What’s Wrong with Your Stomach
Lou Bank Lou Bank

What’s Wrong with Your Stomach

It started with a rumor I heard as a kid, that Maraschino cherries and bubblegum would stay in your stomach for seven years. Which led to a conversation about digestion. Which led to a conversation about fermentation. And Bloody Marys. And how your digestive system works. All of which is to say, Agave Road Trip’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Ryan Aycock joins me for a meandering year-end episode of Agave Road Trip!

Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with Agave Road Trip Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Ryan Aycock, author of Simply Cocktails. 

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Should you worry about plastic in your water-bottle mezcal?
Lou Bank Lou Bank

Should you worry about plastic in your water-bottle mezcal?

The best stuff is always in plastic water bottles — that’s a thing I hear from a lot of Mezcal geeks. But lately I’ve been reading a lot of stories in the news about how most of us have plastic in our blood stream. And that’s got me wondering … is the stuff brought back from Mexico in plastic water bottles really the best stuff, then? Or am I just drinking myself to death in an unexpected way? Agave Road Trip’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Ryan Aycock plastic-coats this episode of Agave Road Trip!

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The Bartender’s Guide to Skittles
Lou Bank Lou Bank

The Bartender’s Guide to Skittles

I’ve been reading lately that Skittles are being banned in parts of Europe. That made me think of all the bottles of vodka I’ve seen in bars in the USA that are being infused with the colorful candy. So is this a way to make. alcohol even more dangerous? Agave Road Trip’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Ryan Aycock doesn’t candy-coat his response in this episode of Agave Road Trip!

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Chocolate and coffee are antioxidants, but … what does that mean?
Lou Bank Lou Bank

Chocolate and coffee are antioxidants, but … what does that mean?

For years I’ve heard that cacao and coffee are antioxidants, but I’m left wondering … what exactly does that mean? Are they healthy? Is there a limit to how much you should consume? Agave Road Trip’s Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Ryan Aycock, breaks it down in this free-radical episode of Agave Road Trip!

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Do you prefer to drink your calories?
Lou Bank Lou Bank

Do you prefer to drink your calories?

How many calories do you consume daily? How many do you consume through alcohol? Agave Road Trip’s Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Ryan Aycock, tells us about the philosophy, “I’d prefer to drink my calories.” And he tells us about all the reasons that is wrong. It’s another uplifting Cocktail MD episode of Agave Road Trip!

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Can alcohol warm you up? Or cool you down?
Lou Bank Lou Bank

Can alcohol warm you up? Or cool you down?

Alcohol is nature’s great temperature regulator — it warms you up when you’re cold, and cools you down when you’re hot! Or … does it? Agave Road Trip’s Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Ryan Aycock, sets the record straight in this week’s episode!

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Will drinking snake-venom mezcal kill you?
Lou Bank Lou Bank

Will drinking snake-venom mezcal kill you?

If drinking mezcal that has snake venom in it killed you right away, there’d be a lot of dead people on the floor of the mercados around Mexico. But … could it be doing damage you don’t see right away? Our Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr, Ryan Aycock, the Cocktail MD, checks in for a check up in this episode of Agave Road Trip!

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Activated charcoal makes your cocktails black, your teeth white, and your poop firm
Lou Bank Lou Bank

Activated charcoal makes your cocktails black, your teeth white, and your poop firm

Is it just me or is activated charcoal suddenly in everything? We’re joined by our Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Ryan Aycock (the Emergency Room Doctor Currently Known as Cocktail MD) to talk about what activated charcoal is, what it does, and how it can deactivate birth control when it’s included in cocktails. But also how it can turn your teeth black, which is sort of another kind of birth control. Just in time for the holidays, we give you a lump-of-coal episode of Agave Road Trip!

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Can You be Allergic to Mezcal? (Cocktail MD special)
Salvador Peribán Salvador Peribán

Can You be Allergic to Mezcal? (Cocktail MD special)

You want to drink mezcal, but it makes you itch … gives you a headache … turns you bright red. Are you allergic to mezcal? Is that even possible? Agave Road Trip medical correspondent Ryan Aycock, MD, MS, joins us for another Cocktail MD special that’s nothing to sneeze at!

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A Paloma to Die For? A “Cocktail MD” Special
Salvador Peribán Salvador Peribán

A Paloma to Die For? A “Cocktail MD” Special

Ryan Aycock is an emergency-room physician who attended bartending school at the same time he attended medical school — because, you know, it’s always good to have a Plan B. The result is that Ryan is acutely aware of all the things that can go wrong in a bar. The things that can result in your guests winding up on a gurney in his emergency room. This episode of Agave Road Trip is the first in a series of regular appearances during which Ryan Aycock, the Agave Road Trip medical correspondent, helps gringx bartenders understand how they can help keep their customers safe and healthy. We start with grapefruit, the unexpected killer! Who knew a paloma could literally be to die for?

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