Alcohol: Hero or Villain for Your Health?
Thank God, it’s Friday. When it comes to Friday, I am sure many of you would be happier to come to work on this day of the week because Friday evening promises parties, going out with friends, karaoke singing, and, for most people, drinks. I will not argue that you do not deserve a happy Friday night after hard work during the week.
But I guess many of you would go to exercise on weekends. I would like to those of you who drink to be aware of the effect of alcohol. Before you decide to rush out to the nearest bar, there are a few things that you should think about before you make your choice about going out to drink some alcohol.
According to research, even a small amount of alcohol would increase muscular endurance and the output of strength. But these benefits do not last long. After about 20 minutes, the problems will begin to surface. The side effects of alcohol would exceed its benefits. Whether you look at any angle of alcohol, it is a real poison that can harm your health if you are not careful enough.
What alcohol would do to your health is that it would reduce your strength, endurance, aerobic capability, recovery time, ability to metabolize fat, and even your muscle growth.
Alcohol would also affect your nervous system and brain. In a long run, alcohol will make countless damage to your central nervous system. Health deterioration can be witnessed even in a short term use. That is, alcohol would decrease muscle interaction, resulting in loss of strength.
Once alcohol reaches the blood cells, it can and probably will damage them. Among alcohol users, inflammation of the muscle cells is commonly found. Over time, some of these cells that have been damaged can die which will result in less functional muscle contractions.
Drinking alcohol will also leave your muscles hurt after you exercise, meaning that you need to take much longer time to recuperate.
Alcohol will also have many different effects on your heart and circulatory system as well. When you drink alcohol, you will begin to see a reduction in your endurance capabilities. Anytime you drink, your heat loss will increase due to the alcohol simulating your blood vessels to dilate. The loss in heat can cause your muscles to become quite cold, therefore become slower and weaker during your muscle contractions.
Alcohol can also causes problems with the digestive system and metabolism. This is because it stimulates the release of insulin, a substance which increases the metabolism of glycogen. As a result, fat will remain in your body and be difficult to get rid of.
In addition, alcohol will interfere with the absorption of nutrients. You can also become anemic and deficient with B type vitamins.
Your liver is the organ that detoxifies alcohol. The more your drink, the harder your liver works. The stress you put on your liver by drinking alcohol can cause serious damage and destroy your liver cells.
Alcohol tends to increase the flow of urine, which causes the body to get rid of excess water. Drinking large amounts can put a lot of stress on your kidneys as well. During diuretic action, the hormones are secreted. This can lead to heightened water retention and no one who exercises will want this to happen.
If you must drink alcohol, you should do it in moderation and never drink before you exercise, as this will impair your balance, coordination, and also your judgment. Think about your health and how you exercise - and you may begin to look at things from a whole new prospective.