Comments on: quicker buzz via diet soda and booze?

Question: quicker buzz via diet soda and booze?

rampy — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 07:04:10 -0800

Someone suggested to me that rum and diet coke has more of an impact (metabolizes faster?) than rum and regular coke. Is this true, and if so why?

By: bcwinters

bcwinters — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 07:14:39 -0800

Well, regular Coke has calories from sugar. Diet Coke doesn't.

It's the equivalent of drinking a shot along with a little 100 calorie packet of crackers versus drinking the shot without the crackers. More or less.

By: TheNewWazoo

TheNewWazoo — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 07:14:47 -0800

Well, according to this DailyMed article, "...Caffeine may enhance the effects of: other narcotic analgesics, [and] alcohol".

The intergoogle found nothing about contraindications between aspartame and alcohol, which would be my only other line of inquiry.

In my (humble, non-medical) opinion, this is likely an urban legend, much in the same vein as people claiming to get "differently" drunk from different liquors. It's all ethyl alcohol, people.

By: uncleozzy

uncleozzy — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 07:18:01 -0800

Looks like diet mixers may result in higher peak BAC.

By: GaelFC

GaelFC — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 07:40:59 -0800

We had this story on MSNBC some months back. Here it is.

Australian researchers "found that artificial sweeteners found in such popular mixers as Diet Coke and sugar-free Red Bull lead to a high rate of alcohol absorption, resulting in a greater blood alcohol peak and concentration than from drinks made with sugar-based mixers."

By: cgg

cgg — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 07:45:59 -0800

Well, if caffeine enhances the effect of alcohol, I'm pretty sure Diet Coke has slightly more caffeine than regular Coke. I highly doubt that would make a difference, however - it's only a very slight increase in caffeine.

By: rampy

rampy — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 08:11:04 -0800

thanks all! Those two articles where what I was looking for/getting at.

By: PetiePal

PetiePal — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 09:19:20 -0800

Sugar makes you metabolize the alcohol quicker, hence getting drunker quicker as well. Of course this is all proportional to how many shots not to mention if you're on an empty stomach. If you are you'll process the alcohol pretty fast either way.

By: rampy

rampy — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 12:57:29 -0800

Petie, woudn't your theory mean that regular coke would get your drunk quicker (or have a higher BAC quicker), which is the opposite of the theory being put forth that sugar subsitutes in diet mixers cause faster absorbtion? *shrug*

rampy