Drinking too much alcohol carries with it a number of established health risks. Besides the increased probability of being in an accident, over-indulging can lead to liver and heart disease. It can also lead to stomach ulcers.
Now, researchers in Europe say eating strawberries reduces the harm that alcohol can cause to the stomach mucous membrane. Published in the open access journal Plos One, the study may contribute to improving the treatment of stomach ulcers.
A team of Italian, Serbian and Spanish researchers has confirmed the protecting effect that strawberries have in a mammal stomach that has been damaged by alcohol. Scientists gave ethanol (ethyl alcohol) to laboratory rats and, according to the study published in the journal Plos One, have thus proved that the stomach mucous membrane of those that had previously eaten strawberry extract suffered less damage.
Why it works
"The positive effects of strawberries are not only linked to their antioxidant capacity and high content of phenolic compounds but also to the fact that they activate the antioxidant defences and enzymes of the body,” said Sara Tulipani, researcher at the University of Barcelona (UB) and co-author of the study.
The conclusions of the study state that a diet rich in strawberries can have a beneficial effect when it comes to preventing gastric illnesses that are related to the generation of free radicals or other reactive oxygen species. This fruit could slow down the formation of stomach ulcers in humans.
The team found less ulcerations in the stomachs of those rats which had eaten strawberry extract (40 milligrams/day per kilo of weight) for 10 days before being given alcohol.
Then again, you could drink less
Of course, the best way to reduce the harm of too much alcohol is to drink less or it, or none at all.
"This study was not conceived as a way of mitigating the effects of getting drunk but rather as a way of discovering molecules in the stomach membrane that protect against the damaging effects of differing agents," Battino said.
Still, for those with sensitive stomachs, eating a few strawberries when attending a cocktail party might be a good idea.
