It is always thrilling to grab a beer or a cocktail and it makes a perfect moment for the parties but did you ever wonder that what happens to your body when you drink alcohol? In this article, we have mentioned all the metabolic and biological process that your body goes through after the alcohol is swallowed.
Effects of Alcohol on Body
1. Absorption of Alcohol
As soon as the alcohol is swallowed, the body starts absorbing the alcohol. Nearly 80% of the alcohol is absorbed by the small intestine and the rest 20% is absorbed while it was in the stomach. It takes about 30 minutes to get the full effect of alcohol on the body as it takes about the same time for the blood to be circulated throughout the body.
2. The function of Liver
It is known that the alcohol is then processed by the body and almost 90% of the alcohol is broken down by the liver into simple compounds like water and carbon-dioxide. The liver plays a major role in breaking down of the alcohol. It is also known that the liver can only process 1 drink per an hour but this varies a lot because of the genetic differences in people.
3. Excreting Alcohol
As mentioned in the last point, the liver can only break down about 90% of alcohol so the rest of the alcohol is excreted by body and lungs, kidneys and sweat glands are responsible for the same.
4. Presence or Absence of Food
This is also a major factor which determines the rate of absorption. If there is no food present in the stomach than the rate of absorption of the alcohol is much higher when compared to the rate of absorption if the food is present in the stomach.
5. Impact on Nervous System
It is a universal fact that alcohol slows down the thinking process as it impacts the nervous system by slowing down signals that pass through the neurons. Because of this, the reaction time of the person also increases. Alcohol is basically a mood elevating substance and hence it has such an impact on the nervous system.
6. Other Physical Impact of Alcohol
As it is known, the alcohol may cause people to walk unsteadily and if a person drinks well over the limit then he might even fall down. Another impact of alcohol is that the speech of the person also get slurred after drinking a lot and body unleashes strong emotional response. This is one of the reasons why people get extremely happy or extremely angry after drinking.
It surely fun to drink alcohol but looking at the impact of the alcohol on our body, it should be avoided and moreover, if you still want to have alcohol, ensure that you stay hydrated and you do drive. It is also illegal to drive after consuming alcohol and you should take care of this as the life is really precious.