What are the effects on the body from drinking alcohol?
NAME : Ethyl Alcohol CHEMICAL NAME : Ethanol ALTERNATE CHEMICAL NAMES : absolute alcohol; anhydrous alcohol; dehydrated alcohol Note ‘dehydrated alcohol’ Alcohol is rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream from the small intestine, and less rapidly from the stomach and colon. In proportion to its concentration in the bloodstream, alcohol decreases activity in parts of the brain and spinal cord. The drinker’s blood alcohol concentration depends on: * the amount consumed in a given time * the drinker’s size, sex, body build, and metabolism * the type and amount of food in the stomach. Once the alcohol has passed into the blood, however, no food or beverage can retard or interfere with its effects. Fruit sugar, however, in some cases can shorten the duration of alcohol’s effect by speeding up its elimination from the blood. In the average adult, the rate of metabolism is about 8.5 g of alcohol per hour (i.e. about two-thirds of a regular beer or about 30 mL of spirits an hour). This rate can
