Alcoholic drinks such as chilled beer, long drinks and cold cocktails are also very popular in summer. However, alcohol consumption has major health disadvantages, especially on hot days.
Summer is here and with it the temperatures are rising. Many people look for ways to cool off and relax on hot days. A popular method is reaching for a cool drink, and for some, this includes consuming alcoholic beverages. But alcohol is not a good choice, especially at high temperatures.
Alcohol and heat: Not a good match
To understand why alcohol is even worse for your health when it’s hot, it’s important to understand more about how alcohol works in the body:
- First of all, according to the Helios Clinics platform, alcohol promotes the elimination of liquid and minerals from the body. When the temperature is high, we sweat more than usual, so we lose more fluids even without drinking alcohol. That’s why it’s so important to drink more in the summer. However, alcoholic beverages increase dehydration even more.
- Heat can also increase the effects of alcohol. The combination of heat and alcohol can lead to a faster and stronger high. This is partly due to the fluid deficit in the body. As a result, alcohol can impair judgment faster and more severely than usual. This can lead to risky behavior, even life-threatening, such as swimming or driving.
- In extreme heat, your body is already weakened anyway, because the hot temperatures cause blood vessels to dilate and blood pressure to drop. According to the campaign Alcohol – Know your limit! Alcohol increases this effect. So blood pressure drops even more. This causes you to feel even more tired and exhausted. In the worst case, according to the Helios clinics, there is a risk of unconsciousness, circulatory collapse and heat stroke.
Alcohol consumption: Generally associated with risks
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A cold beer on a hot summer day is basically a bad idea. In order to avoid the negative effects of alcohol in the heat, it is advisable to resort to alternative soft drinks. Water is always the best choice to replace dehydrated and hydrate the body. There are also numerous non-alcoholic drinks that are refreshing and tasty, such as spritzers, iced tea or (low-sugar) lemonades. Alcohol-free beer or shandy can also be a good alternative.
In general, alcohol consumption is always harmful to the body – regardless of the season. Therefore, it is generally advisable to keep an eye on your drinking habits. According to the German Society for Nutrition, there is no risk-free amount of alcohol. However, there are benchmarks that are considered acceptable. These are 20 grams per day for men and 10 grams per day for women. For example, 10 grams of alcohol are contained in 300 milliliters of beer or 125 milliliters of wine. No alcohol should be drunk at least two days a week.
Also read our interview: Is my alcohol consumption problematic? Nathalie Stüben: “There are first warnings”
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