Effects of Alcohol – Why You Shouldn’t Drink on an Empty Stomach
Everyone knows you’re supposed to eat something “to line the
stomach” before you hit the town, but why is that? Alcohol is
pretty volatile, around 5% of what you drink is expelled through
the lungs. It’s why you can smell alcohol on someone’s breath,
and it’s how breath testers work. Breathalysers just take
advantage of the fact that there is a constant ratio of 1:2300
between the amount of alcohol exhaled and blood alcohol level.
The rest of the alcohol is broken down in a three step process.
1. Alcohol dehydrogenase converts alcohol to acetadehyde with
the help of coenzyme NAD. This is the rate-limiting step in the
metabolism of alcohol, and the reason you can only metabolise
about one standard drink an hour. 2. Aldehyde dehydrogenase
converts the aldehyde to acetic acid (vinegar.) 3. Acetic acid
is broken down into carbon dioxide and water, releasing energy.
This energy, along with the molecules of NADH that are produced
along the way, is the