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On a Diet? Planning to Drink this Weekend? Read This First

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Breathalayzer

photo: automotive.com

Trying to lose weight does not mean abstaining from alcohol. It just means you need to be cognizant of the calories you’re putting in your body and not overdoing it.

If you like to mix your alcohol with juice or soda, here’s something interesting for you to know: Using diet drinks will likely get you drunk faster.

In a small experiment conducted by psychologists, and to be published in the April issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, people who drank a diet mix had 18% higher alcohol levels when tested with an alcohol breathalyzer.

The explanation – apparently the sugars present in regular drinks help the body absorb alcohol more effectively than their lack thereof.

Our take: It’s always good to have some food in your belly when drinking. But whether you drink your Joe Cuervo straight or have a Captain and (diet) Coke, don’t fuss too much about your rate of inebriation, just be mindful and responsible enough to have a designated driver take you home safely.

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  • CkinDC

    Just be careful of reporting this as fact, since the study was very small (16 subjects) and poorly designed; there are many other factors at play. This doesn’t mean it’s likely to get you drunk faster as there isn’t statistically significant evidence to support this claim. I took the underlying message as don’t drink diet soda; if you’re going to get a drink, get a real drink and enjoy it. And yes, don’t drink and drive!