How Bad Is It Really? sets the record straight on all the habits and behaviors you’ve heard might be unhealthy.
There are a couple of old adages that many drinkers know: “Beer before liquor, never been sicker. Liquor before beer, youre in the clear,” is one of them; “Beer before wine and youll feel fine” is another.
The rhymes refer to the idea that mixing alcohol is bad, and youll feel sick or have a hangover if you drink beer before cocktails or wine before beer.
If youre wondering if mixing alcohol is bad, good news: Theres no conclusive evidence to support that notion, according to Winchester Hospital. Instead, the likelihood of getting sick relates to the total amount of alcohol you drink in one night.
The way your body digests alcohol is different than how it digests food. When you take a sip of a drink— whether beer, wine or liquor — a small amount of alcohol is absorbed directly by your tongue and the lining of your mouth, according to Bowling Green State University (BGSU).
The rest makes its way to your stomach, where its absorbed into your bloodstream through the tissue in your stomach and small intestine. From there, the bloodstream carries the alcohol to all of the organs in your body, entering all tissues except for bone and fat. Depending on how quickly your bodys tissues absorb the alcohol, youll feel the effect of that alcohol within 15 to 45 minutes of drinking it.
A variety of factors contribute to how alcohol affects your body, per BGSU, including the amount of alcohol taken in. What may cause confusion — and lead to the idea that certain types of alcohol can get you drunk more quickly — is that the same amount of alcohol looks different depending on what type of drink it is.
One standard drink is defined as any beverage containing 0.6 fluid ounces or 14 grams of pure alcohol, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. This is equal to:
Truth be told, mixing alcohol isn’t the greatest idea, under any circumstance. Try to stick to just one type next time you’re out. And when your friend tries to tell you that she was throwing up all night because she drank vodka and then shotgunned some beers, tell her the truth: it wasn’t because she mixed alcohols, it was because she just drank too damn much.
Good news: if you start with a drink that has a high alcohol content, and switch to something with a lower alcohol content (like whiskey to beer…ew), you probably won’t have a horribly bad time. Keep in mind, though, that any excessive amount of alcohol is going to lead to a pretty shitty hangover.
I was always taught beer before liquor, never been sicker, liquor before beer, you’re in the clear. Does it actually matter? Rather than doing an experiment (mainly because who in their right mind would volunteer to help me??), I decided to do some research. It wasn’t too hard to find the truth—which makes me wonder why other people don’t just Google things like I do.
You’ve heard it from your friends, you’ve heard it from your mom, you might have even heard it from your friend’s mom: don’t mix alcohols. If you want to get wine drunk, stick to wine. We won’t judge if you start chugging Natty at a frat party—just don’t start taking tequila shots later, or you’ll regret it.
According to Kevin Strang, PhD, if you start drinking something with a lower alcohol content, your body gets used to getting drunk at a certain rate. When you switch to something with a higher alcohol content, your body still thinks it’s getting drunk at the rate of the first drink, so you drink faster… and subsequently, you get sicker.
Side Effects of Mixing Drinks
Fortunately, there arent any side effects specifically related to mixing drinks — meaning that having a glass of wine during happy hour and a beer with dinner should be OK.
In fact, a small February 2019 study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition looked at whether drinking wine before beer was associated with hangover severity and found that neither the type nor the order of alcoholic beverage had a significant effect.
But certain types of alcohol are more likely to lead to a hangover than others. For example, you might be more likely to have a hangover if you drink alcohol that contains congeners, a chemical that results from the fermenting process and provides flavor, according to the Mayo Clinic. Darker alcohols, such as brandy, bourbon, darker beer and red wine, have more congeners than clear or lighter alcohols like vodka, gin and lighter beers.
Plus, mixing alcohol can have another effect that you might not expect. “Mixing drinks makes it hard to keep track of how much you have been drinking, which can have negative effects,” says Brocha Soloff, RD, CDN. When youre not keeping track of how much youre drinking, youre more likely to drink to too much — and get a hangover because of it.
Excessive drinking — even in one night — can lead to excess empty calories, a hangover, dehydration, poor decision-making and a weakened immune system, says Julie Harrington, RD.
Does Mixing Drinks Cause More Hangovers? | Alcoholism
What is the difference between light liquor and dark liquor?
Here’s the truth on dark liquor vs light liquor. READ: Drink This, Not That: Cocktails That Won’t Ruin Your Summer Body Darker liquors contain “congeners,” a substance which is made during the fermentation process. They contain several chemicals, which include acetone, a chemical which your body doesn’t particularly enjoy.
Is mixing alcohol bad?
The rhymes refer to the idea that mixing alcohol is bad, and you’ll feel sick or have a hangover if you drink beer before cocktails or wine before beer. If you’re wondering if mixing alcohol is bad, good news: There’s no conclusive evidence to support that notion, according to Winchester Hospital.
Is it safe to drink Dark alcohol?
While it’s considered safe to drink dark alcohols in moderation, they do contain a higher number of congeners, Dr. Nguyen says, which are impurities that form during the fermentation process. “Several chemicals are produced in this process, such as acetone,” Dr. Nguyen says.
Are darker alcohols better for You?
Due to their color, darker alcohols may contain more antioxidants, which are “generally felt to be protective,” Dr. Heskett says. Think along the lines of red wines, and how many studies have shown they provide various health benefits. “Clear liquor is liquor that has not been fermented,” Dr. Heskett says.