Alcohol and the individual
Ingestion
Absorption through the stomach and intestines
When an alcoholic beverage is swallowed, it is diluted by gastric juices in the stomach. A small portion of the alcohol is diffused into the bloodstream directly from the stomach wall, but most passes through the pyloric junction into the small intestine, where it is very rapidly absorbed. However, up to half the alcohol is degraded in the stomach before it passes into the small intestine. In general, a lower percentage of the alcohol is degraded in a young woman’s stomach than in a young man’s because a young woman’s gastric secretions contain lower levels of the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), which breaks down alcohol prior to absorption.
The rate at which alcohol is absorbed can be affected by a number of factors. For example, a strong alcoholic drink, when taken into an empty stomach, may cause a spasm of the pylorus that will impede passage into the small intestine, resulting in a slower overall rate of absorption. The presence of food in the stomach, especially some fatty foods, will also delay absorption. Naturally carbonated alcohol such as champagne or alcohol taken with a carbonated beverage such as soda water will ordinarily be absorbed more rapidly than noncarbonated alcohol. Other factors, such as the emotional state of the drinker, may also affect the rate of absorption.
Alcohol is diffused in the body in proportion to the water content of the various tissues and organs, appearing in greater concentration in the blood and brain than in fat or muscle tissue. The absorbed alcohol is greatly diluted by the body fluids. Thus, 1 ounce of whiskey at 50 percent alcohol by volume (100 U.S. proof, or 87.6 British proof) will be diluted, in a man of average build, to a concentration of about 2 parts per 10,000 in the blood (0.02 percent). The same amount of alcohol will lead to higher blood levels (up to 50 percent higher) in a woman because of differences in size, ratios of body water to body fat, and levels of gastric ADH.
The body begins to dispose of alcohol immediately after it has been absorbed. An insignificantly small proportion of alcohol is exhaled through the lungs, and a tiny amount is excreted in sweat. A small proportion is excreted by the kidneys and will be accumulated and retained in the bladder until eliminated in the urine. However, only between 2 and 10 percent of the alcohol is eliminated by these means. The remainder, 90 percent or more of the absorbed alcohol, is disposed of by metabolic processes, mainly in the liver.
Processing in the liver
As absorbed alcohol is passed through the liver by the circulating blood, it is acted upon by ADH present in the liver cells. The alcohol molecule is converted by this action to acetaldehyde, itself a highly toxic substance, but the acetaldehyde is immediately acted upon by another enzyme, aldehyde dehydrogenase, and converted to acetate, most of which enters the bloodstream and is ultimately oxidized to carbon dioxide and water. Considerable utilizable energy—200 calories per ounce of alcohol (about 7.1 calories per gram)—is made available to the body during these processes, and in this sense alcohol serves as a nutrient.
The two enzymatic reactions—that of ADH and of aldehyde dehydrogenase—require a coenzyme, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), the acceptor of hydrogen from the alcohol molecule, for their effects. The NAD is thus changed to NADH and becomes available again for the same reaction only after its own further oxidation. While adequate ADH seems always present for the first step of alcohol metabolism, the temporary reduction of the available NAD apparently acts as a limit on the rate at which alcohol can be metabolized. That rate per hour in an average-size man is about half an ounce, or 15 ml, of alcohol. In other words, the body is able to process approximately one standard bar drink of spirits, beer, or wine per hour.
Accumulation in the body
Whenever drinking proceeds at a faster rate than the alcohol is metabolized, alcohol accumulates in the body. The of blood alcohol per size of drink shows a set of probable average curves of blood alcohol concentrations in an average-size man after rapid absorption of various amounts of alcohol. It also shows the average rate of decline of the blood alcohol concentration over time as a result of the disposal of alcohol by the body through the processes of metabolism and excretion described above. If the average-size man drinks and absorbs 4 ounces (120 ml) of whiskey at 50 percent alcohol within an hour, he will have a blood alcohol concentration near 0.07 percent—above many established legal limits to operate an automobile. Likewise, if he drinks 6 ounces (180 ml), he will have a blood alcohol concentration of about 0.11 percent—a level at which his speech will be slurred and his muscle movements clearly impaired. The graph also shows the diminishing blood alcohol concentrations over time as the body processes the alcohol at its average rate of one drink per hour.
Sustained drinking over time at rates greater than the body’s ability to process alcohol leads to greater intoxication. This effect is illustrated by curve A in the of blood alcohol over time, which shows what happens if an average-size man drinks 2 ounces (60 ml) of spirits four times an hour apart. At the end of the first hour (that is, just before the second drink), the blood alcohol concentration has passed its peak and begun to decline. With the second drink, however, the concentration starts rising again, and this process is repeated after each drink. The highest blood alcohol concentration is reached at the end of four hours—an hour after the last drink. Only with the cessation of drinking does it decline steadily. Curve A thus illustrates the combined effects of repeated alcohol absorption and its continuous metabolism. Curve B in the graph shows what the course of blood alcohol concentration would be if all 8 ounces (240 ml) of spirits were drunk and absorbed at once.
Intoxication
Effects of alcohol on the brain
Alcohol is a drug that affects the central nervous system. It belongs in a class with the barbiturates, minor tranquilizers, and general anesthetics, and it is commonly classified as a depressant. The effect of alcohol on the brain is rather paradoxical. Under some behavioral conditions alcohol can serve as an excitant, under other conditions as a sedative. At very high concentrations it acts increasingly as a depressant, leading to sedation, stupor, and coma. The excitement phase exhibits the well-known signs of exhilaration, loss of socially expected restraints, loquaciousness, unexpected changes of mood, and unmodulated anger. Excitement actually may be caused indirectly, more by the effect of alcohol in suppressing inhibitory centres of the brain than by a direct stimulation of the manifested behaviour. The physical signs of excited intoxication are slurred speech, unsteady gait, disturbed sensory perceptions, and inability to make fine motor movements. Again, these effects are produced not by the direct action of alcohol on the misbehaving muscles and senses but by its effect on the brain centres that control the muscle activity.
The most important immediate action of alcohol is on the higher functions of the brain—those of thinking, learning, remembering, and making judgments. Many of the alleged salutary effects of alcohol on performance (such as better dancing, happier moods, sounder sleeping, less sexual inhibition, and greater creativity) have been shown in controlled experiments to be a function of suggestion and subjective assessment. In reality, alcohol improves performance only through muscle relaxation and guilt reduction or loss of social inhibition. Thus, mild intoxication actually makes objectively observed depression (and dancing for that matter) worse. Experiments also indicate a dependence of learning on the mental state in which it occurs. For example, what is learned under the influence of alcohol is better recalled under the influence of alcohol, but what is learned in the sober state is better recalled when sober.
Effects on behaviour
People ordinarily drink alcohol to obtain effects that they have been taught to expect; the state of expectation combines with the pharmacological action of the drug to produce the desired effect. Small amounts of alcohol are drunk in the expectation of reducing feelings of tension, relieving feelings of anxiety, and, conversely, experiencing exhilaration and a loss of inhibition. The anxiety-suppressing action of alcohol is largely a function of muscle relaxation and the removal of social inhibitions. But anxiety reduction is also a function of suggestibility and of the cultural permissiveness present in drinking settings. Shy people become outgoing or bold; well-behaved people become disorderly; the sexually repressed become amorous; the fearful become brave; the quiescent or peaceful become verbally or physically aggressive. In people with clinically diagnosed anxieties and phobias, however, alcohol is little better than a placebo, and alcohol consumption actually worsens sleep patterns, depression, and the risk of suicide.
In folklore, whiskey is popular for treating colds and snakebites, brandy for treating faintness, spirits as a spring tonic, beer for lactation, and any alcoholic beverage for treating sleeplessness or overexcitement. Such uses depend on popular belief, not medical fact. Physicians often prescribe “a drink” for a variety of purposes: to stimulate a sluggish appetite, to help relieve premenstrual tension in women, to act as a vasodilator (an agent used to widen the lumen of the blood vessels) in arteriosclerosis, and to relieve the vague aches and pains that beset the elderly. These salutary effects, however, are psychological more than they are pharmacological. Alcohol is important pharmacologically for use with some active medicines that are poorly soluble in water but readily dissolve in alcohol and for preventing delirium tremens during alcohol withdrawal in alcoholics.
Blood alcohol concentration
Because brain alcohol concentrations are difficult to measure directly, the effects of alcohol on the brain are calculated indirectly by noting the physical and mental impairments that typically arise at various levels of blood alcohol concentration, or BAC.
Typical symptoms shown by drinkers at successive BACs are listed in the table. Inefficiency in performing some tasks may begin at concentrations as low as 0.03 percent. The impairments at these concentrations may not be visibly manifested by all individuals, but laboratory tests show that alertness, visual acuity, and capacity to distinguish between sensory signals are all diminished. Reflex responses and the time of reaction to a signal, as well as neuromuscular functions, are slowed. Complex reactions, such as those that require the brain to process more than one type of incoming information simultaneously, are impaired at BACs too low to affect simple reflexes and reaction times.
| BAC | Signs of intoxication |
|---|---|
| 0.02–0.03 | mild euphoria and loss of shyness; no apparent loss of coordination |
| 0.04–0.06 | sense of well-being and relaxation; sensation of warmth; some decline in ability to perform two tasks simultaneously; lowered judgment about capabilities |
| 0.07–0.09 | some impairment of balance, reaction time, speech, and memory; reduced judgment, caution, and self-control; continued euphoria |
| 0.10–0.125 | obvious impairment of muscle control and reaction time; loss of good judgment; slurred speech |
| 0.13–0.15 | major loss of balance and physical control; blurred vision; appearance of dysphoria (emotional depression) |
| 0.16–0.20 | nausea, dysphoria, confusion, loss of memory |
| 0.25 | severe impairment of all mental and physical functions |
| 0.30 | loss of consciousness |
| 0.40 | onset of coma; possible respiratory arrest and death |
The majority of drinkers begin to show measurable impairment at just above 0.05 percent, and in fact most jurisdictions in Western countries make it illegal to operate a motor vehicle at various levels between 0.05 to 0.08 percent. Most people exhibit some degree of functional sedation and motor incapacitation at a BAC of 0.10 percent, and most people are considered intoxicated at 0.15 percent. Habitual heavy drinking, however, does produce increased tolerance to alcohol.
As BACs rise above 0.15 percent, intoxication steadily increases. Well-adapted, very heavy drinkers may continue to function fairly well in some motor and mental tasks even up to concentrations of 0.30 percent, but, long before this level of alcohol concentration is reached, most people will appear visibly drunk, showing the common symptoms of slurred speech, unsteady gait, and confused thinking. At a 0.40-percent BAC, most people will be anesthetized to the extent that they will be asleep, difficult to rouse, and incapable of voluntary activity—indeed, they will be in a state in which they can undergo surgery. At yet higher BACs, deep coma sets in. Between 0.40 and 1 percent, the breathing centre in the brain or the action of the heart may be anesthetized, and then death will quickly follow directly from alcohol intoxication. Ordinarily, however, it is not likely that anybody would attain a BAC above 0.40 percent by drinking. In a man of average build such a level would require the ingestion and unmetabolized absorption of between a pint and a quart (that is, almost a half-litre to a full litre) of spirits.
Long-term health effects of drinking
The drinking of a small amount (1 ounce [30 ml] of absolute alcohol, or two standard drinks per day), even if done regularly for years, does not have any conclusively demonstrated pathological effect except for a small increased risk for some cancers. An exception to this rule is drinking during pregnancy—even one standard drink a week may harm the fetus.
Drinking just 0.5 ounce (15 ml) of alcohol a day has been shown to be a mild anticoagulant and, like small doses of aspirin, to reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack. Mild infrequent intoxication produces a variety of temporary biochemical disturbances in the body: the adrenal glands may discharge hormones, sugar may be mobilized from stores in the liver, the electrolyte balance may be slightly altered, and the metabolism and equilibrium of the liver may be disturbed. However, these changes leave no chronic aftereffects, and the body rapidly returns to normal.
Severe or frequent intoxication, on the other hand, may produce more serious disturbances, including temporary extensive imbalances in the body chemistry, cardiac arrhythmias, acute hepatitis, loss of memory (blackouts, passing out), and numerous “hangover” effects: nausea, headache, gastritis, dehydration, and a generalized residual malaise and physical and mental incompetence that may last as long as 24 hours after all the consumed alcohol has been metabolized. Some drinkers are willing to suffer the mild and even the more severe aftereffects of occasional intoxication for the sake of the temporary dissociation, euphoria, or socialization associated with it, but frequent intoxication, even of moderate degree, imposes a severe and debilitating burden on the drinker. Four or more standard drinks a day, consumed regularly, can produce liver damage and atrophy of the cerebral cortex (the “gray matter” of the brain) in vulnerable people.
The irritating effects of alcohol, especially in undiluted strong beverages, can result in damage to the tissues of the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, and stomach and an increased susceptibility to cancer in these organs. The liver is likely to suffer serious damage if it must cope for extended periods with the detoxication of large amounts of alcohol. There can also be damage to the heart muscle and the pancreas.
Frequent heavy drinking that leads to severe intoxication or the prolonged steady maintenance of a high alcohol concentration in the body has been shown to be linked to many impairments or injuries. Disorders commonly linked to alcoholism are diseases caused by nutritional deficiencies, cardiomyopathy, accidents, suicide, cirrhosis, and impaired resistance to infection.
Worldwide, such chronic alcohol abuse causes as much death and disability as measles and malaria and results in more years lost to death and disability than are caused by tobacco or illegal drugs. (For a discussion of pathological states caused by alcohol consumption, see alcoholism.)
Fetal alcohol syndrome
There is evidence that even occasional drinking by an expectant mother can endanger the development of the fetus and result in a variety of birth defects; these are referred to together as fetal alcohol syndrome. The defects include abnormal physical features, disorders of the central nervous system, and slow development. Some specific signs of fetal alcohol syndrome are a small head, small eyelid openings, a sunken nasal bridge, a cleft palate, defective joints in the hands and feet, heart abnormalities, and mental impairment. Some babies may be so severely affected that they die soon after birth. When their brains are studied, they are found to be poorly developed with portions sometimes entirely missing. Fetal alcohol syndrome is not a rare occurrence; its prevalence in the United States in 2004 was reported to range from 0.2 to 1.5 cases per thousand live births. Much current medical opinion supports the view that alcohol should be totally avoided during pregnancy because of the possibility that the fetus may be harmed by even very low or infrequent doses. In 2005 the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory that “no amount of alcohol consumption can be considered safe during pregnancy.”