Not a good combination - Partygoers warned about mixing rum and electrolytes

As music rips through the different parties during the festive season, a new alcoholic concoction is bubbling on dance floor - high-proof rum mixed with electrolytes.

Slowly creeping up in the Jamaican party scene, the mix is done to avoid drunken dehydration and increase party stamina. But while it has been touted as the ultimate 'sober hack', medical experts are warning that the trend is not the gamechanger patrons believe it to be. Consultant cardiologist Dr Tahira Redwood explained that the body's chemical composition includes electrolytes such as sodium, potassium and chloride.

"These help body cells stay stable. They can affect brain function and are important in the aspect of dehydration and fluid overload, so persons with kidney failure could have electrolyte abnormalities," Redwood explained. She noted that electrolytes electrolytes alone will not rehydrate the individual.

"It has to be in an electrolyte solution or a drink with electrolyte, and the best from of electrolyte is coconut water," she said.

"It is really the alcohol component that causes the harm and not the adding of electrolyte. The alcohol is the drug, the electrolyte won't improve anything that rum causes like liver failure, but it aids the hangover effect," she said.

But, dietician Kayuanda Lewis agreed that people are misjudging the science.

"Based on my knowledge of both, I can consider the fact that they assume that the oral rehydration salt will balance out the effects of the alcohol and that will prevent a hangover...it does not work like that," Lewis said. She stated that the combination poses a serious cardiovascular stress, increasing the harsh impact it can have on the heart. Lewis warned that the trend creates a "false sense of reality", resulting in drinkers consuming more than their body can manage.

"The electrolyte will not slow any alcohol absorption. It cannot prevent drunkenness, it most definitely will not prevent any alcohol poisoning and certainly will not help to protect the liver," Lewis said. "It can mask the dehydration by mildly helping hangover symptoms like the dry mouth, dizziness and the headache. [But] it causes palpitation, causes one to intake more, and if they have an underlying issue or medical condition, the risks are worse."

Lewis told THE WEEKEND STAR that the overconsumption puts drinkers at risk of alcohol poisoning, dehydration, and blacking out at parties.

"If you must have alcohol, try to drink more water in between. For every one drink, balance it out with a bottle of water. Drink responsibly and the rule of all rules: eat before you drink and during," Lewis stated.