Relationship between exercise and beer ingestion in regard to metabolism

Beer contains various substances, such as water, ethanol, purines, and carbohydrates, which, especially ethanol, may affect the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, and purines in the body, while physical activity including exercise is also an important factor. Therefore, the effect of the relationship between exercise and beer ingestion on body metabolism is important. Exercise increases the serum concentration of urate by enhanced adenine nucleotide degradation and elevated lactate concentration in blood, while beer ingestion increases the serum concentration of urate by enhancing adenine nucleotide degradation and elevating lactate concentration in blood because of the ethanol and purines contained in beer. Accordingly, exercise combined with beer ingestion increases the serum concentration of urate synergistically. In addition, exercise increases the plasma concentration and urinary excretion of oxypurines (hypoxanthine and xanthine) by enhanced adenine nucleotide degradation, while the ingestion of beer also increases those by enhanced adenine nucleotide degradation and a slight inhibition of xanthine dehydrogenase. However, in our previous study, the increases in plasma concentration and urinary excretion of xanthine were lower with the combination of exercise and beer ingestion as compared to beer ingestion alone, which indicated that exercise reduces the beer-induced inhibition of xanthine dehydrogenase activity and abrogates the increase of xanthine induced by beer. Exercise also increases the plasma concentration of uridine (a pyrimidine nucleoside), presumably by adenosine triphosphate (ATP) consumption-induced pyrimidine degradation, while beer ingestion also increases it presumably by that same process as well as because of the uridine contained in beer. Therefore, a combination of exercise and beer ingestion may increase the plasma concentration of uridine synergistically. Further, exercise increases insulin sensitivity and improves hyperglycemia, while long-term beer ingestion has been shown to decrease fasting insulin levels, though the carbohydrate contents in beer transiently raise insulin and plasma glucose levels. Accordingly, a combination of beer ingestion and exercise may improve the metabolism of carbohydrates including insulin and glucose, if moderate beer ingestion and aerobic exercise are performed separately. Exercise decreases the levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL), triglyceride, and total cholesterol, while both exercise and beer increase high density lipoprotein (HDL). Therefore, a combination of exercise and beer ingestion may reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases through their synergistic effects on serum lipoprotein levels. In addition, in regard to the effects of exercise on beer ingestion and vice versa, it is suggested that moderate amounts of beer consumed during an evening will not signifi cantly compromise physiological functioning the next morning, while individuals who exercise may consume larger quantities of beer as compared to them who do not.