The Most Common Myths About Alcohol – What’s True and What’s Just a Misconception?
Myth #1: Eating Fatty Foods Before Drinking Protects You
There’s an old belief that if you eat a piece of butter, or even drink a spoonful of vegetable oil before drinking, you won’t get drunk as quickly. Supposedly, the oil coats your stomach and intestines, slowing down alcohol absorption. At first, it seems to work – you drink one glass, then another, and you barely feel intoxicated. Bingo!
But here’s the catch: sooner or later, that “protective layer” breaks down, and all the alcohol that has been sitting in your stomach suddenly rushes into your bloodstream. The result? A sudden and severe intoxication that can, in extreme cases, end very badly. Keep this in mind.
Myth #2: “Never Lower the Quality”
Many people insist that after drinking strong spirits like vodka or cognac, you should never “go down” to wine or beer. They claim this makes you sick faster.
In reality, your body doesn’t care much about whether alcohol comes in the form of beer, wine, or brandy. What matters is the cumulative amount of ethanol and its final concentration in your blood. It’s not about “quality going up or down” – the real danger lies in how much alcohol you consume overall and the toxic effect it has on your organs and systems.
Myth #3: Mixing Alcoholic Drinks is a Disaster
Yes, drinking cocktails of cheap fortified wine, strong beer, or sugary alcoholic drinks like “Jaguar,” and then topping it off with fine brandy, will probably make you feel terrible. But that’s mostly an exaggeration.
The truth is simple: what really matters is the total amount of ethanol that enters your bloodstream. However, one thing you should avoid is mixing drinks made from very different raw materials – for example, beer (grain-based) with cognac (fruit-based), or gin with champagne. Such combinations put extra stress on your digestive system and can make the after-effects worse.
Myth #4: “Warming Up the Liver” Before Drinking Helps
Poor liver – people try to “heat it up,” “clean it,” “wash it,” or “prepare it” in all sorts of ways. One common idea is to drink a small amount of alcohol a few hours before the real party, so that your enzymes “wake up” and get ready.
In reality, this backfires. Your liver has only a limited supply of enzymes (like dehydrogenases, catalases, and microsomes) that break down alcohol. By drinking in advance, you’re already using up part of that supply. Later, when the main drinking begins, your body may not have enough enzymes left to keep up. This leads to a build-up of acetaldehyde in your blood – an extremely toxic substance largely responsible for the dreaded hangover.
Myth #5: “The Hair of the Dog Cures Hangovers”
Some people swear that the best way to cure a hangover is to drink again the next morning. At first, it seems to help – a small amount of alcohol temporarily relieves the symptoms by numbing your nervous system. But the relief is short-lived, and soon you feel even worse.
Medicine also shows that in long-term alcoholics, suddenly continuing to drink after heavy use can trigger seizures, psychosis (such as “delirium tremens”), or even death. While this extreme mostly applies to chronic drinkers, the rule is clear: drinking two days in a row is dangerous and harmful, even for casual drinkers.
👉 Final Note: It’s not the type of drink that matters most – it’s the amount of ethanol. Whether it’s beer, wine, or whiskey, your body processes it the same way, and the toxic effects are unavoidable.
