Top 5 Alcohol Myths Debunked

February 9, 2009     Posted in Body, Reality

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By Mandy

For most college students, alcohol plays a big role in our 4 (or 5…whatever) years at our respective learning institutions. I mean, with the pressures of school, dating, family, career, it’s understandable why one might want a drink, or 8, at the end of the week to de-stress.

But just how much do you really know about drinking? We all know that Absolut is better than Popov and that beer fills you up faster than rum, but we also claim that liquor before beer and you’re in the clear. Is that the truth? (Editor’s Note: Not this past Saturday night, as evidenced by my hugging the bowl for 3 hours….)

The truth is, there are some myths about alcohol that are perpetuated from student to student, campus to campus, that just aren’t true! We felt the need to debunk them for you ladies so you knew the real deal before you threw back another bottle of wine so you could, you know, drink and not “get too drunk.”

Can girls and guys drink the same amount and get the same outcome? Do bitch drinks (a.k.a diet, fruity drinks) not get you as drunk as regular drinks? Here’s what we found:

Myth #1: Guys and girls of the same height and weight can drink the same amount.

Truth: Girls actually absorb alocohol much faster than men due to a higher ratio of fat to muscle. Which means, girls will probably get drunk faster than dudes. And believe it or not ladies, your period can actually affect your absorption of  alcohol.

Myth #2: Girly drinks, or diet drinks, don’t actually get you drunk.

Truth: A study done by Chris Rayner, M.C. from the Royal Adelaide Hospital in Australia showed that diet drinks will actually get you more drunk. This is due to the lack of calories in the drink, which will cause it to empty into your stomach faster, thus getting you drunk faster. Depending on what you want, this can be very good, or oh-so bad.

Myth #3: Drinking will make you gain weight.

Truth: Although the infamous “Freshman 15″ is often times attributed to excessive alcohol consumption, this myth is actually not true. After extensive research all over the world, it was found that alcohol did not cause weight gain in men and actually contributed to a weight loss in women. (Probably, cuz they drank too much and puked. But that’s just my guess.) It is the eating that comes with drinking that causes the weight gain.

Myth #5: Alcohol kills brain cells.

Truth: I totally thought it did (if you saw my GPA you’d understand), but, apparently, alcohol does not destroy any brain cells. In fact, alcohol has been associated with improving mental function.

Myth #5: Coffee will sober you up.

Truth: While it may make you feel hella better in the morning, coffee does nothing to a drunk person. Except maybe wake em up. The only thing that can sober you up is time. Alcohol leaves your body at a rate of .015% BAC (blood alcohol level) per hour. So if your BAC is .015, you’ll be sober in an hour, and so on. Not even Starbucks will speed that shiz up.

13 Comments on "Top 5 Alcohol Myths Debunked"

  1. Grace says:
    Mon, 9th Feb 20095:36 pm 

    omfg scratch that.

  2. maddie says:
    Mon, 9th Feb 20097:27 pm 

    i would like to see you cite some more information regarding alcohol being associated with improved mental function. that’s a pretty big statement to make given most people’s idea about what alcohol does to not cite some sort of article or study and state it as a fact.

  3. Kay says:
    Mon, 9th Feb 20098:58 pm 

    I concur.

  4. Samantha says:
    Mon, 9th Feb 20099:34 pm 

    A moderate amount of alcohol has been shown to increase mental function and decrease some health risks. This amount is usually defined as one drink per night or less. It certainly doesn’t mean that 7 drinks twice a week will make you smarter.

  5. Grace says:
    Mon, 9th Feb 200910:36 pm 

    ermm.. shouldnt “Myth #5: Alcohol kills brain cells.

    Truth: I totally thought it did (if you saw my GPA you’d understand), but, apparently, alcohol does not destroy any brain cells. In fact, alcohol has been associated with improving mental function.”… be a false?

  6. Liz says:
    Mon, 9th Feb 200911:27 pm 

    The myth about alcohol causing brain damage is true because my brother is an alcoholic and had a cat scan performed after his third trip to the ER. The results showed damage already being done to the frontal lobe (the part of the brain that effects decision making)and the kid just turned 22. Alcohol can cause brain damage but it takes a large quantity of it over a long period of time.

  7. Alice says:
    Tue, 10th Feb 20091:36 am 

    "Liquor before beer and you're in the clear"?? Oh my god, you guys across the pond are completely backwards even in your alcohol mythology!

    Everyone knows that to avoid a hangover you have to drink alcohol in increasing strength. So if you've just had wine, you can't have beer. If you've had beer, you can graduate to spirits. Once you've started on spirits there's nowhere to go besides absinthe.

    …and by "everyone knows" I mean "people say".

  8. echo says:
    Tue, 10th Feb 20094:04 pm 

    Myth #5: Coffee will sober you up

    sounds like something i read in 9th grade during health.

  9. Hot Girls says:
    Sun, 15th Feb 20095:23 pm 

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  10. Heather says:
    Wed, 18th Feb 20096:05 am 

    hahah are you sure myth #5 "alcohol kills brain cells" isn't true?? because apparently you forgot how to count after 3…

  11. Bridget says:
    Wed, 25th Feb 20095:51 pm 

    I am a recovering alcoholic and have been sober for 102 days and I would love to see more articles on the damage and repercussions of binge drinking or just being a down and out drunk. I know for a fact that most people do not even realize that detoxing from alcohol with out doctors supervision can kill you. I myself suffered a seizure and suffered a concussion as a result. You can detox from heroin or cocaine and not die, but not alcohol.

    It's a shame when you are of legal age they do not tell you all the negative effects of heavy drinking. Better yet send them to an open talk for AA it's a sobering experience.

  12. Lindsey says:
    Fri, 27th Feb 20091:31 pm 

    I'm drunk

  13. S says:
    Sat, 28th Feb 20099:17 am 

    Coffee in fact makes you drunker. It increases the heart rate and the alcohol is absorbed much quicker.

    I wouldn't recommend it as a hangover cure either – common belief is that hangovers are caused by dehydration and caffeine only contributes to that…

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