Beer guzzling may cost athletes 3 days in recovery

Melbourne, April 5 (ANI): NSW Institute of Sport experts have warned sportspersons against drinking beer after training, as it may take cause them to take more than 60 hours to physically recover from.

Kenneth Graham, the chief scientists at the institute, has revealed that this suggestion is based on the findings of a study conducted at Massey University, New Zealand, and presented at the European College of Sports Science annual conference last year.

"The results of this study are absolutely stunning," the Courier Mail quoted Graham as saying.

"The graph displaying recovery actually projects that you're easily looking at 72 hours before you can recover from a few beers and the reality is you don't get 70 hours between resistance work (weightlifting or body contact training) or running training when you're an elite athlete," he added.

Graham revealed that the alcohol level used in the study was the equivalent of five schooners of beer for a 100kg male.

Nathan Gibbs, a sports medicine doctor, points out that the adverse effects of alcohol on recovery are specifically significant in the case of injured or sore players.

"If you're actually injured, alcohol will increase blood flow, leading to increased bleeding and swelling," he said.

The researchers say that alcohol may cause dehydration among players who suffering from muscle soreness after a game, which in turn may slow the removal of lactic acid and consequently retard muscle recovery. (ANI)