Alcoholic drinks: why the degree can not be lowered

As a rule, we do not have one, even the seediest, holiday without alcoholic drinks, and the people have long believed that vodka without beer - money to the wind. But few people think about why you can not lower the degree of alcohol, although often feel the consequences of such experiments.

General principles of the effects of alcohol on the human body

Probably, no one needs to explain that any, even low-alcohol beverage is to some extent a poison for the human body. The fact that after the reception of alcohol comes relaxation or euphoria - this is only one side of the coin.

In fact, with the use of even a small dose of alcohol, our body, with the assimilation of the drink and its ingestion into the blood, includes a kind of protection, which consists in the fact that special receptors actively try to neutralize the action of the drunk. So why the degree can not be lowered? You can understand this if you take into account the state of such a protection system.

Why the degree can not be lowered?

Even if a person consumes the same drink at a festive meal (for example, vodka), over time, the protective function is weakened. In other words, the receptors simply adapt to the intake of a drink of a certain strength.

For now, let's move away from the question of why it's impossible to lower the degree, but let's see how the opposite situation is manifested (increase in degree). Suppose, first, a man drank vodka with a fortress of 40 degrees (or, more correctly, 40 vol.% Alcohol content). Then he had to drink a rum with a strength of 65 degrees. What happens in this case? The organism will react to the increased degree again, using all the same neutralizers, which eventually became inactive.

Now, and for the question of why the degree can not be lowered, one can draw a logical conclusion: yes, only because a less strong drink after the same vodka by protective receptors is no longer perceived as alcohol, and they simply do not react to its intake into the body.

Thus, alcohol intoxication or even poisoning (intoxication) comes much faster. And if you consider that a low-moisture drink can drink a lot more than the same vodka, a larger amount of incoming alcohol of a lesser strength can sometimes exceed the equivalent quantity of a stronger drink (in terms of alcohol content) by effect. And this is not a question of the content of extraneous impurities like dyes, essential oils, etc.

Of course, some nations have a tradition of drinking a little strong alcohol before using a weaker one. But in fact it is a dose of 30-50 ml, no more that. And now it is a question of long libations. The difference is obvious.

What to do if you have a lot to drink

So, why the degree can not be lowered, we sorted it out. Now let's see how to protect yourself from rapid intoxication and violent hangover. Ideally, of course, you need to know the norm.

But if you have to drink a lot, before the feast is best to take a gram of 50-100 vodka or cognac in about 1,5-2 hours before the party. Some advise to eat a piece of butter or drink a raw egg. This can be disagreed, because the enveloping of the mucous membrane of the mouth with fats that protect it from the rapid penetration of alcohol into the blood vessels, remains very short in time. Then there will come a time when a person can shut down instantly. In general, it is better to study the rules for taking a drink, as well as pay attention to the "right" snacks, and this applies not only to strong drinks. For low-alcohol like wine or beer, too, there are canons of proper drinking. And in any case, you can not drink strong drinks with carbonated water or any kind of lemonade, which is even worse.

Instead of concluding

In general, special attention should be paid to the culture of drinking alcoholic beverages. For any of them has its own rules, in most cases saying that it is not recommended to mix different kinds of drinks among themselves in any case. The only exceptions are cocktails. Nevertheless, many of the ban on lowering the degree are considered a myth. Perhaps, this is a strong error.