Beer and Baseball at Your Next BBQ? Not so Fast!

By Joy Stephenson-Laws

If you’re like 90 percent of Americans who are drinkers, you will likely be planning to enjoy your favorite distilled beverage while you are outdoors (especially now that it’s summer). And, according to research, the most popular venue by far for outdoor drinking is, hands down, the barbecue with a favorite vote of some 65 percent. The other 35 percent like imbibing at picnics, pool parties, summer festivals, and outdoor concerts.

Another staple of outdoor events is taking part in friendly sporting activities, with one of the most popular being softball or baseball, along with frisbee, quoits, and volleyball. IΓÇÖm sure you and your friends have others that you enjoy, probably including swimming, tennis or maybe even the ubiquitous three-legged races or badminton.

But no matter which physical activity you, your family and friends enjoy outdoors, they all have a few things in common.

These activities make you sweat and feel thirsty and hungry. They may give you sore muscles if youΓÇÖre not in good shape and probably wear you out a bit.

And another thing many of these activities have in common is having a cold beer or other alcoholic drink afterward (or often during) to cool down, quench your thirst, and enhance the overall comradery and enjoyment of your favorite game.

What could possibly be wrong with this?

The answer, unfortunately, is ΓÇ£more than you think.ΓÇ¥

Physical Activity and Alcohol DonΓÇÖt Mix!

Whether it’s beer, wine, a pre-made canned cocktail or a mixed drink, imbibing right after physical activity, or during it, can wreak havoc on your body and negate the physical benefits of the activity you enjoy. In more extreme situations, drinking along with physical acivity could cause you a trip to the ER for unplanned, emergency medical care.

The problems occur because of the effects even a moderate amount of alcohol can have on your body, some of which are magnified by being out in the hot sun or engaging in strenuous physical activity.

They include the following:

• Accelerated Dehydration

At some point, you may have been told that alcohol does not really dehydrate you. This is simply not true! Alcohol can and does dehydrate you! It, along with other beverages such as coffee that you may have at your barbecue, has a diuretic effect on your body.

This basically means it will cause your body to eliminate more water than it should.  

In one study, when drinks containing 4 percent alcohol were ingested following exercise, there was an increase in urine output and a delay in the recovery rate of blood volume.

And if itΓÇÖs hot or humid, you will lose even more fluid through sweating. In addition to the other risks of dehydration, alcohol also reduces blood volume. This, in turn, makes it harder to get oxygen and fuel to your muscles. One possible side effect of this reduced blood volume is muscle cramps – the famous ΓÇ£Charley horseΓÇ¥ that afflicts so many weekend athletes.

How serious is dehydration? 

Well, water is one of the critical nutrients you need to live and the only nutrient whose absence will cause death within days. Death, of course, is an extreme consequence of dehydration. The majority of us – up to 75 percent by some reports – are dehydrated to some extent, and we don’t even know it. So, when you add in sweating from playing ball along with the dehydrating effect of alcohol, it’s no wonder you hear about people fainting or getting sick at an outdoor event (and we’re not talking about from the food, either).

• Decreased Muscle/Physical Performance

If you are drinking while playing, your muscles wonΓÇÖt be able to recover in ΓÇ£real timeΓÇ¥ and youΓÇÖll notice that your performance will start to deteriorate faster than it would if you were just getting tired and not drinking. So that slide into home plate that was so easy in the first inning wonΓÇÖt be so easy after a couple of beers. Your muscles also wonΓÇÖt be able to use glucose to make energy as efficiently as when you have no alcohol in your system, so youΓÇÖll probably get tired more easily. Neither situation will help you win the game.

• Slower Recovery from Injuries

The impact of drinking alcohol during or right after playing sports lasts longer than your barbecue will. In addition to affecting how well ΓÇô and how long ΓÇô you play, it also makes post-exercise recovery a lot harder by slowing down your bodyΓÇÖs own natural repair processes. It does this by inhibiting the ability of specific hormones ΓÇô such as testosterone ΓÇô to do their jobs.

But the damage doesnΓÇÖt end there… ┬á

If you have any soft tissue injuries ΓÇô letΓÇÖs say you twist an ankle in the three-legged race or get hit by a ball ΓÇô alcohol consumption may greatly delay recovery. And, since alcohol has the effect of dilating your blood vessels, youΓÇÖll probably have worse swelling where youΓÇÖre injured than you otherwise would have had.

• Sleep Disturbances

There also is research that indicates drinking alcohol after physical exertion can make it harder for you to get a good nightΓÇÖs sleep. This lack of sleep, of course, will leave you tired and make it harder for your body to recuperate from that last tennis set.

• Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Problems

Recent research also suggests that drinking after strenuous physical activity can increase your risk of unusual heart rhythms. It also can inhibit clotting factors that are especially important after exercise. So, one potential risk of drinking during or right after that horseshoe toss is an increased risk of blood clots. If you happen to have heart disease or if youΓÇÖre at risk for developing clots, keep this in mind before you reach for that wine cooler after any strenuous activity at the company picnic.

The good news is we can be proactive and still have fun this summer.

Rehydrate, Replenish, Wait, Partake

To enjoy both the sporting activities during your next outdoor festivities and the post-game libations, here are some pretty easy steps to remember and follow.

• Wait┬áΓÇô Since your body only needs about half an hour to do most of the recuperation and muscle repair it needs after your softball game, wait about 30 to 45 minutes before enjoying that much-deserved beer. During that time, you should rehydrate.
• Rehydrate ΓÇô┬áItΓÇÖs critical to replace those fluids that you lost during your physical activity through sweating and your bodyΓÇÖs own metabolism. This is important even if you donΓÇÖt necessary feel ΓÇ£thirstyΓÇ¥ since, for many people, their perceived level of thirst is not necessarily an accurate indicator of their hydration levels. While water is, of course, the best way to rehydrate, you can also try┬ácoconut water, the clear liquid that comes from the inside of the coconut. Or ΓÇ£eatΓÇ¥ your water by hitting the┬ácucumber┬ásalad,┬áwatermelon┬áor other fruits and vegetables offered at the barbecue.
• Replenish ΓÇô┬áIn addition to losing fluids, physical activity also depletes your bodyΓÇÖs store of┬ácarbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, proteins and electrolytes, all of which you need in order to recuperate adequately. To help replace these, consider sports drinks, chocolate milk, and even non-alcoholic beer. Make sure to read the labels, however, since many┬ásports drinks┬áare loaded with sugar.

By waiting a bit before having an alcoholic beverage and replenishing fluids and nutrients you may have sweated out during your softball game, you can help to ensure you are protecting your health and performing better at whatever outdoor activity you choose.

Enjoy your healthy life!

Joy Stephenson-Laws is the founder of Proactive Health Labs (pH), a revolutionary health care company that provides tools needed to achieve optimal health.┬áHer new book,┬áMinerals – The Forgotten Nutrient: Your Secret Weapon for Getting and Staying Healthy┬á[Proactive Health Labs, Inc., 2016]┬áis available through Amazon or wherever books are sold.┬áAll proceeds from the book will be donated to The Bili Project Foundation, an organization devoted to reducing the incident and improve the outcome of Hepatobilary cancers, which are cancers of the liver, gallbladder, or bile ducts.┬á┬áThe pH professional health care team includes recognized experts from a variety of health care and related disciplines, including physicians, health care attorneys, nutritionists, nurses and certified fitness instructors. To learn more about the pH Health Care Team, click┬áhere.┬áConnect with Proactive Health Labs on┬áFacebook,┬áLinkedIn,┬áInstagram,┬áPinterest,┬áGoodreads, and at┬áwww.phlabs.org.