Health experts warn of alcohol risks during record-breaking European heatwave
7 reported
As Europe experiences a record-breaking heatwave, Paris has temporarily banned drinking alcohol in public following a four-fold rise in cardiac arrests in a 24-hour period. Experts explain that alcohol acts as a diuretic, causing net water loss, and can strain the heart by widening blood vessels and lowering blood pressure. Dehydration and electrolyte loss from alcohol consumption can lead to arrhythmias or heart attacks in severe cases. Drinking alcohol in a heatwave also raises the risk of heatstroke by impairing the body’s temperature regulation and reducing awareness of warning signs. However, some experts caution that advising against all alcohol may be counterproductive, as a pint of weak beer can provide hydration. They suggest that those who choose to drink should limit themselves to a couple of pints of weak beer or shandy.
What’s reported
Paris has imposed a temporary ban on drinking alcohol in public due to a four-fold rise in cardiac arrests in a 24-hour period during a record-breaking European heatwave.
Alcohol is a diuretic; every 1ml of alcohol stimulates the body to produce about 10ml of urine, leading to net water loss.
A 25ml nip of 40% whisky causes a net water loss of 85ml, while a pint of 5% beer provides a net water gain of about 260ml.
Prof Ron Maughan of the University of St Andrews stated that a pint of beer leaves a person more hydrated than not drinking it, but multiple pints cause difficulties due to the volume stimulating urination.
Heat and alcohol strain the heart by widening blood vessels, lowering blood pressure, and causing dehydration, which can lead to dizziness, collapse, arrhythmias, or heart attack.
Prof Helmut Seitz of the University of Heidelberg said alcohol bans like Paris’s make sense because alcohol impairs judgment and increases risk-taking.
Maughan warned that advising against all alcohol could be counterproductive, as weak beer can aid hydration; he recommends sticking to a couple of pints of weak beer or shandy.
Key figures
Prof Ron Maughan, honorary professor at the University of St Andrews, worked with the British Olympic Association
Prof Helmut Seitz, University of Heidelberg in Germany
Sources: The Guardian
