Beer and Running

stupid letsrunners wrote:

I get the distinct sense that you have never even had a beer.

I thought the topic was whether beer helps performance.

Maybe I have one every now and then or maybe I don't.

Who said I was against it one way or another?

gofastman wrote:

johnny2mile wrote:

You're an idiot. I drink it for the taste and the nice, relaxing feel that comes from plopping on the couch and having a drink.

....and a cigarette.

Idiot? How original coming from a beer drinking, smoking, couch potato.

I feel bad getting baited into this, but...

It's a running website. Work harder Sherlock; what "couch potato" comes to a running message board? I would venture a guess that most people here have had the joy of finishing a long run on Sunday and having a beer while watching some football, or coming home after work and enjoying a beer.

It's sad that I have to actually type this, but I don't smoke, and am not quite sure where you pulled that one from. Watch, I can do it too you prude.

johnny2mile wrote:

I feel bad getting baited into this, but...

It's a running website. Work harder Sherlock; what "couch potato" comes to a running message board? I would venture a guess that most people here have had the joy of finishing a long run on Sunday and having a beer while watching some football, or coming home after work and enjoying a beer.

It's sad that I have to actually type this, but I don't smoke, and am not quite sure where you pulled that one from. Watch, I can do it too you prude.

Lighten up dude.

terps wrote:

so the message is: stay away from ethanol, but what the gut posted above about beer is good. i'm glad we cleared that up.

Looks like someone didn't study very hard in chem 101.

My best performance in a xc race came after having 4 or 5 pints the night before.

Bob Judge wrote:

My best performance in a xc race came after having 4 or 5 pints the night before.

Biochem book wrote:

"...ethanol consumption leads to an accumulation of NADH. This high concentration of NADH inhibits gluconeogenesis by preventing oxidation of lactate to pyruvate. In fact, the high concentration of NADH will cause the reverse reaction to predominate, and lactate will accumulate. The consequences may be hypoglycemia and lactic acidosis. The overabundance of NADH also inhibits fatty acid oxidation. The metabolic purpose of fatty acid oxidation is to generate NADH for ATP generation by oxidative phosphorylation, but an alcohol consumer's needs are met by ethanol metabolism. In fact, the excess NADH signals that conditions are right for fatty acid synthesis. Hence, triacylglycerols accumulate in the liver, leading to a condition known as "fatty liver."

So we have anecdotal evidence that says beer is good, and scientific evidence that says...something. Can anyone translate that into English? (I'm not very bright, you see.)

i get frustrated when runners refuse to drink at all because they think it negatively affects their running, and push that onto other people. Then they go out and eat tons of fast food and drink soda which is just as bad if not worse. As for beer helping, I think that is an individual thing, but a few beers won't hurt a responsible drinker.

Although I've never drank before a race, I've had some of best workouts after having 6-7 beers the night before. The most important thing is to just make sure your well hydrated before running.

Everyone needs to get drunk at least once in their life. I love that article by the way, but still don't understand how a guy drank two beers passed out and had a hangover. Even for a person who has never drank before that is a pretty small amount for those reprecussions.

I learned from experience not to run from a bear.

Oh, BEER...nevermind

when i first drank, i was a little drunk, but that happened so easily that i didn't get hang over.

gofastman - you're very naive and use logic poorly. What are the similarities between beer and cigarettes, outside of the fact that they are both mentioned in D.A.R.E., which appears to be your only knowledge of 'Drugs'? It's simply in accurate and ignorant to lump all 'drugs' into the same category and then label those who consume any type of drug as a "beer drinking, cigarette smoking, couch potato." Is your only interaction with beer Homer Simpson and the local rednecks drinking the Beast at the local campground?

TwoCents wrote:

I learned from experience not to run from a bear.

Oh, BEER...nevermind

I learned from experience not to run from beer.

lolo wrote:

Everyone needs to get drunk at least once in their life.

Forget that. Everyone needs to get drunk at least once PER WEEK in their life.

stupid letsrunners wrote:

lolo wrote:

Everyone needs to get drunk at least once in their life.

Forget that. Everyone needs to get drunk at least once PER WEEK in their life.

At first I thought I didn't like you. I've changed my mind.

charles_runner wrote:

gofastman - you're very naive and use logic poorly. What are the similarities between beer and cigarettes, outside of the fact that they are both mentioned in D.A.R.E., which appears to be your only knowledge of 'Drugs'? It's simply in accurate and ignorant to lump all 'drugs' into the same category and then label those who consume any type of drug as a "beer drinking, cigarette smoking, couch potato." Is your only interaction with beer Homer Simpson and the local rednecks drinking the Beast at the local campground?

Cheer up charles_runner. Don't let gofastman get to you.

Relax and have a beer :)

Mel wrote:

At first I thought I didn't like you. I've changed my mind.

Haha. You're nice. Beer unites all!

txRUNNERgirl wrote:

TwoCents wrote:

I learned from experience not to run from a bear.

Oh, BEER...nevermind

I learned from experience not to run from beer.

Unless you're 19 and there are cops knocking on your door.

Beer contains what's considered "empty" calories. Just a bunch of stuff you burn off and get basically no benefit from getting rid of. However, as a previous poster mentioned, it's just as "bad" for you as soda pop or numerous other things. If you're a real calorie watcher concerned about every single thing that goes into your body, then you might not want to drink. But all in all, beer won't hurt you.

The ethanol hurts you in the fact that it dehydrates you. As long as you stay hydrated you'll be fine, just don't fill up too much on beer and then have to compensate by drinking tons of water. As the water will leave your cells when the ethanol activates aquaporins...it will go to your bladder, and you'll actually be carrying 2x the water as you try to flush out the ethanol. So you'll be bulky, and might puke. Other than dehydrating you, ethanol won't do an enormous quantity of damage. So long as you drink in moderation. If you're taking down 15 beers a night...the concern is no longer only hydration but long term damage to organs.

Why people puke while drinking or after drinking then running has to do with stomach acidity and things of that nature. There was a study done that showed mixing alcohol and beer didn't make a difference order wise, it was just the overall quantity of ethanol present and that taste factor. Apparently mixing all the flavoring/tastes lead to increased puking rates. Funny, but it was an actually study. Stomach ph/acidity was also a factor, but only after long heavy drinking while not consuming food. So if the overall ethanol level or tastes weren't right....you puke. So shot/beer/shot/beer/shot/beer isn't an awful idea, just remember moderation and be mindful of overall levels.

x-ray wrote:

Beer contains what's considered "empty" calories. Just a bunch of stuff you burn off and get basically no benefit from getting rid of. However, as a previous poster mentioned, it's just as "bad" for you as soda pop or numerous other things.

No, that's not what I said. Soda contains empty calories. Beer/alcohol does not, as it contains B vitamins that are needed for aerobic metabolism (~of essense to endurance athletes), silicon (~good for bone health), along with numerous phytochemicals/antioxidants. Alcohol is a vasodilator, which helps blood flow. Overall, alcohol is a healthy beverage in moderation.