Drinking beer in the summer, in addition to causing gout, can also have adverse effects on the gastrointestinal tract, heart, liver, and kidneys, and even carries the latent risk of developing gout. Experts say, "Because the large amount of water consumed is quickly excreted, but the alcohol is rapidly absorbed."
Drinking chilled beer is even more harmful. The temperature of chilled beer is 20-30°C lower than the human body temperature. Consuming large amounts can cause a rapid drop in gastrointestinal temperature, reduced blood flow, leading to physiological dysfunction and impaired digestive function. In severe cases, it can even trigger life-threatening emergencies such as spasmodic abdominal pain, diarrhea, and acute pancreatitis. 1. Gastroenteritis
Excessive beer consumption can easily damage the gastric mucosa, causing gastritis and peptic ulcers, with symptoms such as upper abdominal discomfort, loss of appetite, bloating, and acid reflux.
Chilled beer can cause a sudden drop in gastrointestinal temperature, causing capillaries to constrict sharply, which can trigger gastroenteritis, resulting in spasmodic abdominal pain and diarrhea.
The earliest symptoms in such patients are mainly nausea and vomiting; followed by diarrhea, occurring 3-5 times a day or even dozens of times. Most people at this point realize they have a "stomach bug." If not treated promptly, it can easily lead to water and electrolyte imbalance. In severe cases, it can cause severe dehydration or even shock. 2. Acute Pancreatitis
Drinking large amounts of beer in the summer can also stimulate excessive pancreatic secretion, easily leading to acute pancreatitis. Dr. Ke says that many people already suffer from gallstones, and after overeating, especially drinking large amounts of beer, they are at high risk of acute pancreatitis. The mortality rate for acute pancreatitis is extremely high; once it occurs, the mortality rate can be as high as 30%-50%.
The most typical symptom for these patients is severe upper abdominal pain, which may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, bloating, diarrhea, fever, and other symptoms. This condition is quite serious and requires prompt medical attention; treatment time must not be delayed. 3. Alcoholic Liver Disease
Beer is rich in nutrients and high in calories, and most of its nutritional components can be absorbed by the body. At the same time, most of the alcohol is metabolized by the liver. Long-term damage from alcohol can lead to alcoholic liver disease, which can subsequently progress to cirrhosis and liver cancer, significantly shortening one's lifespan.
Many men also consume large amounts of fat when drinking beer, and without necessary exercise, fatty liver disease can easily develop. These individuals may have no symptoms in mild cases, but some symptoms are similar to hepatitis, such as bloating, general fatigue and weakness, loss of appetite, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, weight loss, and fever in some patients. 4. Kidney Stones
"To cool off, many people use beer instead of water, which is extremely unscientific," experts say. For people who frequently drink beer, water is excreted in large amounts, increasing uric acid concentration and making it easy to develop stones.
This is because the malt used to brew beer contains large amounts of water, and when consumed, it interacts with calcium, oxalic acid, uridine nucleotides, and purine nucleotides. These substances can more than double the amount of uric acid in the body, easily promoting the formation of kidney stones.
Kidney stones can exist for a long time without symptoms, especially larger ones. The pain caused by kidney stones can be dull or colicky. Some patients may have a history of intermittent pain. The location of renal colic is different from other gastrointestinal diseases; the pain is often located in the waist and abdomen, mostly paroxysmal, but can also be persistent. Another major symptom is hematuria, which often accompanies the pain and can worsen with physical activity. 5. Worsening Stomach Conditions
Patients with chronic gastritis who drink beer may have inhibited or reduced synthesis of prostaglandin E in the gastric mucosa, causing damage to the gastric mucosa and leading to bloating, a burning sensation in the stomach, belching, and loss of appetite. The carbon dioxide in beer increases the pressure in the stomach; excessive consumption can pose a risk of triggering ulcer perforation. 6. Easy Hypoglycemia
Although the alcohol content in beer is low, the calories produced by alcohol can interfere with a patient's normal diet control. When diabetic patients take sulfonylurea hypoglycemic drugs or inject insulin, drinking too much beer can cause a hypoglycemic reaction. 7. Heart Patients are Prone to Heart Failure
Beer contains a large amount of water, which increases the burden on the heart after consumption. If beer is consumed in large amounts frequently, the heart suffers continuous damage from alcohol, which can cause heart thickening and trigger heart failure. People who already have symptoms of heart failure should not drink beer.