alchohol - how it effects your fitness level

[e-rider]

If I drink more than 6 pints the night before a long (80+ mile) ride and can notice the difference. Mainly because I get cramp and bonk after 50 miles!

I've never noticed a couple of pints the night before making a difference though - although I suspect it does. Drinking mid-ride certainly slows me down; or perhaps I just cycle further to get home.

 

[gregsid]

That's not so much an "average healthy maximum" as a government guideline plucked more or less out of thin air...

But what other guidline do we have?

 

[theclaud]

But what other guidline do we have?

Other than "as much as I like, because I'm a grown-up"? I don't know - it will depend on your priorities, your point of view and whether you feel a guideline is necessary, but it's fair to say that a guideline based on nothing-very-explicit-or-well-thought-out is not worth the label it's printed on.

 

[yello]

My club mates assure me that red wine is good for you, in moderation I presume.

I used to drink more in my youth (like many many people) but have pretty much stopped now. I'll go weeks between drinks but then maybe have 1/2 bottle of wine... but I really notice the effects of that the following day. Not headachey or sick, just run down. Alcohol's a toxin isn't it? The body really doesn't want that stuff at all, despite what the head says! That said, I do like the occasional single malt. A bottle lasts me around 4 or 5 months so you see it very much is 'occasional'.

 

[gregsid]

Here's a handy page on "recommended maximum intake (or 'safe limits') of alcohol"

 

[theclaud]

My club mates assure me that red wine is good for you, in moderation I presume.

I used to drink more in my youth (like many many people) but have pretty much stopped now. I'll go weeks between drinks but then maybe have 1/2 bottle of wine... but I really notice the effects of that the following day. Not headachey or sick, just run down. Alcohol's a toxin isn't it? The body really doesn't want that stuff at all, despite what the head says! That said, I do like the occasional single malt. A bottle lasts me around 4 or 5 months so you see it very much is 'occasional'.

I can assure you that the body sometimes wants it very badly. "Toxin" in this context is one of those woolly words used by people like Gillian McKeith. In another context, it's a vital component of a health drink...

 

[BSRU]

My club mates assure me that red wine is good for you, in moderation I presume.

I used to drink more in my youth (like many many people) but have pretty much stopped now. I'll go weeks between drinks but then maybe have 1/2 bottle of wine... but I really notice the effects of that the following day. Not headachey or sick, just run down. Alcohol's a toxin isn't it? The body really doesn't want that stuff at all, despite what the head says! That said, I do like the occasional single malt. A bottle lasts me around 4 or 5 months so you see it very much is 'occasional'.

A small amount, a glass of wine, everyday is supposed to be good for your heart.

 

[Andrew_P]

All I ca nsay is that my 15 mile commute is the best hangover cure ever - FACT!

 

[gregsid]

but it's fair to say that a guideline based on nothing-very-explicit-or-well-thought-out is not worth the label it's printed on.

Is that mere opinion or is that a researched conclusion? (There's no right or wrong answer)

Some people simply don't know what is a safe amount and at least there is that guidline (as vague or disputable as some may take that) for them to refer to.

You are indeed grown up and can make your own choices. The guidline is not a legal limit after all...

 

[gregsid]

A small amount, a glass of wine, everyday is supposed to be good for your heart.

Well I did mention in an earlier post.
"People like to mention that a small amount of red wine is good for you, but we're not talking about wine here... or just a small amount either."

 

[MontyVeda]

BSRU, on 19 July 2011 - 11:20:27, said: A small amount, a glass of wine, everyday is supposed to be good for your heart.

I thought it was acouple of glasses of wine a week is supposed to be good for your heart. The 21 or 25 'units' per week was just the average whenever they did the study... as far as i understand it

 

[MontyVeda]

All I ca nsay is that my 15 mile commute is the best hangover cure ever - FACT!

my old 5 mile ride into work at 6am on a saturday morning after playing dominoes the previous night, and celebrating or comiserating into the early hours is testament to that.

not sure if my current 1/2 mile commute will have any affect though

 

[theclaud]

Is that mere opinion or is that a researched conclusion? (There's no right or wrong answer)

Some people simply don't know what is a safe amount and at least there is that guidline (as vague or disputable as some may take that) for them to refer to.

You are indeed grown up and can make your own choices. The guidline is not a legal limit after all...

It's neither - it's an argument. Drink isn't just something that is either "good" for you or "bad" for you - it's a practice and a culture. The thread is about fitness levels, and it looks from reading the contributions as if people have a fairly good idea about how their own cycling performance and fitness goals seem to be affected by particular patterns or levels of consumption. But it doesn't really have much to do with safety, health in the broader sense, enjoyment of cycling, or benefits or harms or particular kinds. It's quite conceivable that (in the name of fitness/performance) someone will recommend that it's good for me to drink less wine/beer and more strange blue things with fructose/glucose syrup in them. Personally, I would be more inclined to issue guidelines about the consumption of the latter, but there you are - the goverment doesn't seem to trouble itself too much about those.

 

[Dan B]

. It's quite conceivable that (in the name of fitness/performance) someone will recommend that it's good for me to drink less wine/beer and more strange blue things with fructose/glucose syrup in them.

Alcopops?

 

[e-rider]

There are many scientifically proven correlations between certain illnesses and quantity of booze consumed. So, the more booze you consume the more liekly you are to develop certain illnesses