Beer and bodybuilding?
We hate to break the news to you, but sharing a diet coke at the local bar with your buds is actually a better idea than sharing a pitcher of ice cold beer. Yes, it’s true.Drinking beer, and all alcoholic beverages for that matter, will lower your testosterone level. In all actuality, drinking too much beer raises your estrogen levels enough to cause bloating and an increase in bodyfat.
We all know that because women have more estrogen they hold more water and have higher bodyfat percentages. Alcoholism or continuous drinking will even cause your bodyfat to be distributed in more of a feminine way, on your hips and thighs.
One night of drinking is enough to cause your estrogen levels to go up (in men AND women). The effects of regular drinking may not be seen for some period of time for most people, but since bodybuilders have greater requirements from their bodies, the negative results of drinking will be noticed much sooner by way of majorly slowing down if not stopping results.
In a recent study, 72 young men in good health drank about six servings of beer or wine. This led their estrogen levels to dramatically increase and the levels were still high nearly 12 hours later. Alcohol also decreased
testosterone levels in these men by reducing testosterone output and by increasing testosterone-binding proteins.
Male bodybuilders should have no more than one drink per day. If you can kick the dessert, processed foods, and most of the fat in your diet – you should be able to limit yourself to one drink per day (or hopefully less than that!) Something to think about next time your buddies ask you to hit the bar with them.
