Many people like to drink strong tea after drinking alcohol, thinking that a cup of strong tea after drinking can have a sobering and health-promoting effect. However, this is a misconception. According to the theory of Yin and Yang in traditional Chinese medicine, the taste of alcohol is pungent and enters the lungs. The lungs govern the skin and hair, and the lungs are closely related to the large intestine. When drinking alcohol, it should be taken to promote the rising and dispersing nature of yang energy, so as to enhance lung energy and promote the circulation of qi and blood. On the other hand, the taste of tea is bitter and belongs to yin, which has the function of descending. If tea is drunk after drinking alcohol, the alcohol will be expelled from the kidneys. The kidneys govern water, and water produces dampness. When dampness is dried, it can cause stagnation. Stagnation can lead to symptoms such as frequent urination, impotence, testicular pain, and constipation.
Modern medicine has confirmed this through biochemical changes in people who drink tea after drinking alcohol. After people drink alcohol, the ethanol in the alcohol enters the blood through the gastrointestinal tract and is converted into acetaldehyde in the liver, which is then converted into acetic acid and excreted as carbon dioxide and water. Drinking tea, the theophylline in tea can quickly exert a diuretic effect on the kidneys, thereby promoting the premature entry of undecomposed acetaldehyde into the kidneys. Acetaldehyde is a harmful substance that has a greater irritating effect on the kidneys. However, the kidneys do not have the detoxification function for acetaldehyde, so it can affect kidney function, and people who often drink strong tea after drinking alcohol are more likely to develop kidney disease. Moreover, the ethanol in alcohol has a strong stimulating effect on the cardiovascular system, and the concentration of tea also has a stimulating effect on the heart. When combined, they work together to further enhance the stimulation of the heart, so drinking tea after drinking alcohol is even more harmful for patients with heart disease.
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