If you drink a lot of alcohol after a tough workout — like 12 drinks — your muscles won’t repair and grow as well, especially if you eat carbs afterward; even if you eat protein, your muscle recovery still takes a hit.

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Pro

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Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

46

Community contributions welcome

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Alcohol Ingestion Impairs Maximal Post-Exercise Rates of Myofibrillar Protein Synthesis following a Single Bout of Concurrent Training

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2014

Scientists gave guys alcohol after a tough workout, along with either protein or carbs, and found that alcohol cut down muscle repair by 24% with protein and 37% with carbs — exactly what the claim says.

Contradicting (0)

0

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No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Alcohol Ingestion Impairs Maximal Post-Exercise Rates of Myofibrillar Protein Synthesis following a Single Bout of Concurrent Training

Score: 46

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0088384

Similar Assertions

Drinking alcohol after a workout, even if you also eat protein, stops your muscles from rebuilding as well as they would if you just had protein alone—alcohol messes with muscle recovery, and protein can’t fully fix it.

46

0

84%

If young guys who work out drink a mix of 20 grams of any milk-based protein and 45 grams of carbs after a workout, their muscles repair themselves about 16% better over the next 6 hours compared to just drinking carbs — and it doesn’t matter which type of dairy protein they use.

73

0

74%

For young guys who work out regularly, drinking a shake with 20g of any kind of milk protein (like whey or casein) plus 45g of carbs after a combo of strength and cardio exercise helps build muscle just the same — it doesn’t matter which protein they pick.

73

0

73%

When you eat a big protein meal (100g) after working out, a larger portion of the protein building blocks for your muscles comes directly from that meal (27%) compared to a smaller meal (9%).

71%