Sometimes, you have to oblige others during parties and events and take a bit of alcohol. So if you are wondering: Can I drink alcohol while taking Creatine? Then this article will tell you exactly why you should not.
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Who doesn’t drink these days? A cool brewski in the evening, or a couple of cocktails with friends, are all harmless ways of making your evening more lively, right? Sometimes even professional athletes and bodybuilders take a sip or two during parties or events. After all, how much harm could a few drinks cause?
But wait. If you are on a strict muscle-building – exercise – creatine supplementation regimen, then alcohol can cause a lot of harm. Alcohol and Creatine do not mix well at all because both things tend to extract water from our bodies, causing double dehydration! Moreover, drinking alcohol interferes with the working of Creatine and puts extra stress on our bodies.
Let’s dive into this further and discuss the harms and consequences of consuming both together. Before we begin, we must first understand how Creatine works, and then only we will understand why alcohol interferes in this work.
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How Creatine Works To Grow Our Muscles
Creatine is one of the safest and most effective supplements available in the market, and it has a very positive effect on our bodies.
The muscle volume that we gain by Creatine is due to the natural increase in water retention of our muscles. For example, research has found that there is an increase of 2 to 4.5 pounds in the first week of creatine supplementation, mainly because of water retention in the muscles.
However, Creatine does not accelerate any kind of fat growth, so athletes who focus primarily on stamina building also prefer this supplement. Here are some of the key benefits of Creatine:
Water retention helps muscles look larger.
Creatine gets into our body and breaks into creatine phosphate, which directly affects our muscles. It then absorbs water from our bodies and helps them increase their water retention.
The muscles slowly start building their water retention capacity and looking more pumped. It is a very effective method; although it may take some time to show significant changes, results gained from it stay longer.
ATP released increases energy for your workout
Creatine also accelerates the movement of adenosine triphosphate in our body, providing us with more energy. The energy gained by Creatine can be a significant factor during workouts and help you push your limits even further.
Creatine rebuilds torn muscle tissue & helps recovery.
Creatine also helps build our muscle tissues which support us in quicker recovery. A certain amount of Creatine is necessary for the body’s normal working, and if the body lacks creatine amount, then it might result in many problems.
Creatine also helps in building muscle tissue. Most of the Creatine in our body is stored in skeletal muscles. It has a wide range of positive effects on our bodies. The mechanism of forming muscle tissue with the help of Creatine is still not precise, but research shows that it gives a significant rise in the process.
No volume loss if you stop Creatine for a few days
The muscles don’t lose their volume even if you stop taking Creatine for a few days. Studies have shown that it takes a whole month for your creatine levels to go down to pre-supplementation levels if you stop taking Creatine.
Creatine is legal everywhere.
Creatine is one of the few substances that professional athletes can take without fear or worry of bans and negative testing. Creatine is approved by the International Society of Sports Nutrition.
Creatine is natural and is produced in our bodies.
Creatine is produced naturally by our body for its normal functioning and development. It is one of the essential nutrients, and its presence is necessary for our muscle and body development.
Our body produces 2 to 3 grams of Creatine in our body daily. In some cases, the growth of Creatine might be increased or decreased, and expert medical help is required in both cases.
Creatine has been used for helping patients with Sarcopenia, Parkinson’s, and McArdles.
In the case of older adults, the development of Creatine significantly drops. Muscle mass starts to reduce, and this causes a condition known as sarcopenia. Creatine supplementation has been used as a treatment in such cases. It also has uses in diseases such as Parkinson’s and McArdles.
There aren’t many supplements that produce as effective results as Creatine, and the wide availability of this supplement makes it one of the most popular and trusted ones.
Creatine works differently than most other supplements. On the one hand, where most supplement gives our extra body nutrient to build our body, Creatine works on the natural development of muscles.
Effects of Drinking Alcohol and Creatine Together
Drinking alcohol and Creatine together can cause a lot of damage to our bodies.
Alcohol takes away water from the body.
As explained above, the Creatine absorbs water from the muscles to increase its water retention. Drinking alcohol interferes with that process. Alcohol is a diuretic and absorbs water from the muscles, and thus Creatine cannot do its work because there is no water to absorb!
Regular alcohol drinking damages the body’s ability to produce Creatine
We explained above that Creatine is actually produced in the body, in the muscles, liver, and kidney. Regular alcohol use impacts all of these and harms these organs in a way that they stop producing Creatine altogether.
Alcohol causes energy loss which does not let you work out.
Creatine increases your energy level, but alcohol brings it down. Drinking alcohol makes you drowsy, but that does not mean that you get better sleep. In fact, alcohol inhibits your REM sleep and increases fatigue.
Alcohol has a negative impact on psychology.
Working out requires a strong and positive mindset. Alcohol not only causes harm to our body but also weakens it. It might prove dangerous for you if you are a heavy-lifter or professional athlete. Alcoholism has a very negative effect not only on your body but also on your mental state.
Alcohol slows down the effect of Creatine and renders it useless. It has almost the reverse impact as that of Creatine’s, and we would like to suggest avoiding drinking both together.
Alcohol is undoubtedly harmful to our body, so not only Creatine but we should avoid it with any other supplement. Many people drink occasionally and go to gyms and stay on a diet. This practice might not show any results initially, but it can prove harmful for the latter parts.
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So, Can I Drink Alcohol While Taking Creatine?
We would suggest you to avoid alcohol like the plague if you are on Creatine.
Drinking alcohol and Creatine together puts a lot of stress on our body’s normal functioning and weakens it. Alcohol absorbs water from tissues and muscles and slows down the healing and normal functioning of tissues.
It’s better to avoid consuming both of them together. Although the effect may not be prominent at first but continuous exposure can cause damage to our body and organs. The lack of water in the body can cause dehydration which in turn can cause serious problems like dizziness, weakness, and fatigue.
Professional athletes and bodybuilders are strictly prevented from consuming alcohol. The professionals have a lot at risk, so they don’t take chances for their bodies and wellbeing. We should also take a lesson from their lives and prevent alcohol as much as possible.
What Are the Other Effects of Alcohol on Our Body:
Alcohol, as many of us must have been aware, has a terrible effect on our bodies. Alcohol harms our mental state and hurts our bodies in the long run.
Alcohol has many harmful effects on our body, and even if you are not drinking it regularly, it can still cause you a lot of harm. Drinking alcohol while on a diet and athletic path is certainly not a wise decision. Let’s discuss what more harms alcohol cause to our body:
What happens if you drink alcohol once in a while
Drinking alcohol once in a while is safer in comparison to drinking it regularly. However, drinking even the occasional sip harms our body in many ways.
It costs us the reduction in the rate of recovery of our body, and it also causes weakening of our muscles and loss in their volume.
Drinking alcohol while being on Creatine or any other supplement slows down the activity of that supplement. The effects of the supplement slow down significantly and may even stop completely.
It is not safe to drink alcohol on the accessory or any medication. In the worst case, it might react with the drug and produce unwanted results.
What are the harmful effects of drinking alcohol frequently:
Drinking alcohol often can even cause permanent damage to our bodies. Drinking alcohol can cause damage to our body which becomes irreversible in any case. If you are a bodybuilder or an athlete, you must avoid alcohol or any other harmful drugs and drinks at any cost.
Prolonged alcohol exposure can cause severe kidney damage, liver damage, or intestine problems. Alcohol puts a lot of poll on our body and organs like kidneys and livers. Kidneys suffer the maximum damage due to alcohol as purifying it before exceptions put a lot of toll on it.
The most common problem caused by alcohol are:
- High Blood Pressure
- Heart disease
- Stroke
- Liver disease and cancer.
People who drink alcohol daily also weaken their body’s immune system and are more prone to diseases. It can also cause us minor health issues like cold flu more frequently than other people. Consumption of alcohol should be very controlled, or else its addiction can lead to the loss of both health and fortune.
What Alcohol Does to Your Body:
The first body part that is affected by alcohol is our brain. Alcohol tampers with the way the brain communicates with other parts of the body, making us more unstable. It acts on the cerebellum part of the brain, hindering our movements and stability. Alcohol also causes emotional instability in humans and influences their mood and behavior.
The organs which are most influenced by alcohol are the liver and kidneys. Our livers break down alcohol before it is expelled from the body. The breaking down of alcohol takes a heavy toll on our liver and leaves a significant stain on it. Some of the most common problems caused by alcohol on the liver are steatosis, hepatitis, cirrhosis, and many more.
The kidney performs many significant roles other than purifying the fluid in our body which is necessary for the proper functioning of the body. Kidneys produce essential hormones which control basic body functioning like blood pressure, red blood cell production, calcium metabolism, and many more.
A Few Final Words
We want to conclude by saying that drinking Creatine and alcohol together can be a harmful decision for your body. While being on alcohol, our body can provide the muscles with the necessary energy, which can prove to be fatal during workouts.
Secondly, creatine functioning is hampered because alcohol absorbs water from the body and does not leave enough for Creatine to send to your muscles.
Most people who go to gyms and aim for a fit body reduce their alcohol consumption significantly and sometimes altogether drop it.
For the proper functioning of the body, healing, and working, we should avoid any harmful substance like alcohol. I hope we have answered the question that might have been building up in your heads.
We hope this answers any and all queries regarding taking Creatine and alcohol together. If we missed out on something, please let us know in the comments section below, and we will be happy to add this information to the article. If you liked the content, please do share it with others on your social media handles and within your groups.