(¿ø¹®)
Just say no
You've probably heard the old excuse. It goes something like this: "It's okay to have a few beers after a race. After all, beer is high in carbohydrate." Hogwash. If you've just run a hard race, drinking beer or any other type of alcohol can severely delay your recovery, says Australian sports nutritionist Louise Burke in her new book Peak Performance (1998, Allen & Unwin).
For one, beer is a diuretic, which hampers your attempts to rehydrate. Worse, it dilates your blood vessels, increasing the likelihood that fluids will accumulate in damaged tissues and slow muscle repair. Finally, it may even thwart glycogen recovery. So if you've just completed a hard race, recover first with high-carbohydrate foods and liquids and lay off the booze for 24 to 36 hours.