Creatine and alcohol - is it possible to consume alcoholic beverages by supplementing creatine?

What is creatine and how does it work?

Creatine is an organic chemical compound that occurs primarily in the muscles and tendons in the human body. It is a substance that can also be found in food - meat is considered a valuable source of creatine. However, the creatine is also a dietary supplement that is very popular both among beginners and among experienced athletes. It is a well-studied preparation that is distinguished by anabolic properties, supporting the effectiveness of protein synthesis and increasing muscle mass.

The use of creatine can have a positive effect on endurance and strength, and can also have a positive effect on the quality of training, contributing to increasing their frequency and intensity. Thus, the compound can improve the efficiency and physical condition of a person, which makes that the creatine is a frequent choice among people undertaking regular training.

Effect of creatine on muscle mass

The creatine in the human body is a compound that promotes the formation of energy necessary for the course of many different processes. The substance affects the resynthesis and increase in the content of ATP molecules, which also promotes the synthesis of new proteins that co-create muscles.

The creatine is important both among people practising endurance sports, and strength or mixed sports. In addition to muscle support during exercise, the compound also plays an important role after physical activity - the creatine supplementation promotes post-workout regeneration and accelerates the reconstruction of damaged muscle fibres, and thus makes, that the player faster reaches the readiness to perform further training.

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The effect of alcohol on muscle mass and the athlete's body

For most people who regularly undertake physical exercise, it is obvious that alcohol negatively affects the performance of training and does not promote the growth of muscle mass. But what does this result from?

Occasional alcohol consumption does not contribute to masking the achievements and loss of achieved results, but frequent use of high-percentage drinks can cause numerous negative side effects, which results from the fact that, that alcohol can, among others, inhibit the synthesis of proteins to the muscles, and thus slow down their regeneration and forbid the increase of muscle mass and muscle volume. In addition, the indirect effect of alcohol can cause the breakdown of muscle tissues, especially when ethanol is consumed at a small time interval from the end of training. Muscle fibres strain as a result of physical effort need proper regeneration, but alcohol circulating in the blood can hinder the process of tissue reconstruction, which in turn may prevent obtaining the original size of muscle fibres.

In addition, frequent use of alcohol can negatively affect the regenerative capacity of the body, and can also promote dehydration of the body and leaching valuable vitamins and minerals from the body. Alcohol abuse can also delay reaction time and hinder motor coordination. In addition, hard liquors are a source of "empty calories" which can contribute to weight gain and promote fat deposition.

Consumption of alcohol with creatine is not beneficial, as it can eliminate the positive effects of creatine on the body and cause dehydration.

Creatine and alcohol - a dangerous combination?

Alcohol slows down the synthesis of protein and does not promote the building of muscle mass, and additionally causes dehydration of the body. In turn, the creatine can act antagonistic. Thus, excessive drinking of alcohol can neutralize the positive effect of creatine on the human body. Therefore, the consumption of alcoholic beverages during creatine supplementation usually does not cause any positive results.

It is also wrong to think that in order to observe the beneficial effects of creatine while drinking alcohol, you should use increased doses of a dietary supplement. Unfortunately, increasing the portion of the preparation not help you achieve the desired results, on the contrary - it can negatively affect the body, additionally burdening your liver.

What is more, the creatine promotes hydration of the body, and alcohol causes dehydration of the body. Drinking alcohol and taking creatine can contribute to the occurrence of disorders in the water and electrolyte balance. In addition, alcohol circulating in the blood can hinder the transport of creatine to muscle cells, which is confirmed by the fact that the consumption of alcoholic beverages when using dietary supplements containing creatine, it has no positive effect on the human body.

Although combining creatine with alcohol is not a good solution, it is also worth knowing that the statement that alcohol flushes creatine out of the body is not true, or at least it has still not been confirmed by scientists focusing on this issue. However, previous research suggests that alcohol may affect the last stage of creatine synthesis in the human body, leading to harmful consequences that may not only disturb the liver, but also other organs, m.in. hearts.

Occasional alcohol consumption and creatine supplementation

Awareness of the negative effects associated with alcohol consumption and combining alcoholic beverages with dietary supplements, including creatine, is extremely important. However, we are all only human, and the use of very restrictive diets and a strict lifestyle rarely goes well, so it is worth knowing if occasional drinking of alcohol can interfere with the effects of creatine and make it difficult to achieve the desired training results? You can breathe a sigh of relief, an occasional beer or alcoholic drink should not ruin your sporting achievements.

However, what to do when shaping the figure and building muscle mass is important to you, and in your life is approaching an alcohol celebration? It is worth following the tips below to eliminate the negative impact of alcohol on your body as much as possible.

Remember that alcohol flushes water out of the body. Therefore, on the day of party, increase the intake of fluids, and in particular water. It is important not to dehydrate the body and lose valuable vitamins and minerals.
Eat a healthy and balanced diet - even when you are going to consume alcohol, do not forget about the wholesome meals, which you eat every day. Nutritious dishes will help you "return to the right track" and provide you with a dose of energy that will be useful, for example, during the next workout.
If necessary, take dietary supplements containing vitamins and minerals to support the proper functioning of the body, accelerate detoxification processes in the body and prevent deficiencies of essential nutrients.

Remember that alcohol negatively affects the human body, regardless of whether you are a professional athlete or a beginner sportsperson. Therefore, limit your ethanol intake and, where possible, eliminate alcoholic beverages from your eating plan.

Healthy nutrition, regular physical activity and properly selected supplementation are components that promote the reduction of body fat and are helpful when building muscle mass. Therefore, if you want to achieve the desired results in the shortest possible time, give up alcohol and focus on a healthy path to the desired goal.

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Natalia Goździak

Copywriter - nutritionist. Bachelor's degree in sports dietetics She graduated from the Academy of Physical Education in Poznan, while her master's degree in dietoprophylaxis and dietotherapy - from the University of Physical Education in Poznan. at UP in Poznań. However, she treats the principles of healthy eating primarily as valuable guidelines, rather than strict rules that must be strictly followed. Knowledge in the field of copywriting, on the other hand, she draws from courses and industry literature, but since the best way to learn is to practice. learning is practice, she spends many hours each day playing with words and creating new, unique content. content. Privately, she is passionate about photography and can't imagine life without books.