Alcohol and heat is a dangerous cocktail that is best avoided. However, if you are determined, consider the risks you are taking and how you can mitigate the effects of drinking on your body.
Alcohol is an insidious thing: on the one hand, a glass of beer is simply an indispensable remedy for overexertion after a hard working week. But on the other hand, it is an invisible, but quite tangible blow to health, hitting the most vulnerable places in the body.
During a busy work week, you look forward to when the weekend finally arrives. And you are already dreaming about how you will get out to the beach with your friends. To freshen up a bit, sometimes you decide to buy a cold beer. Although this idea seems ideal for quenching your thirst at the moment, it is very likely that you will bitterly regret it the next day, because heat and alcohol are a dangerous cocktail.
Have you ever wondered what happens to the body when you drink alcohol in the heat, and why is it dangerous? Let’s take a look at what you risk by drinking alcohol in the heat:
1. Dehydration
While cold beer might seem like a good idea, drinking too much can lead to dehydration. The consequences will not keep you waiting: confusion, lethargy, problems with breathing and heart rhythm. So maybe you didn’t suffer from a killer hangover, but from dehydration.
2. Heat stroke and fatigue
Normally, the sweat we produce when it gets hot cools down when it evaporates from the surface of the skin. However, on very hot days, or when we overexert ourselves, this system can fail and body temperature can rise to dangerous levels. Drinking alcohol in the heat can cause a sharp increase in body temperature, which can lead to heat stroke or loss of strength (up to loss of consciousness).
3. Internal organs
The beer you drink on the beach on your day off will affect your brain, liver, stomach, intestines and heart. Therefore, it may be wise to abstain from alcohol if you value your health.
4. The worst and best times to drink
It’s a wise move to drink when the heat isn’t as strong, so refill your glass as the sun starts to set. In any case, avoid drinking alcohol between 12 and 3 pm, as this is the hottest time of the day.
5. How to avoid a hangover?
It’s simple – drink more water. Ideally For every half glass of alcohol, drink two glasses of water or soft drink to prevent dehydration and relieve hangovers. Also, be sure to stay in the shade and drink water.
6. And the next morning?
Alcohol affects each person differently, and since it is a diuretic, it encourages the kidneys to work at an intense pace. That is why the next day you need to drink plenty of water and freshly squeezed juice to strengthen your body. Also, take a pain reliever and maybe try an antacid tablet to calm your stomach. Eat a banana or kiwi to get potassium if you can, and drink a sachet of rehydrone to replenish the body’s lost minerals and salt.
And of course, despite all of the above, do not forget: alcohol causes irreparable harm to health!
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