Delhi, India

While most people know that drinking alcohol on an empty stomach can take your health for a toss, many don’t know that they shouldn’t mix breakfast with liquor. Early morning binge-drinking sessions can be your direct ticket to the hospital and if you are not careful enough, you can develop serious liver, kidney and intestine diseases. 

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To get you expert advice, WION spoke to Dr Hunaid Hatimi, Senior Consultant - Liver, Pancreas and Intestine Transplant & HPB Surgery at Global Hospital, Mumbai. Here’s what he said! 

“There are many dangers associated with drinking alcohol in the morning. If the individual feels that the first thing that they should do in the morning is drink alcohol in order to face the day, it is a sign of psychological dependence on alcohol,” Hatimi said.

Talking about the physical harms and issues caused by early morning drinking habit, the doctor said, “Many people who consume alcohol for breakfast will do so with an empty stomach. This is extremely damaging for their health an increase the likelihood of developing alcoholic liver disease and alcoholic dementia.”

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Revealing more side effects of the same, the doctor shared. “The kidneys' function is altered by alcohol, and they are less capable of filtering blood. The ability to manage fluid and electrolytes in the body is also harmed by alcohol. The drying action of alcohol can disrupt the proper function of cells and organs, including the kidneys, when it dehydrates (drys out) the body. Alcohol can also impact kidney function by disrupting hormones.”

Other than mental and physical harms, it can also affect one’s social life. Drinking in the morning can mean that the individual is more prone to accidents, is less productivity and indulges in dangerous activities. It can also harm the individual’s reputation in front of their colleagues and relatives.

Those who drink in the morning will usually struggle to take care of their responsibilities. And, that’s where the problems will begin.

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The doctor also shared how much alcohol one should consume to avoid liver failure. The ‘safe limit' for alcohol consumption is said to be 21 units per week (1 unit is approximately 25 ml of whiskey) in men, and 14 units in women.

Also read: Easy at-home lip-plumping techniques for the perfect pout

No more than three units in one day, and to have at least two alcohol-free days a week. (One unit of hard liquor is roughly equal to 12 ounces/355 ml of beer or 4 ounces/120 ml of wine)