Northern Kentucky University study: Diet mixers may make you more drunk

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - A new study, conducted by local scientists, indicates drinking diet soda and alcohol may make you more drunk instead of using a non-diet mixer.

Researchers at Northern Kentucky University put the bottle to the test in research that is catching the attention of health experts around the country.

The bottom line, according to the research, is that if you use a diet beverage as a mixer with your alcohol, you may get more drunk quicker.

"There's no sugar in the diet drink so it goes through the stomach a lot faster," said researcher Cecile Marczinski, an assistant professor in the department of psychological science at Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights. "The diet mixture kind of fast forwards the digestion of sending the alcohol into the bloodstream."

The research included three groups, where one drank vodka mixed with diet soda, another drank vodka mixed with regular soda and a third drank regular soda mixed only with the scent of vodka.

The group that drank the vodka with diet soda had as much as an 18 percent higher blood alcohol content than those mixing with regular soda.

Researchers recruited eight males and eight females, with an average age 23, to attend three study sessions.

The study's complete findings are available in the February edition of the journal " Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research ."

Learn more about impaired driving at the Centers for Disease Control webpage.