Effects of alcohol on protein synthesis

[madmaxaus]

Hey Jordan,

Last night while walking home from a night out, I started thinking about all the negative effects of alcohol (as you do) but I was interested in the effect it may have on protein synthesis. I'm sure it would have a negative influence, but I'm curious as to how long the effect would last? For example would protein synthesis be reduced until all the alcohol you had consumed was metabolised? And also is there a certain amount of alcohol that would not effect protein synthesis, for example if the amount is low enough for the body to metabolise at the same rate alcohol is ingested would there be an effect, or is it only excessive amounts that he body cannot metabolise fast enough?

Thanks

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Hey Jordan,

Last night while walking home from a night out, I started thinking about all the negative effects of alcohol (as you do) but I was interested in the effect it may have on protein synthesis. I'm sure it would have a negative influence, but I'm curious as to how long the effect would last?

Depends how much you drank, what you ate with it, your sleep, how it affected your hormonal milieu, etc. Average human alcohol metabolism is about 13mL an hour and it has zero order metabolism kinetics and not first order, which has half lives and what not. At any rate, it's metabolized until it's all gone and thus, there's likely some critical threshold of B.A.C or acetic acid concentration that provides a negative signal to mTOR that would need to dissipate in order to get back to normal. Again, there are other things to take into consideration here like sleep and hormones.

For example would protein synthesis be reduced until all the alcohol you had consumed was metabolised?

Not necessarily. I'd posit that everyone has a fairly unique threshold of EtOh that needs to be consumed to result in a certain BAC necessary to negatively influence protein synth or positively influence protein catabolism (more likely)

[Milo's Ghost]

Not necessarily. I'd posit that everyone has a fairly unique threshold of EtOh that needs to be consumed to result in a certain BAC necessary to negatively influence protein synth or positively influence protein catabolism (more likely)

If you need test subjects for this study, sign me up.

[Paul1]

Regardless of effects on protein synthesis per se, alcohol is myotoxic. People who have liver tests for alcohol induced hepatitis have a disproportionately high AST level specifically because of myotoxicity (AST being found in muscle as well as liver cells).

That said, a SMALL amount of alcohol seems to really help (me) with muscle soreness. Like a glass of wine or maybe half an ounce of whisky and it seems to help soreness and tightness a bit.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Regardless of effects on protein synthesis per se, alcohol is myotoxic. People who have liver tests for alcohol induced hepatitis have a disproportionately high AST level specifically because of myotoxicity (AST being found in muscle as well as liver cells).

That said, a SMALL amount of alcohol seems to really help (me) with muscle soreness. Like a glass of wine or maybe half an ounce of whisky and it seems to help soreness and tightness a bit.

Yep. I did a blog post on the myotoxicity aspect unrelated to the testosterone synthesis decrease (and catabolism increase).

[madmaxaus]

Thanks for the responses guys, all makes sense.

Yep. I did a blog post on the myotoxicity aspect unrelated to the testosterone synthesis decrease (and catabolism increase).

I'll make sure to read this then.

[Edge]

That said, a SMALL amount of alcohol seems to really help (me) with muscle soreness.

Hmmmm, A LARGE amount usually makes my pain go away!

[kgreen06]

To alcohol! The cause of -- and solution to -- all of life's problems!
-- Homer J. Simpson