“Cheers,” a woman says in a video on TikTok as she raises a shot glass filled with liquor to the camera. She tips it back, grimaces and then sticks out her tongue in disgust. “It’s medicinal; it’s medicinal,” she reminds herself.
The reason for the shot was a recent meal, which she worried may have given her food poisoning, she said. And she had read in a study that because “alcohol is a steriliser,” it can protect against food-borne illness. But can it really? There may be an ounce of truth to the notion that drinking alcohol around the time you eat contaminated food can reduce the chances of food poisoning, experts say.
But the evidence to support the claim is limited. And depending on how much you drink, alcohol could hurt your immune system more than it might help. Here’s what we know.
Is alcohol the “steriliser” TikTok claims it to be? Credit: iStock What the research suggests Several small studies on food-borne illness outbreaks have indeed found that consuming alcohol was associated with protection from food poisoning, but they all have limitations. In the 2002 study cited in the TikTok video, researchers described a salmonella outbreak that began at a 120-person banquet in Spain. At least 47 people became ill with vomiting or diarrhoea, along with stomach cramps, fever or headache, after consuming contaminated tuna sandwiches and potato salad.
The researchers found that those who reported having three or more drinks at the celebration were 46 per.
