drink right: Models Carol Gracias and Binal Trivedi avoid hard liquor. pic/rane ashish

FIT@WORK

First the good news. Regular exercise and moderate intake of alcohol makes your heart healthy, a new Danish study points out.

But hold it; remember, it’s vital to leave a sufficient gap between the two “highs”. Drinking (even a little), a few hours before or after your workout, will do more harm that good. Here’s why:

Calorie count
1 peg of whiskey, rum, vodka or gin: 200 calories
1 glass of beer: 100 calories
1 glass of white wine: 75 calories
1 glass of red wine: 90 calories

In black

UK-based personal trainer, writer (for The Guardian) and “fitness nut” Andy Darling says, booze and exercise don’t go hand in hand
>>A few lunchtime drinks before an evening workout is seen by many as
perfectly reasonable. Not so. To metabolise ethanol, the liver has to work extra hard, and is thus unable to produce the glucose required by muscles, during a workout.

>>There’s also a suggestion that when you exercise with alcohol in the blood stream, your body will produce far greater amounts of lactate. This can lead to muscle pain and cramps, and impaired performance levels.

Dr Vinod Dhurandhar Obesity consultant says:
>>You will hamper your progress: Alcohol stays in blood stream for 24 hours. Those who exercise regularly, and even occasionally, will hamper their progress if they mix the two.

>>Binge-drinking will give you a pot belly: When you binge on alcohol,
it’s stored as fat in your body. It’s harder to lose this fat, and you may have to live with a paunch.

>>Accompanying fried snacks add to calorie count: Alcohol is generally served with cashewnuts and cocktail snacks, which are deep fried. You end up eating a lot of junk food, leading to weight gain.

Neesha Maria Bukht Fitness trainer says:
>>If you consume alcohol (even a few hours) before a workout: Your strength, stamina aerobic capacity
and recovery time will be affected.

>>It also decreases co-ordination: This means you are more likely to suffer an injury. The “slight buzz” also masks signs of fatigue; you can end up hurting yourself, without even realising it.
 
>>It raises blood sugar and insulin levels: This facilitates fat storage, which will can ultimately lead to obesity.

>>Don’t drink soon after a workout: During a workout, you tend to lose water. And alcohol, being a diuretic, can cause further dehydration.

And White

Moderate exercise plus moderate booze intake = long life, good cardiac health: Denmark study
>>A little alcohol plus a lot of exercise spells good heart health, says a new Danish study, that was conducted over the last 20 years. Non-drinkers had a 30% higher risk of heart disease, when compared to those who indulged moderately (one to 14 drinks per week), regardless of the physical activity they undertook. So, teetotallers who exercised as much as moderate drinkers actually had a greater risk of heart disease.

>>Alcohol and exercise affect your heart’s health in similar ways, the study points out. They help increase good cholesterol, or HDL (high-density lipoproteins), and clean the circulatory system’s pipes. HDL helps remove fatty deposits from blood-vessel walls, created by bad cholesterol. The higher the HDL, the less likely vascular disease becomes. The lower the HDL, the more likely.

Dr Hasmukh Ravat Cardiologist says:
>>Moderate consumption is okay: Going for a brisk walk, for 45 minutes to an hour, three to four times a week, is good for the heart; it helps increase good cholesterol. And drinking in moderation is not harmful. One or two pegs a day, two or three times a week, is okay.

>>But the combo isn’t therapy: It is said that red wine increases HDL. However, there is no conclusive evidence to support this view. So, I wouldn’t recommend alcohol as therapy for heart problems.