3 Facts About Alcohol

At a party on Saturday we were served little chocolate sweets that contained alcohol which got me thinking about the subject of food and/in drink. Here's some interesting facts I found out:

1. A few years ago a study showed that drinking alcohol without eating raises the chance of developing high blood pressure and indeed drinking without food may counteract any benefit to the heart associated with moderate alcohol consumption.

2. The reason why you need the toilet so much after the first few drinks is due to alcohol inhibiting the release of a hormone called anti-diuresis. This hormone has the effect of reabsorbing water into the blood, so it isn't lost in the urine. Without it, it tends to mainly go through.

3. According to one source, it is perhaps the greatest culinary urban myth of our time that alcohol 'cooks out' in food as it is on the stove. Alcohol may have a lower boiling point (78.5C) than water but after preparation, alcohol ranging from 4%-85% is still there depending upon a number of factors such as cooking temperature, size of the cooking vessel, cooking time, and the presence of other ingredients in the prepared dish. This is therefore extremely important if for, example, the person eating such a dish is a recovering alcoholic or a Muslim.