Have you ever contemplated the impact of alcohol on your body and mind? Here we share something important, that you must know:
- Alcohol may have different effects on different people. Once the alcohol is consumed, it gets absorbed very quickly by the digestive system and reaches the blood.
- As per National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism or NIAAA, within 30 minutes to 40 minutes, the amount of alcohol present in the blood reaches its maximum.
- Alcohol metabolizes itself. In other words, it breaks down chemically and hence gets removed from the body, though at a slower rate as compared to the rate it gets absorbed by the body.
- The alcohol content in the blood increases if the same gets absorbed by the body at a faster rate than the rate at which the same is eliminated.
If you are looking forward to alcohol withdrawal treatment, there are many rehab centers that can help you.
There are certain factors on which the impact of alcohol depends. Here we discuss one by one.
Genes
Different people metabolize alcohol differently due to the genetic differences in the enzymes.
- Depending on the degree of alcohol metabolization of enzymes, the person experiences nausea, increased heart rate, etc.
- Sometimes, even when the person consumes a little amount of alcohol, the impact may be larger.
Body weight
The effect of alcohol also depends largely on body weight.
- Alcohol effects the central nervous system depending on the level of blood you have in your body.
- The water in our bloodstream distributes the alcohol all through the body. More the water in the body, more diluted is the alcohol, and lesser will be the effect.
- Mostly the people who have less body weight, have less blood and water. So, a lighter person will have a higher content of alcohol in his blood, as compared to the heavier person, if they drink equal amounts of alcohol.
Type of alcohol
The alcohol content is different in different types of alcohol such as beer, wine, scotch, and distilled spirits.
- Based on the ingredient, they react differently to different humans.
- The effect of beer and wine is lesser than the scotch and whiskey because there is more water in the beer and wine as compared to hard liquor.
Status of health
The people who get tired frequently or are stressed, experience more alcohol intoxication, even when they consume just moderate amounts of alcohol.
Male v/s female
The experts say men can drink more alcohol than women. Have you ever thought about the logic?
- Well, this is because women are known to have lesser water in their bodies as compared to men, even if their body weights are the same.
- Since women have a deeper alcohol concentration than men, they tend to get intoxicated more.
- Also, women have lesser alcohol enzymes, so the alcohol stays in the body for a longer time.
Age
- As the age increases, our fat and muscle ratio become higher and the body water gets lower. So, elderly people have a higher concentration of alcohol in their blood as compared to younger people, keeping the body weight and alcohol consumption level the same.
- We must also consider the fact that older people also take frequent medications. These medications often interact with alcohol and cause more intoxication.
- The pills such as sleeping pills, antidepressants, antihistamines, antianxiety medicines, etc., cause drowsiness. In such a scenario, if you consume alcohol, the alcohol intoxication increases.
Empty stomach v/s full stomach
The absorption of the alcohol by the body also depends on the status of the stomach.
- If the stomach is empty, the alcohol will get absorbed more.
- Also, if you have eaten high-calorie food which is tough to digest, it will remain in the stomach for a longer time. In this condition, if you consume alcohol, the alcohol absorption will be much lower.
If you find yourself or someone in your family severely affected due to the alcohol consumption, you must connect to a good and reputed rehabilitation center for alcohol treatment.
