Why not mix alcohol and energy drinks?
Last reviewed: 07.06.2019
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Mixing alcoholic drinks and energy drinks is dangerous: physicians representing the University of Portsmouth (United Kingdom) and the Federal University of St. Mary (Brazil) warn of this. They conducted a study on the course of which they told on the official websites of the presented educational institutions.
Among today's young people all kinds of mixes and cocktails from various drinks are especially popular. Energy and alcohol drinks are not less often mixed: many young people are sure that drinking such a cocktail will help to balance the relaxing effect of alcohol. That is, a person supposedly should feel intoxicated, but without a relaxing effect: a feeling of cheerfulness remains. But doctors say: the state of health from the use of such a mixture can shake in earnest, and the burden on the body at the same time exceeds that in the use of large amounts of alcoholic beverages. In addition, the alcohol-energy cocktail causes a loss of caution, complicates the process of communication with others, which can lead to a lot of additional problems.
The experiment of scientists was as follows. The study involved nearly two hundred Danio fish, which were divided into shoals of four fish each. To some fish, taurine was introduced into the habitat (one of the ingredients included in the energy drinks), another was added to a spirit drink, to the third - a mixture of alcohol and taurine. The fourth fish were luckier: they left a clean habitat.
In the listed environments, the fish lived for an hour. Next, the researchers proceeded to a behavioral analysis, assessing the condition of the fish immediately after the abolition of special conditions, as well as after half an hour and an hour. In addition, doctors watched the reaction of the fish to the demonstration of the model of a potentially dangerous predator. Specialists divided the aquarium into 4 sectors and “settled” the enemy in its most remote areas.
As it was discovered, the fish previously swimming in the environment with the alcohol component and taurine, practically ceased to interact with other relatives from the school. Among other things, they began to demonstrate a particular risk in behavior, allowing themselves to swim closer to the predator, ignoring the danger.
Everyone knows that drinking alcohol has a lot of negative sides. The behavior of people also changes drastically under the influence of alcohol-containing drinks, and their regular use in large quantities causes aggression and conflict in a person, and, as a result, injury increases, other serious problems appear.
Experts have concluded: the simultaneous use of alcohol and energy drinks increases the negative effects of alcohol, and also increases the frequency of side effects.
Danio fish were used for the experiment because of their similar biochemical and behavioral mechanisms.
Information published on the website of the University of Portsmouth (http://uopnews.port.ac.uk/2018/08/13/mixing-energy-drinks-with-alcohol-could-enhance-the-negative-effects-of-binge-drinking/).