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Alcoholic beverages are particularly prevalent in sport and society. What impact do they have on performance and recovery?

Alcoholic beverages are a luxury item and are therefore not considered essential. However, they form part of many cultures. The consumption of alcohol is often considered harmful to health. This is undoubtedly true in the case of excessive consumption but less so in smaller quantities. From a nutritional and physiological standpoint, the calorific value (7 kcal/g) is higher than that of carbohydrates (4 kcal/g) and protein (4 kcal/g). Depending on its type, an alcoholic drink may contain additional nutrients. While red wine is a source of antioxidants, beer also contains carbohydrates, certain vitamins and minerals in addition to the alcohol. Alcoholic beverages can therefore quickly mount up when it comes to energy intake.

IS IT IMPOSSIBLE TO IMAGINE SPORT WITHOUT ALCOHOL?

The consumption of alcohol is a fixed part of many cultures. Alcoholic beverages are also ever-present in sports, such as Champagne for a major victory celebration. Unfortunately, binge-drinking (= consuming more than 60 g of alcohol all at once) is widespread among men and sports teams. Along with general health, quantity and circumstances must also be considered when it comes to alcohol in sport. Quantities of less than 0.5 g of alcohol per kilo of body weight are unlikely to have a negative impact on the recovery process.

Does alcohol affect sports performance?

Until several decades ago, alcohol was actually considered performance-enhancing until a position paper by the American College of Sports Medicine highlighted its potential negative impact on sports performance.  The paper, published in 1982, came to the conclusion that consuming alcohol before physical exertion could reduce both power and endurance. However, alcohol seemed to have very little impact on maximum oxygen intake, heart rate and stroke volume, as well as blood circulation in the muscles and breathing parameters. However, subsequent studies have shown that even small to moderate alcohol consumption prior to exercise can negatively impact endurance.

As is often the case, other findings indicate that there are no negative (but also no performance-enhancing) effects of alcohol consumption prior to exercise. These variations are presumably due to differences in alcohol quantity, stress test protocols and the individual alcohol tolerance levels of the test subjects. Even if performance is not always negatively impacted by alcohol consumption, it is clearly sensible to avoid alcoholic beverages prior to training or competition and to focus on the measures that enhance performance.

DOES ALCOHOL IMPACT THE RECOVERY PROCESS?

The effect of alcohol on the recovery process is specific to the individual and depends on many factors. The amount and time of alcohol consumption after exercise or the recovery time available before the next competition/training session are just some examples. In general, acute alcohol consumption during the recovery phase impacts immune function, protein synthesis, fluid balance and replenishment of carbohydrate reserves to a varying degree. Alcohol is a diuretic. Anyone who consumes alcoholic beverages after a long, endurance-based session in hot conditions risks being unable to rehydrate properly. This may have a negative impact on the recovery process. High levels of alcohol consumption can also indirectly impact recovery. If protein or carbohydrate-rich drinks are replaced by alcoholic beverages, the body is deprived of the key nutrients it requires for recovery. Alcohol’s negative impact on muscle growth has also been mentioned. The quantity of alcohol consumed was so high that it is unclear what effect smaller quantities would have. Its impact on quality of sleep is also worth pointing out. Regardless of the quantity consumed, alcohol helps us fall asleep faster and improves the first half of sleep but leads to disruptions in the second half.

Conclusion

Despite the limited number of scientific studies, it is clear that the consumption of alcoholic beverages – regardless of the social aspects – is seldom beneficial for sports performance or recovery. These can even be directly or indirectly impacted in a negative way.