PUBLISHED 04/01/2005
There are few sights more peculiar than a parade of 8,000 costumed marathoners sipping wine as they run 26.2 miles. But that's exactly what happens each September at the Medoc Marathon in Bordeaux, where the course winds through 59 of France's most prized vineyards and elegant châteaus. Its aid stations eschew sports drinks and instead offer up such local refreshments as Lafite Rothschild and pâté. Winners take home their weight in grand crus.
While there aren't any U.S. marathons serving fine wines on the course, American runners aren't immune to the pleasures of the ancient grape. In fact, according to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), serious recreational runners drink more alcohol than their sedentary counterparts. Even Olympian Deena Kastor enjoys a glass of red the night before big races--including her bronze-medal run in Athens last summer. This despite the fact that the ACSM also says that drinking alcohol before engaging in sports decreases strength, power, speed, muscular endurance, and cardiovascular endurance.
But there's also mounting evidence that moderate alcohol consumption offers some real health benefits. Alcohol in moderation has been shown to increase the levels of "good" cholesterol in the bloodstream, preventing "bad" cholesterol from clogging arteries and causing heart attacks. It also relaxes the muscles in the arteries, which lowers blood pressure. Scientists have even shown that some alcoholic beverages help prevent osteoporosis and reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
Red wine drinkers in particular benefit. A Harvard Medical School study found that the cholesterol-fighting antioxidant resveratrol, present only in red wine, produces the same life-lengthening effects as calorie reduction. Other research has determined that red wine is full of flavonoids, which are antioxidants that lower the risk of heart disease. And scientists at the University of California-Davis have recently discovered plant compounds called saponins in wine that block the body's absorption of cholesterol. Nearly half the average daily intake of saponins is present in a single glass of red wine (white wine contains less), and the higher a wine's alcohol content, the more saponins it provides. And if you prefer hops to grapes, there's good news for you, too. British scientists have found that beer drinkers have 30 percent more vitamin B6 in their blood plasma, which prevents the buildup of a chemical that causes heart disease.
But long-distance runners, of course, have to think about hydration and endurance. Are the benefits worth the risks? Maybe. New research suggests that alcohol is not as dehydrating as once thought. "Initially, alcohol can dehydrate you, but over the course of 24 hours, alcohol no longer has a dehydrating effect," says Nancy Clark, R.D., a sports nutritionist in Boston and author of Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook. Still, alcohol can produce up to a three-percent loss of body weight (in fluids) within four hours of consumption, which can have a negative impact on performance and even be dangerous when heat is a factor. Consequently, drinking alcohol in the hours just before a hard run or race is not a good idea. "But as long as runners who are accustomed to drinking wine are drinking extra water and taking in other carbohydrates," says Clark, "one glass of wine with dinner the night before a race doesn't concern me."
