Five Things to Note When Drinking Beer to Beat the Summer Heat
In the scorching summer, beer is particularly popular and considered a must-have drink for beating the heat. Beer is rich in amino acids and vitamins, can whet the appetite, strengthen the spleen, and relieve summer heat, making it truly suitable for summer consumption. However, the dangers of excessive beer drinking should not be underestimated. Paying attention to the relevant "don'ts" when drinking can be beneficial to both body and mind.
Beer is especially popular in the hot summer
In the hot summer, many people will reach for a chilled beer. One sip brings a cool and refreshing feeling. Beer is made from natural ingredients and is a reliable, all-natural food with many health benefits. Beer mainly contains barley, alcohols, hops, and polyphenols, which can promote gastric juice secretion and improve the stomach's digestive and absorption capabilities. Low levels of sodium, alcohol, and nucleic acids can increase blood supply to the brain, dilate coronary arteries, and speed up the body's metabolic activities. Additionally, moderate consumption can reduce over-excitement and tension, and promote muscle relaxation. However, drinking beer also requires attention to several "don'ts".
Don't use beer to quench your thirst
Many people see beer as a refreshing drink to quench thirst and stop sweating. But in fact, drinking beer can make thirst and sweating worse. According to health experts, beer has a cool and comfortable feeling when consumed, but after alcohol enters the body, it stimulates the secretion of adrenal hormones, which speeds up the heart rate, dilates blood vessels, and increases heat dissipation from the body's surface. This, in turn, increases water evaporation and causes dry mouth.
At the same time, alcohol also stimulates the kidneys, accelerating metabolism and urination, causing the body to lose water.
Furthermore, when alcohol dissolves in the blood, it increases the blood's viscosity, forcing the blood in the vessels to absorb water from the surrounding tissues to dilute the blood. This also causes dry mouth.
Health tip: After drinking beer, drink plenty of plain water and light tea to replenish body fluids in a timely manner.
Overweight people should not drink draft beer
There is a distinction between draft and pasteurized beer. Draft beer generally has not been pasteurized, so its aroma and taste are better than pasteurized beer. It also retains the activity of enzymes, which is beneficial for breaking down macromolecules, and therefore contains richer amino acids and soluble protein. This is why draft beer is often more popular, but it should be noted that overweight people are not suitable for drinking it.
Experts remind that because the yeast in draft beer can still survive after entering the human body, it can promote gastric juice secretion and enhance a person's appetite. Therefore, drinking draft beer can easily lead to weight gain, and for overweight people, it will only make them gain more weight the more they drink.
Health tip: Overweight people and those on a diet are more suitable for drinking pasteurized beer because it has been pasteurized. The yeast in the beer has been killed by high temperatures and will not continue to ferment, so the possibility of causing weight gain is relatively small.
The temperature of the beer should not be too low
Under the scorching sun, drinking chilled beer feels incredibly refreshing, but beer that is too cold not only affects the taste but can also induce various diseases.
Experts say that even beer stored in the refrigerator should be kept at 5-10°C because the solubility of carbon dioxide in beer changes with temperature. The various components of beer are in a coordinated balance within this temperature range, forming the best taste. If the temperature is too low, it not only tastes bad but also causes the proteins in the liquid to break down and become free, destroying the nutritional value.
More importantly, a beer temperature that is too low will cause a rapid drop in the temperature of the drinker's gastrointestinal tract, reduce blood flow, and affect digestion. In severe cases, it can trigger spasmodic abdominal pain, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal diseases. It can also increase the pressure in the duodenum, which in turn increases the pressure in the pancreatic duct, stimulating pancreatic secretion and inducing acute pancreatitis.
Health tip: Try to drink beer at room temperature. If you must chill it, don't make it too cold, and avoid drinking it in large gulps.
Don't pair it with grilled food
Many people love to drink beer and eat barbecue on summer nights. This popular food combination can very likely induce gout and even cancer.
Experts warn that most grilled foods are seafood, animal offal, and meat. Like beer, they are all high-purine foods, and abnormal purine metabolism is a major factor in inducing gout. If you eat grilled food and drink beer at the same time, the risk of developing gout will increase significantly.
In addition, during the grilling process, not only are carcinogens like "benzopyrene" produced, but the nucleic acids in meat also break down upon heating to produce gene mutations and carcinogens.
Drinking alcohol dilates the blood vessels of the digestive tract and dissolves the mucus proteins on the surface of the digestive mucosa, making it easier for the body to absorb these carcinogens and increasing the cancer risk.
Health tip: When drinking beer, try to avoid eating barbecue. If you really want to, you can eat some green leafy vegetables at the same time to reduce the side effects.
Don't drink excessively
The alcohol content in beer is not high, so many people drink heartily in the summer, even treating it as a summer drink. But in fact, unlimited consumption of beer is also harmful to the human body.
Experts point out that when a person drinks a large amount of beer, the large amount of water consumed will be quickly excreted, but the alcohol will be absorbed. If you drink excessively throughout the summer, it will greatly increase the burden on the liver, kidneys, and heart, damaging these important organs.
At the same time, because the malt wort used to brew beer contains oxalic acid and uridine nucleotide, their interaction can increase the amount of uric acid in the human body and promote the formation of stones.
Health tip: Because beer is nutritious and has high calories, and its nutrients are easily absorbed by the body, drinking large amounts can lead to fat accumulation in the body, so it should not be consumed in excess. It is recommended that an individual's daily consumption does not exceed 1000 ml.
Why is beer in glass bottles?
Tips: A few small facts about drinking beer
1. Why can't beer be sold in plastic bottles?
Because the domestic plastic bottle industry has not yet reached that level. Bottles for beer must be pressure-resistant and able to preserve freshness due to the special nature of beer. Therefore, beer bottles are generally dark-colored glass bottles. Glass bottles have better preservation and are more pressure-resistant than plastic bottles, so they are currently used. Abroad, plastic bottles are now available, but not many, because technical problems mean plastic bottles cannot completely replace glass ones yet.
2. Who should not drink beer?
People with gout absolutely cannot drink beer. Some experiments have found that drinking one bottle of beer can double the concentration of uric acid in the blood, triggering an acute attack of gout. People with chronic gastritis should not drink beer, as beer can damage the gastric mucosa, causing loss of appetite, abdominal bloating, and fullness. People with poor heart function should not drink beer because beer contains a lot of water, which increases the burden on the heart, causing myocardial hypertrophy and worsening heart failure.
3. How to drink beer without getting drunk or vomiting?
You should never drink on an empty stomach. If you do, the body will quickly absorb the alcohol into your system, causing you to get drunk quickly. Also, don't drink too fast when you start. Let your body's functions have time to adapt. Once your body adapts, the digestive and detoxification functions can work normally, and the beer you drink will be digested quickly.