One of the nasty side effects of alcohol is that it causes dehydration. It is that dehydration that causes hangovers and some of the other downsides of drunkenness. On the other hand, one of the primary functions of sports drinks is to fight dehydration. Now, Queensland’s Griffith Health Institute in Australia have combined the two, adding electrolytes to commercial beer to reduce the unpleasant things that can come with drinking.
Via Fastcoexist:
“In the Australian experiment, the results of which will be published in the forthcoming International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, seven male volunteers worked out on a stationary bike until they lost a good amount of water through sweat. Then, like a hazing ritual, researchers made their subjects drink 150% of what they had lost. Next to an unaltered light and regular beer, the researchers also provided their volunteers with two beers fortified with electrolytes. Urine samples and weight readings showed that drinkers of the light beer with electrolytes achieved “significantly enhanced net fluid balance,” meaning that they successfully avoided peeing out the body’s crucial H20.
To be clear, the researchers do not endorse chugging a pitcher after a workout.
“This is definitely not a good idea, but what we’ve found is that many people who sweat a lot, especially tradesmen, knock off work and have a beer; it’s pretty normal,” associate professor and researcher Ben Desbrow told News Medical. “But alcohol in a dehydrated body can have all sorts of repercussions, including decreased awareness of risk.”