New findings suggest that
diet soda mixed with alcohol leads to faster intoxication than regular soda
mixers.
From the ABC Medical New Unit, 2/5/13
By SAMIR VERMANI, M.D.,
Cutting calories with diet soda may seem like a good idea,
However………
A new study released in the journal Alcoholism suggests that
cutting alcoholic drinks with diet soda makes them more potent than using their
full-calorie counterparts. Specifically, researchers found that mixing alcohol
with diet (sugar-free) soft drinks resulted in higher breath alcohol content
than mixing alcohol with a regular (sugar-sweetened) soft drink.
"The results were surprising," said Cecile A.
Marczinski, assistant professor in the department of psychological science at
Northern Kentucky University, and one of the lead investigators of the study.
Researchers served one of three beverages: vodka added to a
diet drink, vodka added to a regular drink or a regular soft drink with a vodka
scent added so that participants would believe it was an alcoholic beverage.
They then sat back while the subjects enjoyed their cocktails.
Those participants drinking the vodka-diet drink cocktails
had significantly higher breath alcohol content and had the highest degree of
behavioral impairment among the groups, the study found.