Some people say that alcoholic beverages with different degrees of alcohol should not be mixed when consumed, otherwise the hangover will be worse. On the eve of the holidays we explain why that is not true and how to consume alcohol to minimise its negative effects on the body.
Of course, to minimise the harmful effects of alcohol, it is best not to consume it at all, but if you choose to drink during these holidays, the following information may be helpful for you to feel better and to have more fun.
First, the degree of hangover depends on whether a person drinks on an empty or full stomach. Alcohol consumed during lunch or dinner will not bring an intoxication and/or hangover as strong as the same quantity of alcohol consumed on an empty stomach.
It is also important to drink plenty of water to reduce the negative effects of alcohol. But it is important to note that water is not the same as soda. Carbonated soft drinks cause a faster absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream, so alcohol intoxication takes place more quickly.
On the other hand, it is the amount of alcohol consumed that affects the degree of hangover, and not the mixing of drinks with different degrees of alcohol. A person who starts out with a lighter alcohol, such as wine or beer, is more likely to drink less quantity of strong alcohol later compared to a person who starts out with a strong alcohol from the first drink. This is because a person tends to consume more quantity of strong alcohol before feeling drunk than a person who has already had a beer and feels a bit drunk when they start consuming strong alcohol.
For example, a person who has four drinks of tequila and then a beer wakes up the next day with more hangover than a person who first drank a beer and then only had two drinks of tequila to feel more drunk.
As for the exact amount recommended by health professionals, it is not to exceed 40 g of alcohol per evening for a healthy man and 30 g for a healthy woman. The calculation of the grams of alcohol is made by multiplying the degrees of the drink by the millilitres consumed, and then dividing by 100. For example, 1 litre of beer with 5.5º of alcohol is (5.5º x 1000 ml) / 100 = 55 grams of alcohol.
Don’t rush to drink too much alcohol all at once if you don’t feel drunk enough. Give it time to affect your body, otherwise you may feel a sudden and very strong intoxication, which you will no longer be able to control and hence enjoy the party.