Why is alcohol dangerous in a heatwave, and should I cut it out completely?

As Europe endures a record-breaking heatwave, countries are taking steps to keep people safe and prevent health services from becoming overstretched. Parisians face a temporary ban on drinking alcohol in public to reduce the pressure on the hospitals after a four-fold rise in cardiac arrests in a 24-hour period. We look at why drinking alcohol can be dangerous in a heatwave. What does alcohol do to the body? A cold beer in the sun need not be a problem, but strong drinks and large volumes can be dangerous. Alcohol is a diuretic, and estimates suggest every 1ml of alcohol stimulates the body to produce about 10ml of urine. If you have a 25ml nip of 40% whisky, that amounts to 10ml of alcohol and 15ml of water. The 10ml of alcohol will cause you to produce 100ml of urine, leading to a net water loss of 85ml. There’s a smaller effect with beer. A pint (568ml) of 5% beer contains about 28ml of alcohol, which stimulates about 280ml of urine, but the body gains about 260ml of water. “You’re better off with that pint of beer, you are more hydrated than you would be if you didn’t drink it,” said Prof Ron Maughan, an honorary professor at the University of St Andrews who has worked with the British Olympic Association. But drinking pint after pint can be a problem because the sheer volume stimulates urination. “When you drink not one pint of beer but many pints of beer, you run into difficulties,” he said. …