Drinking on an empty stomach: How consuming food with alcohol affects short-term outcomes

Governments’ issue official guidelines on reducing the short-term risks associated with alcohol as do alcohol industry-funded organizations. Both sources frequently recommend consuming food with alcohol, however, it is unclear what evidence these recommendations are based on. The aim of a scoping review was to map and summarise evidence on the short-term effects of consuming food and alcohol.
A scoping review searched CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Embase, Medline, PsychINFO and NICE Evidence Search (published inception to June 2021). Studies in English, investigating co-consumption of food and alcohol and reporting short-term health outcomes or acute effects, were included.
Of the 15,246 studies identified, 10 met the inclusion criteria. There was little evidence on the effects of food co-consumption on most short-term alcohol-related outcomes. Included studies were low in quality and inconsistent in their reported outcomes.
Despite a weak and inconsistent evidence base, food co-consumption is often recommended by both official guidance and alcohol industry-funded sources. Food co-consumption as a harm reduction measure, while plausible, requires a stronger evidence base and more nuanced messaging due to the risk of encouraging heavier, sustained drinking, the report authors state.
Source: Ramsbottom A, Petticrew M, Huber A, van Schalkwyk MCI. Drinking on an empty stomach: a scoping review of the evidence on how consuming food with alcohol affects short-term outcomes. J Public Health (Oxf). 2023 Aug 28;45(3):612-620. .