Wait—Can Alcohol Really Prevent Food Poisoning?

Can consuming alcohol after eating anything suspect help prevent food poisoning?

That question has been circulating TikTok lately after one stoner posted a videotape in which they took a shot after eating conceivably poisoned food.

Their explanation? That exploration has shown consuming wine after eating dubious food could ease sickness. 

What if, like me right now, you just finished eating some meal and are unsure of its quality because you’re afraid you could get food poisoning? “The TikTokker said.However, follow it up with a single shot of hard liquor and you’ll reduce your liability of getting sick, “ If you’re of legal drinking age and healthful to drink and you’ve eaten some stuff that you think might not be the best.good. ” 

Is this a licit claim? Experts say there may be a kernel of variety to it but the advice is n’t so clear- cut. 

“ Yes, alcohol as a substance can kill pathogens — suppose rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer as a detergent, ” Rabia De Latour, MD, a gastroenterologist at NYU Langone, informed Health. “However, consuming alcohol, which is known to be harmful to human health, shouldn’t be the first line of treatment for food poisoning.”

In fact, drinking alcohol after eating food that has n’t been prepared correctly may make effects worse rather than better. 

“ We do use alcohol in hand sanitizers( and) for drawing shells, but the terrain of the stomach is fully different, ” Christopher Counts, MD, exigency drug croaker and toxicology fellow at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School’s New Jersey Bane Control Centre, told Health. 

Then, experts explain what exploration has shown about how alcohol may affect your chances of getting food poisoning — plus what you should do if you suppose you’ve eaten bad food. 

Can Drinking Alcohol Reduce Your Chances of Getting Food Poisoning?

Multiple studies have looked into the question of whether alcohol can help food poisoning, but the “ findings do n’t mean alcoholic potables should be recommended as a defensive factor, ” Counts said. 

It’s also important to note that the studies do n’t prove anything definitively, De Latour added. “ She clarified, “There are numerous small, underpowered studies with contradicting data.”

A 2002 study comparing the outcomes of those who drank alcohol and those who abstained from alcohol use after being exposed to Salmonella Ohio was published in the journal Epidemiology. The experimenters concluded that those who drank alcohol were less likely to get sick, but the small sample size — only 51 people were included in the study — makes it difficult to draw firm judgements regarding the results, according to experts. “ The authors indeed( wrote) in the study, ‘ These findings do n’t mean that alcoholic potables should be recommended as a defensive factor against contagious food- borne conditions,’” Counts said. ^[1] 

Another small study published in Epidemiology in 1992 setup that drinking potables with an alcohol attention of at least 10 was associated with “ a defensive effect ” in people who had eaten polluted oysters. However, experts noted that the study’s scope was again constrictive. ^[2]

According to Counts, there has been a suggestion that wine possesses antibacterial properties, which might be beneficial for those who have consumed contaminated food. However, this claim has not been validated and, as such, it should not be used as justification for consuming wine to treat disease.

In a 2001 investigation published in the journals Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, the investigators concluded that wine “wasn’t effective in precluding food-borne conditions in vivo( in the mice).” ^[3]

It’s also worth noting that indeed the studies that have linked alcohol consumption with dropped threat of illness have n’t proven that alcohol was the reason study actors did n’t get sick, Dr. Counts said. “We have to deal with these correlations and associations, which aren’t inherently causative, a lot in studies,” he stated.

On the other hand, doctors noted that consuming more alcohol than is advised may actually raise your risk of being ill.

“ The rearmost U.S. nutritive guidelines recommend that women who choose to drink should n’t have more than one alcoholic libation served per day ” while men should n’t have further than two, De Latour said. ” Our bodies can be harmed by alcohol in numerous different ways when it’s consumed in excess.”

How to help Food Poisoning

It might not be in your stylish interest to take a shot after eating food that was n’t set rightly. But there are numerous known ways of precluding food- borne illness in the first place. 

To avoid food- borne ails, the U.S. According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): ^[4]

• Wash your hands and clean all kitchen shells frequently. 

• Cook your food to the correct temperature. A meat thermometer may help you insure your meat gets as hot as it should before you stop cooking it. 

• Refrigerate the leaves right away since food that is left out for too long might grow bacteria.

• Avoid Cross-contamination by keeping your food particulars separated in your kitchen. 

Though taking a shot after eating defiled food might not be the quick fix it’s been announced as, these ways can help you stay safe from food poisoning. 

In this instance, excessive alcohol consumption poses a greater risk to your health than it does to theoretically prevent sickness, according to De Latour.