Sudden vacation death is pancreatitis – a type of alcohol greatly increases your risk

– One of the most common claims is that you can train alcohol dehydrogenase, an enzyme that breaks down alcohol in the liver. And if you don’t want to multiply overnight, you need to drink a small amount of alcohol at night or in the morning so that you can pay more the next day. How much of that truth?

– There is some truth, but for the most part it is a myth. There are two enzymes that break down alcohol when it enters the liver. The enzyme mentioned – alcohol dehydrogenase does not yield much during training. The reason a person can lift more weight and drink more is because two other enzymes bind to this enzyme if there is a lot of alcohol. But there is a second enzyme that genetically determines alcohol tolerance. We know that Asians can tolerate low levels of alcohol and often blush immediately, nausea and vomiting begin. At that time, the Scandinavians or the Russians, just the opposite. Sometimes your tolerance gene is more than 10 times more active. But it’s not training, or you were born that way or not.

– Another myth that I remember very well is that you have to eat something greasy before raising a cup. So the fat lubricates the intestines and the alcohol does not “stick”, you can drink as much as you want.

– In a sense, the truth is that most of the alcohol is absorbed in the stomach. If the stomach is full of food, the alcohol concentration will be slightly lower and will increase a little later.

– It is said that whoever bites does not drink as fast as whoever does not eat.

– But here we must bear in mind that the total concentration and the total amount of alcohol consumed do not disappear anywhere. We only fool the body when the concentration increases, when the fat layer disappears or when the alcohol passes into the small intestine and the alcohol is still absorbed. You will continue to do your job later. Due to these forms, we may not notice how much we drink, and even after we have ‘broken’ it will be difficult.

– Delayed but stronger performance. Another statement is just different: those who eat are said to feel bad, and serious men drink without snacks and nothing happens. And other people who eat and drink experience complications like pancreatitis.

– Disaster can happen both here and there. Some occur due to high levels of alcohol, vomiting, loss of consciousness, entry of stomach contents into the lungs, heart rhythm disturbances, etc. Pancreatitis is one of several complications that can occur with alcohol consumption. It usually occurs when consuming carbonated alcohol and fatty foods. There may be beer and fatty fish, but there may also be a “feminine” option: champagne and a sweet cake.

– Namely, the bubbles. They stand up and lift the alcohol together, which makes the alcohol get drunk more quickly after drinking the bubbles and cannot be drunk.

– I wouldn’t say it’s possible or not. Just keep in mind that carbonated drinks together with carbon dioxide enter the bloodstream much faster and the concentration there increases much faster.

– Another acceleration of alcohol intoxication is caffeine. Very often, Lithuanians offer you coffee to help your friend sober up. What will happen as a result?

– Two substances with completely different effects will be used at the same time. Alcohol is a psychoactive substance that inhibits the central nervous system. Caffeine has the opposite effect, it stimulates the brain, accelerates brain activity, the heart works. This means that the substances used at the same time are completely different in their action. I would like to compare this effect with when alcohol is consumed with an energy drink so that a person does not fall asleep. But this is also misleading, because when the effects of caffeine wear off, which happens quickly, the effects of alcohol will continue. And that deception can have very risky consequences when you lose consciousness without expecting it at all. Anyway, such a combination greatly increases violence, a lot of research has been done on this topic. Especially sexual violence.

– Another myth – don’t downgrade. If you have already started drinking a stronger drink, you cannot drink a softer one afterwards, because the lower the alcohol concentration, the easier it is to absorb from the stomach into the blood.

– The liver does not taste or smell, nor does it read labels. The liver metabolizes or breaks down absorbed ethanol. What shape, what strength, they don’t care at all. Influenced only by carbonation, various additives, for example, perhaps it is a liquor that has certain sweets or wine that has additives, colorings. But alcohol itself is not important for the liver.

– It is possible to reduce the degrees. My next question is about color because colored drinks are said to be bad and clear vodka won’t hurt.

– If it is a drink of insufficient quality and it has not been cleaned of certain additives during production, such as a homemade drink and no toxic substances have been removed, the consequences are sad. And every year we see such consequences.

– But most people “need” to drink during the holidays. It is known that drinking daily and after a small amount the risk of dying from certain diseases actually increases. But maybe once a year and a lot better?

– I don’t know who came up with that. There is a calculated risk and it has been calculated by the World Health Organization. 1-2 standard units of alcohol per day have been reported to be low risk. But we are talking about those people who are not addicted to alcohol. Because addicted people cannot consume alcohol. A high risk is when you consume around 30 standard units of alcohol per week. And yet, that amount, calculated, must be taken in 7 days, not all at once. Therefore, it is particularly risky to consume large amounts of alcohol at the same time, especially if it has never been consumed before.

– Let’s move on to the medication. There are recipes that the day before the party need to drink meldonium, charcoal, others offer to eat a lot of lemon.

– Well, I tell my students that if those things help, then the cookie would help. But if we take it seriously, there are two enzymes that break down alcohol. Its operation can be accelerated by certain means. In any case, these are usually biochemical processes and only time determines when the alcohol will break down. One of those aids is a large amount of water: with each standard unit of alcohol, drink a glass of water for the body to carry out the process of decomposition. And one more thing I’d like to mention if a person is already consuming alcohol: Most of the time, the body uses magnesium to break down alcohol and this can lead to heart rhythm disorders. Therefore, magnesium could help the heart and maintain electrolyte balance.

– Also, unlike mildonium, magnesium overdose is difficult, only you can fly to the toilet more often. Part of the audience will see the show on New Years Eve, and someone will have a hard time reading it on Friday morning. So what to do for those people who multiplied on Thursday night? Still resorting to that popular method and sipping another glass of champagne in the morning?

– If you want the next day to disappear from life too, you can drink that cup. But seriously, the main thing that helps is time, because the liver has to digest the alcohol that entered them. The advice is probably to close the curtains, make the bed, eat, and go back to bed. Sleep time is faster. It’s magic, quiet music, maybe some kind of movie to pass the time.

– Thank you very much for the interview. And, like all time, he wishes viewers on New Year’s Eve.

– Somehow I think that when people do not go to Christmas trees and outdoors, maybe they consume less alcohol. Look at the situation responsibly, remember there is a pandemic, stay home and drink alcohol in moderation.