As a rule, we don’t have a single, even the most seedy, holiday without alcoholic drinks, and people have long believed that vodka without beer is a waste of money. But few people think about why it is impossible to lower the degree of alcohol, although they 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 drink, to one degree or another, is poison for the human body. The fact that after taking alcohol comes relaxation or euphoria - this is only one side of the coin.
In fact, when using even a small dose of alcohol, our body with the assimilation of the drink and getting it into the bloodstream includes a kind of protection, which consists in the fact that special receptors are beginning to be actively involved, trying to neutralize the effect of the drink. So why can’t you lower the degree? This can be understood if we take into account the state of such a protection system.
Why can not a degree be lowered?
Even if a person drinks the same drink (for example, vodka) at a festive feast, the protective function weakens over time. In other words, the receptors simply adapt to the receipt of a drink of a certain strength.
For now, let’s move a little away from the question of why it is impossible to lower the degree, but let's see how the reverse situation manifests itself (increase in the degree). Suppose, first, a person drank vodka with a strength of 40 degrees (or more correctly - 40 vol.% Alcohol content). Then he had to drink rum with a strength of 65 degrees. What happens in this case? The body will react to an elevated degree again, using all the same neutralizers, which eventually became inactive.
Now, for the question of why the degree cannot be lowered, we can make a logical conclusion: it’s only because the less strong drink after the same vodka by the protective receptors is no longer perceived as alcohol, and they simply do not react to its entry into the body.
Thus, alcohol intoxication or even poisoning (intoxication) occurs much faster. And if we take into account that a low-degree drink can be drunk much more than the same vodka, a larger amount of incoming alcohol of a lower strength can sometimes exceed the equivalent amount of a stronger drink (in terms of alcohol content). And this is not talking about the content of impurities like dyes, essential oils, etc.
Of course, some nations have a tradition of drinking a little strong alcohol before drinking a weaker one. But this is a dose of 30-50 ml, nothing more. And now we are talking about long libations. The difference is obvious.
What to do if you have a lot to drink
So, why the degree cannot be lowered, we figured it out. Now let's see how to protect ourselves from fast intoxication and a violent hangover. Ideally, of course, you need to know the norm.
But if you have to drink enough, before the feast, it is best to take a gram of 50-100 vodka or cognac about 1.5-2 hours before the party. Some suggest eating a slice of butter or a raw egg. You can not agree with this, because enveloping the oral mucosa with fats that protect it from the rapid penetration of alcohol into the blood vessels does not last long. Then after all there will come a moment when a person can disconnect just instantly. In general, it is better to study the rules for taking a particular drink, as well as pay attention to the “right” snacks, and this applies not only to strong drinks. For low-alcohol ones like wines or beer, there are also canons of proper drinking. And in no case should you drink strong drinks with sparkling water or various kinds of lemonades, which is even worse.
Instead of a conclusion
In general, special attention should be paid to the culture of drinking alcohol. For any of them there are rules, in most cases, stating that it is not recommended to mix different types of drinks with each other in any case. The only exceptions are cocktails. Nevertheless, many a ban on lowering the degree is considered a myth. Perhaps this is a strong fallacy.