How alcohol affects testosterone, growth hormone and fat gain
Many athletes believe from a young age that alcohol is harmful to “sports” health: it promotes the synthesis of excess fat, reduces muscle mass, has a negative effect on protein production, and reduces testosterone. For this reason people, fearing the consequences, do not go with their friends to parties and clubs, preferring to spend all their free time in the gym.
In this article we will look at how alcohol actually affects an athlete’s health. Is it true that partying harms our performance? Read on and be enlightened.
Alcohol and insulin resistance
Researchers from the New York-based Diabetes and Disorders Institute tested on lab rats and found evidence of increased insulin resistance in intoxicated animals. Glucose and fat were simply not delivered to the right areas of the body. And this is fraught with hyperglycaemia and subsequently type 2 diabetes. What we have in the end: abusing alcohol causes high concentrations of glucose in the blood. This leads to insulin resistance. It should be noted that, firstly, the experiment was conducted on rats; and secondly, in order to obtain such a negative result it was necessary to actually pump the test subjects with a high concentration of alcohol for several days. If you transfer the situation to humans, you would need to get drunk on a daily basis, as they say, “without sobering up”.
A word of warning: don’t eat too many simple carbohydrates and fats if you’ve been drinking alcohol.
Scientists did not stop at experiments with animals. The results were followed by human trials. And they showed that insulin sensitivity only increases. This process positively influences the rapid absorption of nutrients by the athlete, the increase in muscle mass, and the burning of fat. It is possible to suggest a dangerous tendency in the minds of “health conscious people”: people who drink in moderation live longer than those who do not drink at all. The experiment, which we will discuss next, only confirms this thesis.
Alcohol and gaining weight
The caloric value of 96% alcohol is quite high and amounts to about 710 kcal per 100 grams. There is an interesting theory:
“People who drink alcohol in moderation increase their insulin sensitivity. Thus, nutrients are better distributed throughout the body, and excess fat is burned.”
Strange: why does fat burn even though the caloric value of alcohol is high? It is supposed to be the other way round. The explanation is this: alcohol is very similar to carbohydrates in its action – they both inhibit fat oxidation (simply put, fat loss). Storage of dietary fat in cells is simplified for this reason. Further, the body responds to the effects of insulin, and alcohol is not stored as fat. People gain fat due to alcohol because of reduced self-control, which leads to increased food intake. Simply put, gluttony.
Alcohol, growth hormone and testosterone
There is a popular belief that alcohol reduces the production of natural testosterone in men. We will not argue with the opinion – it is true. However, it is distorted and too exaggerated.
If you drink in moderation, the decrease in testosterone is insignificant to the body. Think about it: the level of the hormone is reduced by 23% in 16 hours, if you consume 120 grams of pure alcohol. The body gets 120 grams if a person drinks 10 shots of a quality drink.
After a ‘too much fun’ evening out, cortisol secretion also increases by 36%, which ultimately leads to an increase in fat mass.
Drinking up to 80 grams of alcohol does not suppress testosterone. This thesis has been confirmed by state-of-the-art clinical trials.
It turns out that the aforementioned fears apply only to noble drinkers who want nothing else in life but alcohol. Ordinary people, including athletes and bodybuilders, can safely drink alcohol in moderation.
The media and many websites have exaggerated the principle of testosterone suppression. As a result, this has led almost to a massive story and a “witch hunt” – that is, athletes spending occasional evenings with a glass of beer.
Back to the rat experiment. Protein production was reduced in the rodents’ bodies under the influence of alcohol. People who drink in moderation do not experience any of this. Let’s not talk about alcoholics, who do lose muscle mass over time…
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Summary
To summarise:
- Alcohol in moderation improves insulin uptake by the body. Nutrients are absorbed better and faster;
- People gain weight not because of alcohol, but because of improved appetite and poor self-control;
- Testosterone only goes down if you drink a lot of alcohol. In moderate doses, no negative effects have been proven. We recommend that you keep a low profile for your own health;
- Protein production has not been proven to be inhibited in humans;
- It is advisable to drink alcohol that belongs to the low-calorie category. This includes dry wine and some other drinks. Beer, sweet wine have the most calories;
- This material does not encourage you to drink alcohol. On the contrary, it advocates self-control. But don’t go to extremes either: why limit yourself too much at parties and celebrations?