels deters the growth of muscle.
Another detrimental effect of alcohol usage links to genetic predispositions to muscle myopathy, or muscle weakness.
Although inherited, it can be enhanced by alcohol consumption. Alcohol induced muscle myopathy has helped us to understand muscle metabolic regulation, specifically in aging, cancer cachexia, endocrine dysfunction and nutritional and metabolic disorders.
Additionally, the slew of research done on alcohol usage has shown that alcohol causes subtle changes on muscle membranes.
This causes a biochemical imbalance of cholesterol hydroperoxide levels, as well as calcium and potassium concentration abnormalities. Lipid and carbohydrate metabolism abnormalities have been observed as well.
A well known effect of excessive alcohol usage is cirrhosis of the liver, where scar tissue replaces normal, healthy tissue. This is often found with muscle atrophy, which is a decrease of skeletal muscle tissue, brought on by protein-calorie malnutrition.
It is also associated with low levels of plasma proteins. These low levels are correlated with inadequate glycogen storage and negative changes in amino acid/protein metabolism. Associated with this is a fall in muscle protein synthesis, leading to a deterioration in skeletal muscle.
The aforementioned effects apply for people with normal exercise regimens.
For body builders, which requires excessive muscle growth, alcohol disrupts the processes involved in muscle building.
Muscles increase size and strength due to muscle growth. This involves forceful muscle contractions with fewer repetitions and targeting type II muscle fibers.
Muscle hypertrophy, or muscle growth, is regulated by mechanical, hormonal and nutritional signals. Anabolic agents, like testosterone and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) are important for muscle growth.
Genetic inhibitors can stop the activation of these mechanisms.
Since it is generally understood that alcohol has negative effects, why do athletes still partake in drinking?
Working out, keeping a healthy diet and not using self-destructive substances are usually part of a person's intrinsic motivations. This is the motivation behind engaging activities for personal satisfaction rather than for a dangerous consequence.
In contrast, we must look at extrinsic motivations and the factors outside of the individual that motivate the person toward activities that have tangible benefits to explain our conundrum.
Athletes on teams work together, play together and drink together. In a study by a team of researchers in the University at Albany, athletes were given a questionnaire about their habits with fellow teammates including personal questions regarding their drug and alcohol use.
It was found that they had higher levels of heavy alcohol consumption compared to the control of non-athletic individuals from the same university.
Social norms of being on a team created peer pressure for them to conform, and drink more at social events.
According to the reports, they said that this was "typical" of college life. Factors such as perceived norms regarding the acceptability of alcohol use were correlated with one's personal drinking quantity.
Another outside factor found was pressure from everyday life. Binge drinking was seen in these groups as a release from all the stress.
Athletes are aware that alcohol isn't good for them when they binge drink, but there are external factors involved in their reasons for doing it.
More research is being done to explain what is going on in these pathways and in behaviors.
Although there is a great deal of evidence showing the serious effects of alcohol on protein synthesis and myopathy, studies have shown that alcohol abstinence could reverse some of the damage done.
For alcohol mis-users, although there is a possibility of muscle degradation, there is still hope for recovery and regaining muscle mass.
