Alcohol
is metabolized extremely quickly by the body.
Unlike foods, which require time for digestion, alcohol needs no
digestion and is quickly absorbed. Alcohol
gets “VIP” treatment in the body – absorbing and metabolizing before most
other nutrients. About 20 percent
is absorbed directly across the walls of an empty stomach and can reach the
brain within one minute.
Once
alcohol reaches the stomach, it begins to break down with the alcohol
dehydrogenase enzyme. This process
reduces the amount of alcohol entering the blood by approximately 20%.
(Women produce less of this enzyme, which may help to partially explain
why women become more intoxicated on less alcohol than men.). In addition, about
10% of the alcohol is expelled in the breath and urine.
Alcohol
is rapidly absorbed in the upper portion of the small intestine. The
alcohol-laden blood then travels to the liver via the veins and capillaries of
the digestive tract, which affects nearly every liver cell.
The liver cells are the only cells in our body that can produce enough of
the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase to oxidize alcohol at an appreciable rate.
Though
alcohol affects every organ of the body, it’s most dramatic impact is upon the
liver. The liver cells normally
prefer fatty acids as fuel, and package excess fatty acids as triglycerides,
which they then route to other tissues of the body.
However, when alcohol is present, the liver cells are forced to first
metabolize the alcohol, letting the fatty acids accumulate, sometimes in huge
amounts. Alcohol metabolism
permanently changes liver cell structure, which impairs the liver’s ability to
metabolize fats.1
This explains why heavy drinkers tend to develop fatty livers.
The
liver is able to metabolize about ˝ ounce of ethanol per hour (approximately
one drink, depending on a person’s body size, food intake, etc.).
If more alcohol arrives in the liver than the enzymes can handle, the
excess alcohol travels to all parts of the body, circulating until the liver
enzymes are finally able to process it. (Which is another good reason not to
consume more than one drink per hour.).