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Even experts cannot determine exactly which alcoholic beverages cause the most harm to the body. There are opinions that such a division is fundamentally wrong, since any alcohol with regular abuse causes addiction and leads to the appearance of a whole bunch of diseases. From this point of view, the degree of harm done to the body depends only on the amount of alcohol consumed. However, in practice, not only the volume determines the effect on the body, there are several groups of alcohol that are more dangerous than other types of alcohol.
Beer
According to the famous narcologist Daniil Pokrovsky, the most harmful alcohol is beer. The expert considers the foamy drink the most dangerous of all because of the toxic elements it contains, which enter beer products as a result of hop processing. The doctor noted that the plant accumulates heavy metal compounds, including cobalt. The element causes cardiac pathologies and myocardial obesity, common causes of sudden death in patients with heart disease.
Former chief epidemiologist of the country Gennady Onishchenko agreed with this statement and added that beer is dangerous because many underestimate its harm due to its low alcohol content. According to statistics, the consumption of a foamy drink in Russia reaches sixty liters per person per year, while dependence on it arises rather quickly and is difficult to treat.
Manufacturers and leading industry experts categorically disagree with the statement of the narcologist. Cobalt has indeed been used as a beer foam stabilizer for a long time, but this practice has been discontinued since the 1960s. In addition, the element is not on the list of food additives allowed in Russia. The presence of heavy metals in the products of large enterprises is excluded, since the beer undergoes a comprehensive analysis and quality control at the output.
Alcoholic cocktails “in cans” and energy drinks
Most doctors who study the effect of alcohol on the body agree that the most harmful alcoholic drinks are energy drinks with the addition of ethanol, the production and sale of which in Russia has been discontinued since 2018.
No less dangerous are cocktails in jars and carbonated pop, which is often sold under the guise of champagne. Such drinks are a mixture of alcohol, sugar, water and flavorings and have nothing to do with real sparkling wine.
Low-alcohol cocktails are a thermonuclear mix, the components of which enhance each other’s action. Regular abuse of alcoholic soda can lead to a number of diseases:
- pancreatitis;
- liver disease;
- gastritis and peptic ulcer;
- type XNUMX diabetes.
Such drinks cause irreparable harm to the teeth. Sugar and additives destroy enamel, which is exacerbated by the diuretic effect of ethanol, which helps to remove vitamins and trace elements from the body. Cocktails lead to a decrease in the production of saliva, which neutralizes the acidic environment, and increase the risk of caries.
According to Roskachestvo experts, products from well-known manufacturers can also be harmless. Adding preservatives to alcohol is strictly prohibited in many countries, but Bosca extends the shelf life of sparkling wine with potassium sorbate. Aviva’s bright pearlescent carbonated drinks contain kandurin food coloring, which does not meet Russian quality standards.
Classic cocktails
Mixtures from various alcoholic beverages are difficult to tolerate by the body, as they complicate the work of the liver. The body cannot cope with the increased load during the breakdown of alcohols from various raw materials, which leads to the accumulation of toxic ethanol breakdown products in the tissues. Hangovers from excessive drinking of cocktails tend to be more severe than from vodka, whiskey or tequila.
How to minimize the harm of alcohol
The most important rule is not to mix, that is, not to combine alcohols made from different raw materials at one drink: grains (vodka, whiskey, beer), grapes (cognac, brandy), sugar cane (rum) or agave (tequila).
Fruit juice is the best addition to vodka, but not sweet soda, which helps to absorb alcohol into the blood, and it is not forbidden to drink wine and cognac during one evening, since they are based on one raw material. Due to carbon dioxide and complex composition, it is better not to combine beer and champagne (sparkling wine) with any other alcohol, but to drink it separately.
Popular in the United States nutritionist David Friedman considers tequila to be the most “healthy” strong drink – with a minimum sugar content and low calorie content, it contains fructans that have powerful immunomodulatory properties.