Excessive Beer Consumption Can Lead to Six Diseases
When the weather is hot, people enjoy having some beer with their meals. Beer companies and manufacturers seize the summer season to host various beer festivals with tempting slogans like "Summer Passion" and "Binge-drinking Carnival," which makes many people eager to drink heavily. Many people think that drinking a few extra beers just means a few more trips to the bathroom, but the harm of excessive beer consumption is actually significant.
Acute Gastroenteritis: Consuming a large amount of beer in a short period can dilute stomach acid, disrupt the acidic environment of the gastrointestinal tract, and reduce the immunity of the digestive system. This makes it easier to be infected by pathogens, leading to intestinal infectious diseases such as bacterial dysentery and acute gastroenteritis. At the same time, it increases gastrointestinal motility, speeding up food excretion and easily causing bloating and diarrhea. Iced beer can cause a sudden drop in gastrointestinal temperature, leading to spasmodic abdominal pain and diarrhea, and in severe cases, can cause gastric bleeding.
Alcoholic Liver Disease: Beer itself is nutritious and high in calories, and most of its nutrients can be absorbed by the body. Since alcohol is metabolized by the liver, long-term and excessive damage from alcohol can lead to alcoholic liver disease.
Kidney Stones: The malt used to brew beer contains not only calcium and oxalic acid but also a large amount of purines. Excessive consumption leads to excess energy intake, increased uric acid production, and promotes the formation of kidney stones.
Cardiovascular Diseases: Heavy drinking can cause a short-term increase in blood volume,加重心脏和血管的负担 (加重 the burden on the heart and blood vessels), damaging organs such as the cardiovascular system, kidneys, liver, and lungs. Some people may experience dizziness, high blood pressure, a rapid heart rate, and even trigger cardiovascular events.
Colds: Drinking a large amount of iced beer might feel refreshing, but it can cause pores to suddenly contract due to the cold, stopping perspiration and hindering the body's heat dissipation, thus inducing colds and other illnesses.
Increased Toxicity and Side Effects of Medications: People taking certain medications should not drink alcohol, such as anti-epileptic drugs, hypoglycemic drugs, antidepressants, sedatives, antibiotics, nitrate drugs, hemostatic drugs, antihypertensive drugs, anti-tuberculosis drugs, and antiallergic drugs, because alcohol can exacerbate their toxic and side effects.
Adults should not consume more than 300ml of beer at a time. The best drinking temperature is around 8°C for the most refreshing taste. It is not advisable to eat cured and smoked foods with beer; fruits and light dishes are recommended, with peanuts being the best beer snack.