THE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON THE BODY
Have you ever wondered what is really happening to your body when you drink alcohol? Ever wondered why you get hangovers or why it’s so hard to stop once you start?
Let's dive into the science of how alcohol affects the body, and truly understand and appreciate the amount of effort that the body puts into simply processing alcohol.
Did you know that alcohol contains 7 calories per gram?
Did you know that protein contains 4 calories per gram?
Did you know that fats contains 9 calories per gram?
Did you know that carbs contains 4 calories per gram?
So allow me to consider alcohol a macronutrient, which roughly means that it takes effort for it to be broken down. In that sense, alcohol gives the body a strong metabolic response.
How does alcohol affect the metabolism?
The breakdown of alcohol in your body begins with an enzyme known as alcohol dehydrogenase, which takes away hydrogen atoms as soon as it hits the mouth. (Wow! That´s quick!)
So now the alcohol, partially broken, will travel through very small capillaries eventually arriving in your liver, which is going to be full of the alcohol to process it faster.
Then your liver uses two enzymes to break the alcohol down even further, again with the help of our little friend alcohol dehydrogenase. This way, the alcohol breaks down into acetaldehyde.
Did you know that acetaldehyde is 30 times more toxic than alcohol?
Acetaldehyde is a smaller molecule, less complex and, consequently, it is easier for the liver to handle. And that is good, because you don’t want this acetaldehyde in your system for very long. You want your liver to be able to handle immediately when the alcohol converts into acetaldehyde, before it causes serious damage to your system.
Now, we have another legend here: the second enzyme we were talking about, called aldehyde dehydrogenase.
Then the process of aldehyde dehydrogenase will break down the highly toxic acetaldehyde. The sub product of this process is acetate which will be broken down into old fashion water and carbon dioxide.
Isn´t it pretty amazing that - if your system works properly - it can turn alcohol into 02 and C02.
The ‘‘do-you-drink-regularly enzyme’’?
There is an enzyme called cytochrome p450 which is only really active in those that drink regularly. Let me give you some scary information. Alcohol will be metabolized in a different part of the cells so somehow alcohol becomes part of your DNA, because you are consuming so much of it. Crazy, right?
So that means we have to be aware of cytochromes, but there is another enzyme we have to be aware of catalase. Catalase breaks down alcohol into acetaldehyde. This results in catalase, acetaldehyde (remember: the toxic one!) plus a number of other enzymes circulating in the blood and therefore, travel across the entire body, including the brain. This is what causes the feeling of intoxication.
What then causes the psychological effects of alcohol meaning that it affects your perception of reality?
Once travelled up to the brain, the toxic acetaldehyde compound combines with neurotransmitters.
This ultimately will create tetrahydroisoquinoline (TIQ) in the brain. TIQ may contribute to the addiction to alcohol, simply because TIQ is attached to neurotransmitters. In other words, they become part of our neurotransmitters.
What is glutathione?
Glutathione is our body’s most important natural antioxidant and neutralizes some of the poison derived from alcohol.
Glutathione neutralizes by donating an electron. Imagine that the liver sets up a tone of glutathione, which all donate one electron. These electrons neutralize the poison. However, eventually, those glutathione stores run out of electrons and you start to feel groggy or with an old-fashioned hangover, which is one of the signs that you drank more alcohol than your body could process.
The secret Valve
The pyloric valve is a valve between your stomach and your small intestine which allows food to enter the small intestine.
When the body indicates that it wants to eat, it means that it is ready to actually absorb nutrients. When you have eaten enough, the pyloric valve closes and food stops entering the small intestine.
If you consume alcohol on an empty stomach, the alcohol is going directly through the pyloric valve into the small intestine. This makes the alcohol blood level rise very fast.
Now, this can make you a really cheap date, because drinking alcohol on an empty stomach is going to get a lot of alcohol in your body at such a high speed. In that situation, the processes and enzymes that I talked about before - namely, the alcohol dehydrogenase, the cytochrome p450 and of course the catalase - are not going to be able to keep up digesting the alcohol. So you are getting drunk faster and feeling more confident (less shy, but also possibly mistaken the morning after when you see and think clearly again).
Your liver now has to prioritize the metabolism, and especially the digestion of alcohol above anything else. If you drink too much in general, the processes and enzymes discussed get depleted. If that is the case, the liver gets preoccupied with digesting the overdose of alcohol. This means that any food that you consume during this stage, will have to take the backseat. This means that it has to wait to be digested. Let me give you some examples:
The fatty acids don’t get broken down, as efficiently.
The triglycerides don’t get broken down, as efficiently.
Your body is on high alert to manage the acetaldehyde.
I’m not saying that you have to live a totally sober life and never drink alcohol. But be aware, Motherflower.
What happens in the central nervous system?
Now, of course, we also have to talk briefly about how alcohol affects the central nervous system. Alcohol slows down catecholamine responses. It slows down cortisol as well as adrenaline. That is why your reflexes are so poor when you’re under influence of alcohol.
Different tactics?
If you are going to consume alcohol, have a small amount of carbohydrates before. A small amount will close the pyloric valve, but is also going to put some glycogen into the liver.
The glycogen effect in the liver supports the liver to combine glycogen with the acetaldehyde. This stimulates a softer absorption of the toxic acetaldehyde in the body, as the glycogen forms a sort of protective layer suffering less of a hangover.
Ideally, do not consume more than 20 or 30 grams of carbs. Why? The more you eat, the more food will stay in the backseat. Remember what happens then? (If not, read again, Motherflower).
Did you know that alcohol is not a clean process to be made?
Usually there are a lot of preservatives and other things added into it, and most of the time the distillation process is not clean. So, whenever possible choose triple distilled or quadruple distilled alcohol, like gin or vodka.
When drinking wine be sure not to drink a bunch of sulfites or anything like additional metabolites that require a secondary process by the liver. That would namely mean that the liver again has to process the acetaldehyde; then the sulfides; then the preservatives; and then all the other things. Obviously, your body is not going to feel good.
References
[1] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/030646039090017R
[2] https://www.jsad.com/doi/abs/10.15288/jsa.1985.46.267