'Hair of the dog is BS': 5 common myths about alcohol an expert wants you to stop believing.

I've never had a "break" from alcohol.

If I've felt like a wine, I've had one. If I've been told we're going out for drinks, I've joined in. 

But heading into 2023, I started getting sober curious.

The catalyst was listening to various podcasts on the effects of alcohol on the body. Nothing fear mongering, just straight facts from experts. 

It made me pause on the booze, and I haven't stopped thinking about those facts and common mistruths since.

Watch: Your body after one year without alcohol. Post continues below.

Dr Chris Davis is the co-founder of Clean Slate Clinic, a social enterprise offering specialist alcohol withdrawal and recovery support.

I asked him all my burning questions about alcohol and the body, including some common misconceptions we have. Here's what he told me.

1. Alcohol has literally zero health benefits.

Have you or someone you know ever said: "A glass of red wine is good for your heart?"

That, my friend, is a myth.

The most common misconception Dr Davis comes across is people believing that alcohol has health benefits. 

It might make you feel better mentally (like after a long day of work), but physically, it does nothing good. (Sorry!)

"A study of nearly 600,000 current drinkers showed that there is no 'safe' lower limit of drinking and even one standard drink will increase your systolic blood pressure," Dr Davis told Mamamia.

It's also going to increase your risk of various cancers.

Just three standard drinks per week increases your risk of breast cancer by 15 per cent, Dr Davis says, while 10 standard drinks per week increases it by 25 per cent.

"In other words, the less alcohol you drink, the lower your risk," he said.

2. Food can't exactly sober you up.

Go out for dinner first. Drink water between wines. Late-night kebab, anyone?

Common ways to lessen the impact of a night on the booze, right? But whether they're effective or not is a whole other thing.

According to Dr Davis, eating food before alcohol is a good strategy. 

"Eating first helps delay the absorption of alcohol and therefore reduces the desire and compulsion to drink as much as you would on an empty stomach," he said.

Drinking water in-between alcoholic beverages and eating after drinking is also recommended.

But whilst you may think it's that late-night feed that's sobering you up, it's actually the act of eating.

"Once you have started drinking, anything you can do to slow your rate of alcohol consumption, such as eating or drinking water, will help your suffering the next day," he said.

3. The "hairy dog" in the room.

Unfortunately, one of our favourite hangover remedies - hair of the dog - isn't effective.

Dr Davis explained that hangovers are caused by the toxic effects of acetaldehyde - the breakdown product of alcohol. 

"Whilst a morning Bloody Mary may temporarily give you an alcohol buzz, you are simply adding to the acetaldehyde load on your body and "kicking the beer can down the road", he said.

A cold shower doesn't have proven benefits to help with a hangover either, but it doesn't hurt.

"It may increase circulation to your internal organs, like your liver, and boost the detox process."

So what will help the pounding head?

"It's most important to make sure you are well hydrated - alcohol is a diuretic, and dehydration is a large reason why we get hangover headaches," Dr Davis said.

"Also, eat healthy foods to replace the nutrients such as Vitamin B1 (thiamine), [which] the body will use up in the detox process."

4. One glass will hurt.

Ok, it won't - but only if you stick to that one glass. 

Because as Dr Davis explains, the effect alcohol has on your brain makes that really hard to do.

"Unfortunately, once the brain gets its dopamine hit from the first glass, it becomes increasingly harder to resist a second, or third, or more," he said.

"One could argue it is the first glass that does the most damage."

5. There's no such thing as an alcoholic.

This one surprised me.

"The last thing I would like to add is that there is NO such thing as an 'alcoholic'," he said. 

"This is a harmful and stigmatising term that prevents people from accessing the help that they need."

You can access free and confidential advice about alcohol and other drugs by calling the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline on 1800 250 015 or the 24-hour Family Drug Support helpline on 1300 368 186.

Feature image: HBO.