Alcohol mixed drinks are more harmful

A study published in the journal Neuropharmacology by Italian researchers found that the combination of alcohol and beverages can cause long-term damage to the brain. The study divided experimental rats into 4 groups: Group 1: drink tap water; Group 2: drink alcohol; Group 3: drink energy drink (Red Bull); Group 4: drink a mixture of wine + energy drink. The study found that levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor dropped significantly in rats that drank alcoholic mixed drinks over time, leading to a decline in learning and memory function.

Researchers say the dangers of mixing alcohol with energy drinks may stem from their interaction. Alcohol itself has a depressant effect on the brain, while the caffeine in energy drinks is a stimulant. Caffeine may prevent the brain from producing feelings of fatigue, masking the depressant effects of alcohol. This makes it possible for drinkers to unknowingly consume excessive amounts of alcohol, increasing damage to the brain.

An analysis of the Chinese Prospective Study of Chronic Diseases has shown that drinking alcohol among Chinese men is very harmful and is associated with a significantly increased risk of 61 diseases in a dose-responsive manner. Moreover, daily drinking, occasional heavy drinking and drinking outside meals will increase the risk of four major diseases in Chinese men: cancer, diabetes, stroke and liver cirrhosis. Previously, the World Health Organization has determined that alcohol consumption is related to 28 diseases, including tuberculosis, six specific cancers, including laryngeal cancer, esophageal cancer, liver cancer, colon cancer, rectal cancer, lip cancer/oral cancer/pharyngeal cancer, and diabetes , epilepsy, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, pneumonia, alcoholic liver disease and cirrhosis, pancreatitis and other causes, including self-harm, falls, traffic accidents, etc.

Sweet drinks are also unfriendly to health. A 2022 study by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that the number of deaths among Chinese residents due to excessive intake of sugary drinks has almost doubled in the past 30 years. The mortality rate caused by excessive intake of sugary drinks Also increased by 35%.

Mixing drinks with alcohol increases alcohol intake

The original intention of many people mixing drinks with wine is to improve the taste and reduce the alcohol concentration. Thinking that the alcohol concentration has been reduced, they will drink freely. At first, it feels like drinking a drink. When they notice that they are flushed and dizzy, they have already drank too much. .

Professor Liang Donghui from the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine at Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University once said in an interview with the media that when wine is mixed with drinks, alcohol is more easily absorbed. Wine is wine, even wine with a lower alcohol concentration can still be intoxicating. Whether it is red wine and Sprite, whiskey and iced tea, vodka and Red Bull, beer and cola, and other blending combinations, carbonated drinks used to blend wine will release carbon dioxide gas in the stomach, forcing alcohol to enter quickly. The small intestine absorbs alcohol much faster than the stomach, thereby increasing the damage to the body.

Alcohol is irritating and can damage the mucosal cells of the gastrointestinal tract and cause gastrointestinal inflammation, ulcers, etc. Alcohol provides more calories. If the human body consumes too much alcohol, the intake of other nutrients will be reduced, leading to nutritional deficiencies. If you mix and drink alcohol for a long time, not only will the body be harmed by alcohol, but it will also increase the intake of sugar and energy, leading to obesity and other chronic diseases, resulting in beer belly.

In addition, alcohol needs the liver and kidneys to metabolize it before it can be excreted through the urinary system. If you consume too much alcohol, the burden on your liver and kidneys will also increase, affecting normal circulation and metabolism.

The destruction of liver and kidney functions by alcohol can induce alcoholic hepatitis, fatty liver, cirrhosis, hyperlipidemia, etc. Urinary system diseases may also follow. Because the liver has no time to process it, alcohol will also pass through the blood-brain barrier with the blood flow and affect the central nervous system of the brain. In severe cases, it may cause coma or cause high blood pressure and other diseases, which is very dangerous.

Stay away from alcohol and drink less drinks to be healthy

So, can you drink wine? The World Heart Federation said in a statement that there is no "safe amount" of alcohol and criticized the idea that light and moderate drinking is good for cardiovascular health. The World Heart Federation states that even small amounts of alcohol can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, including coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure, hypertension, cardiomyopathy, atrial fibrillation and aneurysms. Drinking alcohol can also lead to cancer, digestive disorders, injuries, and more. Drinking alcohol is also linked to approximately 230 diseases, 40 of which are linked solely to drinking alcohol. The study also found that people who drank alcohol had a four-fold increased risk of multimorbidity. Therefore, teetotaling alcohol is the safest option.

Try not to drink sweet drinks or drink as little as possible. A prospective cohort study based on nearly 100,000 people in the Women's Health Initiative cohort in the United States with a median follow-up of 21 years showed that people who regularly drink sugary drinks have a significantly increased risk of death from liver cancer and chronic liver disease.

A prospective cohort study published by Shanghai scholars further found that increased intake of sugary drinks and artificial sweetener drinks may be an independent risk factor for heart failure, while moderate drinking of pure vegetable juices may have a protective effect. The authors note that drinking artificially sweetened beverages is also a risk factor for heart failure, so artificial sweeteners may not be a safe alternative to sugar. An observational study conducted by scholars from Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine found that drinking ≥2 liters of beverages with artificial sweeteners per week increased the risk of atrial fibrillation by 20%. Therefore, you should not drink too much sweet drinks or drinks with artificial sweeteners. The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents" also points out: reduce salt and oil, control sugar and limit alcohol. Control the intake of added sugar to no more than 50 grams per day, preferably less than 25 grams; do not drink or drink less sugary drinks.