Over the years many falsehoods about alcohol consumption have been invented and spread. Here are 10 myths and the actual truths behind them.
Types of Alcohol
Myth: Blending liquor with a diet mixer won't get you drunk.
According to a study conducted by Dr. Chris Rayner from the Royal Adelaide Hospital in Australia, diet drinks actually get you more drunk. This is because caloric load determines how quickly the stomach will empty, and how quickly the alcohol will reach your bloodstream. In Rayner's study, diet drinks emptied from the stomach faster than regular drinks.
Myth: You get drunk faster with hard liquor than with a beer or wine cooler.
Alcohol is alcohol. Your blood alcohol content determines how drunk you are, not what type or flavor of alcohol you chose.
Being Drunk
Myth: Everyone acts the same when they're drunk.
Actually there are many factors that affect how your body reacts to alcohol. These factors include weight, age, gender and genetics. The amount of food and alcohol consumed that day must also be taken into consideration.
Myth: Alcohol makes sex better.
Alcohol lowers your inhibitions and can make you feel more comfortable having sex with someone. However, it does not improve your performance in any way.
Binge Drinking
Myth: It's OK if I drink as much as I want tonight because I haven't had alcohol all week.
This is called "saving up" drinks. However, drinking heavily over a short period of time can lead to alcohol poising, unsafe sex and other accidents.
Myth: Eating bread while you drink helps to soak up the alcohol in your stomach so you can drink more.
No matter what you eat, all alcohol eventually reaches the bloodstream. Food slows down the effect of being drunk but it does not prevent it, and the full force of what you drank will become apparent in time.
Sobering Up
Myth: Having cornflakes with beer instead of milk is a good cure for a hangover.
Having more alcohol in your body may help reduce symptoms of a hangover at first because your body is processing the new alcohol rather than the old. But keep in mind, all alcohol has to be processed eventually. This means the hangover doesn't actually go away.
Myth: A cold shower and a cup of coffee sobers you right up.
Again, all alcohol has to be processed. Only time can make you sober.
Health Effects
Myth: Beer can't permanently damage you.
Large amounts of alcohol can do damage to your heart, liver, stomach and other critical organs. Alcohol can also cause you to lose years from your life.
Myth: The worst thing that can result from drinking is having your stomach pumped.
Excessive alcohol can lead to alcohol poisoning, which causes death. Heavy drinking can also cause vomiting, and if you are unconscious you can die from choking on what comes up from your stomach. Drinking excessively and frequently may lead to an addiction, which may result in long-term consequences.
Tags: your body, your stomach, alcohol processed, also cause, diet drinks, from your