The science behind alcohol's effects on the body
The science behind alcohol's effects on the body
Examining the effects of alcohol consumption.
© American Chemical Society (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
Transcript
St. Patrick's Day is here and there are many ways to celebrate, like Irish soda bread for breakfast or corned beef and cabbage for dinner. A lot of people, on the other hand, you St. Patty's Day as an excuse to overdo it at the bar, but we wouldn't recommend it. If you do go for a green beer this year it's important to remember that alcohol isn't all fun and games. Alcohol abuse carries a terrible toll causing accidents, violence, illness, and death.
But that's not all. Alcohol is a drug that has several negative effects on your body, all of which usually amount to a miserable morning after. Four leaf clovers aside, luck can't save you from the possible headache, nausea, dizziness and other effects of a hangover. So today we're going to run through some of the basic chemistry of how alcohol affects the body. It may just foster a few second thoughts about consuming too much alcohol on March 17th.
Alcohol is a drug that is a central nervous system depressant, this means that it affects speech, thought, coordination, judgment, and inhibitions. High alcohol consumption, which can cause alcohol poisoning, slows breathing, heart rate, and heightens your blood pressure. In really high quantities, alcohol can actually start affecting your respiratory muscles and spinal cord reflexes, which could result in suffocation.
Alcohol poisoning is a frightening thing and very real. So most important thing of all is to make sure that you're not overdoing it with the booze. Try to keep tabs on how much you've had and know your own limit to stay safe. Besides altering your state of consciousness, alcohol has a physical effect on your body. Your body does, after all, have to digest this chemical. Your liver does most of the work. After the alcohol you've consumed is absorbed via diffusion in your stomach and small intestines, the liver chemically converts 95% to 98% of the alcohol to acetaldehyde, then acetic acid, and finally to carbon dioxide and water.
All of the leftover alcohol that isn't converted by the liver is excreted via your breath, perspiration, and urination. This is why we can smell alcohol on someone, and in particular why your breath smells absolutely awful during the tail end of your night out. Mints just aren't a candy people, they're a solution. BAC, or blood alcohol concentration, is the percentage of alcohol that is in your bloodstream when you're drinking. One beer, one glass of wine, or one ounce of distilled liquor an hour increases your BAC by an average of point 0.3%.
There are also other factors that affect your BAC level besides the amount of alcohol you consume, one of which is the quantity and type of food in your stomach. Protein retains alcohol in your stomach longer, delaying the amount of alcohol that goes into your small intestines and eventually your bloodstream. Another interesting factor that affects alcohol absorption is that if you drink a mixed drink that has soda in it, the carbon dioxide in the soda can actually move the alcohol through your system much faster.
You may have heard that clear liquor leads to less hangovers than darker colored booze. This is partly true because darker liquors and red wines contain other chemicals that given them their unique flavors and aromas. One group of chemicals known as congeners are a chemical byproduct produced during fermentation. Congeners can cause an allergic reaction in the body that may lead to a whopping headache.
Congeners Include methyl, butyl, and amyl alcohols. These are also found in clear liquors like vodka and gin, but in significantly lower quantities than aged liquors such as scotch. One of the other most common symptoms are nausea and stomach aches. Alcohol is a stomach irritant that causes the stomach to secrete extra acid, the same acid used to break food down. Your stomach has a mucous lining that protects it from that acid, and by consuming alcohol on an empty stomach, the acid secreted very easily comes into contact with the stomach wall, resulting in a rather discomforting experience.
The bottom line here folks is that alcohol in moderation is your best bet. Don't overdo it. And above all, don't drink and drive. Enjoy St. Patrick's Day but make sure to stay safe. Sometimes, too much alcohol can cause hangovers that leave you in pain the next morning, but sometimes it's nothing compared to the humiliating memories of a drunken stupor the night before.
But that's not all. Alcohol is a drug that has several negative effects on your body, all of which usually amount to a miserable morning after. Four leaf clovers aside, luck can't save you from the possible headache, nausea, dizziness and other effects of a hangover. So today we're going to run through some of the basic chemistry of how alcohol affects the body. It may just foster a few second thoughts about consuming too much alcohol on March 17th.
Alcohol is a drug that is a central nervous system depressant, this means that it affects speech, thought, coordination, judgment, and inhibitions. High alcohol consumption, which can cause alcohol poisoning, slows breathing, heart rate, and heightens your blood pressure. In really high quantities, alcohol can actually start affecting your respiratory muscles and spinal cord reflexes, which could result in suffocation.
Alcohol poisoning is a frightening thing and very real. So most important thing of all is to make sure that you're not overdoing it with the booze. Try to keep tabs on how much you've had and know your own limit to stay safe. Besides altering your state of consciousness, alcohol has a physical effect on your body. Your body does, after all, have to digest this chemical. Your liver does most of the work. After the alcohol you've consumed is absorbed via diffusion in your stomach and small intestines, the liver chemically converts 95% to 98% of the alcohol to acetaldehyde, then acetic acid, and finally to carbon dioxide and water.
All of the leftover alcohol that isn't converted by the liver is excreted via your breath, perspiration, and urination. This is why we can smell alcohol on someone, and in particular why your breath smells absolutely awful during the tail end of your night out. Mints just aren't a candy people, they're a solution. BAC, or blood alcohol concentration, is the percentage of alcohol that is in your bloodstream when you're drinking. One beer, one glass of wine, or one ounce of distilled liquor an hour increases your BAC by an average of point 0.3%.
There are also other factors that affect your BAC level besides the amount of alcohol you consume, one of which is the quantity and type of food in your stomach. Protein retains alcohol in your stomach longer, delaying the amount of alcohol that goes into your small intestines and eventually your bloodstream. Another interesting factor that affects alcohol absorption is that if you drink a mixed drink that has soda in it, the carbon dioxide in the soda can actually move the alcohol through your system much faster.
You may have heard that clear liquor leads to less hangovers than darker colored booze. This is partly true because darker liquors and red wines contain other chemicals that given them their unique flavors and aromas. One group of chemicals known as congeners are a chemical byproduct produced during fermentation. Congeners can cause an allergic reaction in the body that may lead to a whopping headache.
Congeners Include methyl, butyl, and amyl alcohols. These are also found in clear liquors like vodka and gin, but in significantly lower quantities than aged liquors such as scotch. One of the other most common symptoms are nausea and stomach aches. Alcohol is a stomach irritant that causes the stomach to secrete extra acid, the same acid used to break food down. Your stomach has a mucous lining that protects it from that acid, and by consuming alcohol on an empty stomach, the acid secreted very easily comes into contact with the stomach wall, resulting in a rather discomforting experience.
The bottom line here folks is that alcohol in moderation is your best bet. Don't overdo it. And above all, don't drink and drive. Enjoy St. Patrick's Day but make sure to stay safe. Sometimes, too much alcohol can cause hangovers that leave you in pain the next morning, but sometimes it's nothing compared to the humiliating memories of a drunken stupor the night before.