Shadow Mountain Rehab Center Blog Post Dispels Myths About Drinking Alcohol

Santa Fe, N.M. — Shadow Mountain Recovery, an addiction treatment facility located in Santa Fe, N.M., has published a blog post examining eight myths about alcohol consumption and how long alcohol can stay in one's system.

The first myth the post tackles is, "I can sober up quickly by jumping into a cold shower or drinking coffee/caffeine." This isn't true because no matter what a person does, they cannot get alcohol to leave their body more quickly. The key to sobering up is time, and those that misunderstand this can get into trouble. Another myth the post addresses is, "Beer and wine are safer than liquor." This is unfounded because alcohol is alcohol no matter what type of drink it's in. This is a common argument that beer and wine drinkers use to justify consuming larger quantities.

The third myth discussed is, "I can coat my stomach with milk or oil to keep from getting drunk or sick." The Shadow Mountain Recovery post states that some people take this so seriously that in places such as Italy, people have been known to try to coat their stomachs with olive oil. There is no evidence to suggest that any of these methods designed to slow alcohol absorption by the body actually work.

Another common alcohol-related fallacy mentioned is, "My friend passed out — we can let them sleep it off alone." This can be the most dangerous myth because alcohol slows many bodily functions, and in worse-case scenarios, it can even cause death. So anyone that has consumed too much alcohol needs to be closely watched. "Beer before liquor, never been sicker. Liquor before beer, you’re in the clear" is another drinking-related saying that simply isn't true because it's alcohol that causes a person to get sick, and alcohol is in both beer and wine.

Another of the more dangerous myths mentioned in the post is, "The worst thing alcohol will do is make me pass out." As previously mentioned, since alcohol slows bodily functions, there is a chance that consuming too much of it can be fatal. There can be severe health consequences when drinking too much alcohol leads to alcohol poisoning, or acute alcohol intoxication, which is when the level of alcohol in the body gets too high and acts as a poison.

The post also talks about the myth that says, "Drinking caffeine with alcohol makes you less drunk," when in reality, it most likely only makes someone feel less drunk. It does not change the amount of alcohol in a person’s body. Lastly, the post dispels the myth, "One drink. One hour. It’s out of my system." The amount of time it takes for a drink to leave your system depends on many factors, including age, gender, food consumed before/during drinking, weight, metabolism, and medications.

Shadow Mountain Recovery Santa Fe offers detox and holistic residential addiction treatment in a breath-taking atmosphere steeped in the history and culture of the Southwest. Shadow Mountain also has treatment facilities in Albuquerque and Taos, N.M.

For more information about Shadow Mountain Recovery’s treatment services, visit their website or call (800) 203-8249.