Does that peg of rum actually warm you up: The big winter question answered

Alcohol reduces your perception of cold air temperatures and can also lessen some of the natural responses designed to help you stay warm, like shivering.

Hyderabad: As the winter continues to have an on and off relationship with Hyderabad, there are many who still prefer to wind up the day with a peg of rum or whiskey in hand, a plate of kebabs or tandoori chicken and their favourite web series. One peg, or two, keeps the chill away is the belief. Really?

Let’s find out whether alcohol can actually make us warm. The medical myth busters around the world say this is one of the biggest winter myths. Alcohol does have a warming effect, but not quite on the body, and more on your thoughts is what they say.

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Drinking alcohol makes blood vessels near your skin open up, with more blood flowing into them and creating a feeling of warmth on your skin. Note the point – a “feeling of warmth”, not “warmth”. But the blood being diverted away from your vital central organs can cause your core temperature to drop, something, which according to medical experts, can lead to hypothermia if left unchecked. That is the risk in severe cold weather conditions.

Alcohol reduces your perception of cold air temperatures and can also lessen some of the natural responses designed to help you stay warm, like shivering. In other words, that ‘rum jacket’ or ‘brandy jacket’ can put you at greater risk in strong winter conditions.

Alcohol is already known to impair your decision-making ability, and we have known alcohol to prompt us taking risks that we wouldn’t when sober. Mythbusters say the combination of alcohol and cold weather can be lethal. For example, taking the decision to walk outside without a jacket when it’s really chilly outside, emboldened by those few pegs inside, could lead to a dramatic fall in your body temperature.

In short, a couple of pegs might lift your mood, but make sure it does not make you take off your jacket.