The Best Alcohol to Drink: What to Avoid for Better Health

The Best Alcohol to Drink: What to Avoid for Better Health

Not all alcoholic drinks affect your body the same way. While alcohol itself carries health risks, mixing it with sugary beverages makes the damage significantly worse. Sweet cocktails may taste pleasant, but they quietly increase strain on your liver, metabolism, and overall health.

Why Sugary Cocktails Are More Harmful

1. High Sugar and Empty Calories
Drinks like rum-cola, vodka cranberry, margaritas, and flavored alcopops contain large amounts of added sugar. This leads to weight gain, obesity, and metabolic disorders while overloading the liver.

2. Increased Liver Stress
Both alcohol and sugar—especially fructose—are processed in the liver. Together, they raise the risk of fatty liver disease and long-term liver damage.

3. Easy Overdrinking
Sweet mixers mask the taste of alcohol, making it easier to drink more than intended. This increases the risk of alcohol poisoning, accidents, and severe hangovers.

4. Blood Sugar Spikes
Sugary alcoholic drinks cause rapid blood sugar rises followed by crashes, which is particularly harmful for people with diabetes, prediabetes, or insulin resistance.

5. Worse Hangovers
Alcohol combined with sugar increases dehydration and inflammation, leading to headaches, nausea, and fatigue the next day.

Better Choices (If You Drink)

• Spirits with soda water, lemon, or lime

• Dry wine instead of sweet cocktails

• Drink slowly and alternate with water

Bottom Line

Sugary cocktails are more harmful than plain alcohol because they combine the effects of alcohol plus excess sugar, increasing health risks. If you choose to drink, avoiding sugary mixers is a simple step toward reducing harm.