ASCENDANCY OF LIQUOR ON ATHLETIC ABILITIES AND RECUPERATION AMONG MALE ATHLETES

Dr. Biju Thomas and Mr. Faazil Mohammed Khan

Abstract

Alcohol is one of the most widely used recreational substances worldwide. It is in fact deeply embedded in various cultures especially in western societies. The sports community too is not free from its influence. Many a times athletes consume more alcohol compared to the general public despite of its negative impact on sporting performance. While this recommendation may seem sensible, the impact alcohol has on recovery and sports performance is complicated and depends on many factors, including the timing of alcohol consumption post- exercise, recovery time required before recommencing training/competition, injury status and dose of alcohol being consumed. In general, acute alcohol consumption, at the levels often consumed by athletes, may negatively alter normal immunoendocrine function, blood flow and protein synthesis so that recovery from skeletal muscle injury may be impaired. Therefore people responsible for well being of athletes including themselves should be careful with the use of alcohol.Intrestingly, it is also noted that if athletes are to consume alcohol after sport/exercise, a dose of approximately 0.5 g/kg body weight is unlikely to impact most aspects of recovery and may therefore be recommended if alcohol is to be consumed during this period.
Keywords: Alcohol, Ethanol, Hydration, Protein Synthesis and immune function.