Table of Contents
Beer Before Liquor- Fact Or A Myth?
You might have heard a slang too often, “beer before liquor, never been sicker”. It mainly refers to the idea that you might be able to dodge a hangover by remembering to drink alcoholic beverages in a specific order.
By now, you might have come across many people that swear by this rule, but is it really true and backed by scient or facts?
To help you understand if it is a fact or a myth, this article looks at several scientific aspects to determine how healthy this saying is.
Beer before liquor- origin
Ever wondered from where and how did this saying first of all originated, several theories are referring to this ultra-popular saying that came out after research.
One hypothesis or theory is that most people begin their evenings with drinks that have slightly lower alcohol content like wine or beer and then they move towards liquor as their evening progresses.
Then, after all, if they happen to get even slightly sick by the end of the night or feel terrible the other morning after waking up, some just blame it on the order of their drinking.
One more theory you should hear about is based on the idea that high alcohol content in liquors is more likely to spike blood alcohol levels in a short span of time. when compare to beer.
Therefore, once the evening is finished with liquor after few hours of content drinking beer can push a person’s already increased blood alcohol content quickly over the edge. This contributes to hangovers.
The theory also indicates that starting the evening with any liquor and ending the evening with beer might slow the spikes in blood alcohol levels thus limiting the severity of hangovers the following morning.
Why drinking order does not have an effect
Despite so many elaborated theories, the order of consumption of alcohol is unlikely to have any effect whether you experience hangovers the next morning or not.
This is because alcohol begins to absorb into the bloodstream as soon as it reaches the stomach. Thus, any alcohol you consume the night earlier will absorb well in the bloodstream before a hangover takes place.
As long as the alcohol amount consumed remains the same, there is no reason why consuming liquor before beer or beer before liquor would protect you against hangovers the next morning.
That being said, if any drinking order consistent causes you to intake a larger amount of alcohol than others, it is more likely to cause a hangover the other day.
Some other factors causing hangover risk
Even though drinking orders may have little impact, many other factors are there too that may increase your risk of hangovers, read these out instead of following the “beer before liquor” myth.
- The amount of alcohol you consume. High blood alcohol levels in your body are likely to induce hangovers as compared to low blood alcohol levels. This is common and understood by everyone.
- Whether you ate or not also decides the hangover levels. Drinking alcohol empty stomach can cause the alcohol to move quickly from your stomach to the bloodstream to the intestine where it is absorbed more rapidly and sikes blood alcohol levels.
- How frequently you consume alcohol also affects hangovers. Heavy drinkers are more prone to reach a blood alcohol concentration that leads to hangovers. Evidence suggests that prepared heavy drinking by people increases the severity of their hangovers the other morning.
- Congeners and compounds are found naturally in many alcohol drunks that are responsible for hangovers and contribute to them. Certain types of alcohol contain high levels of congeners than other types.
- Genetics also influence how your body metabolizes the liquor you take and its impacts on the body like blood sugar levels, sleep, hydration, and blood vessel dilation. All the factors can together influence the severity of hangovers.
- Smoking is another factor. Hangover might be more frequent in people who smoke frequently than others who do not smoke or smoke very little.
Interestingly, even after all the factors, it seems that around a quarter of people who consume alcohol never experience hangovers despite the way they drink.
“Beer before liquor, never been sicker; liquor before beer, you’re in the clear”- A Saying
The belief is that beer is a soft alcoholic beverage that can not cause drunkenness as rapidly as vodka. Switching to hard alcohol beverages after a few beer glasses can make the atmosphere come on too fast resulting in vomiting as the myth goes.
So, beginning with the hard stuff and then switching to slower stuff with beer should prevent any spins and hangovers, right? Not so much.
Well, the fact is according to the alcohol consumer dedication groups, the amount of alcohol you intake and the time you need to drink it matters more than the type of drink you intake and how you mix your drinks.
Drinking too much of any alcoholic beverage and drinking too quickly will eventually make you sick whether it is beer, liquor, or wine. No matter what you are costing, the pacing is definitely the key.
Other Myths Similar To “Beer Before Liquor”
Many similar myths do exist as beer before liquor. Let’s list some of them so that you will know even these are myths and no factual information is there to affirm any of the sayings listed below:
- Darker alcohols are usually healthier.
- Older wine is much better.
- Beer is a great workout recovery drink to intake.
- Puking prevents hangovers and helps you sober up.
- Taking Advil or Tylenol before heavy drinking can help reduce hangovers the next morning.
- Eating a lot before bed reduces the chances of a hangover.
- Light beer is generally healthier.
- Alcohol kills the brain cells
- A cold shower and coffee will sober you up.
- Mixing energy drinks with alcohol makes you drunker.
These were some “beer before liquor” myths.
The Bottom Line
The search for different strategies and ways to prevent the chance of hangovers includes many myths like beer before liquor. The advice of consuming liquor before the beer is one of them as doing so seems to reduce the hangover after heavy drinking at night.
You are likely to avoid hangovers by eating something and not drinking on an empty stomach, limiting how often and how much you drink, and not smoking with drinking.
This was all about the “beer before liquor” myth. We hope this article helped you burst the myth.
