Column: Alcohol and exercise

Alcohol and exercise. That combination can produce some very interesting and unpleasant reactions in the body of the light drinker who mixes alcohol with any type of physical exercise.

What are the reactions of your body under the influence of alcohol? Medical facts say that alcohol is a class of organic chemical compounds characterized by a hydroxyl or -OH group; in other words, referring to ethyl alcohol or ethanol, the active ingredients in fermented and distilled beverages. You should be aware that the alcohol in these beverages is a drug and can be an addictive one.

Alcohol produces dramatic immediate effects on your body. Psychoactive properties cause changes in feeling and behavior. Concentrations of alcohol are often found to be the highest in the organs that are richest in blood vessels such as the brain, liver, kidney and muscle tissue. It doesn't take much to relate this to the sweating exercising body, so you can see you are already compromising your body's health and performance.

The primary effect of alcohol is felt in the brain. It depresses the central nervous system, causing physical and psychological effects such as excitement, restlessness and agitation, and finally, the inevitable depression and slowing down of the body's functions. Perception, coordination, balance and judgment can also be effected.

Willingness to take risks, disregard for pain and disregard for the body's physical limitations during an exercise program are also factors relating to physical exercise.

When alcohol is metabolized, it provides almost twice as many calories as sugar or starch. And obesity increases the risk of high blood pressure and diabetes. Alcohol interferes with the normal digestive process and the metabolism of body nutrients.

At the very least, substituting alcohol for nutritious food leaves you deficient in your needed vitamin and mineral levels.

Alcohol is dehydrating, drying out not only your tongue but body tissue as well. You become increasingly thirsty during exercise and find your endurance slipping away along with your sweat. If you plan to exercise, plan to drink water and save the alcoholic drinks for the victory celebration.

(Jerry Vance is certified by the American Council on Exercise and teaches fitness at the Carson City Community Center and for the American Lung Association.)