Health Sciences 1001A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Blood Alcohol Content, Fortified Wine, Drink Mixer
23 Jan 2018
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• Alcohol: The intoxicating ingredient in fermented/distilled beverages; colourless, pungent
liquid
• Types of alcohol
o Beer
▪ 3-6% alc
▪ Mixture of grains
▪ Ales and malt liquors are similar, around 6-8% alc
o Wine
▪ 9-14% alc
▪ Fermenting juices of grapes and fruits
▪ Fermentation: sugars from fruit react with yeast = ethanol
▪ Fortified wine is wine with added alc
• Ex: sherry, port, Madeira
• 20% alc
o Hard Liquor
▪ Gin, Rye, Rum, Tequila, Vodka, Liqueur
▪ Distilling brewed/fermented grains/plants
▪ 30-50% alc but can be stronger
• Any beverage containing 1.1% or more alc by volume is considered an alcoholic beverage
• All labels must include the amount of alc in the product
• One drink = amount of beverage that typically contains 13.6 grams of "pure" alc
o 12 oz beer = 5 oz wine = 3 oz fortified wine = 1.5 oz liquor
• People don't always limit themselves to one drink
o Most servings of alc beverages are much larger
o Ex: mixed drinks, often containing more than one type of hard liquor
• Canadian companies not required to list # of standard drinks on alc labels
• It is important for individuals to have awareness about what a standard drink is and how
many "drinks" are in one container of alc
• Caloric content
o 7 cal/g
o One standard drink (14-17g) = 100-120 cal
▪ Varies per drink
• Ex: Beer = 140 cal per beer
• "light" in light beer refers to # of calories, NOT alc level
o Consuming alc on a regular basis adds lots of extra calories to one's diet
▪ Could lead to weight gain and potential health problems
o Strategies for cutting back on alc
▪ Not drinking every day
▪ Spacing drinks at least one hour apart
▪ Replacing alc beverages with "virgin" or half alc substitutes
• Absorption
o 20% of alc is rapidly absorbed from stomach into the bloodstream
o 75% is absorbed through the upper part of the small intestine
o Remaining alc enters through gastrointestinal tract
o Alc produces feelings of intoxication
o Rate of absorption:
▪ Carbonation in beverage (ex: champagne) increases alcohol absorption rate
• Same with artificial sweeteners (ex: drink mixers)
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▪ Food in the stomach slows rate of absorption
▪ Drinking of hard liquor slows rate of absorption
▪ ALL ALCOHOL a person consumes is ABSORBED
• Metabolism and Excretion
o Alc is rapidly distributed throughout most body tissues
o Main site of alc metabolism is the liver
▪ Small amount of alc is metabolized in the stomach
o Processes of metabolism
▪ Alc converted to acetaldehyde, then acetate, then burned for energy or converted
to fat
• Enzymes for this process vary among individuals
• This explains how different people react to alcohol
o Metabolism - chemical transformation of food and other substances in the body into
energy and wastes
o Some people, primarily of Asian descent inherit ineffective/inactive variations of ALDH
▪ Metabolism of alcohol may not be as quick
o Others, ex: Jewish population and African descent metabolizes very quickly
o Acetaldehyde buildup occurs when people drink alcohol
▪ Reaction: Flushing Syndrome
• Skin feels hot, heart + respiration rates increase, headache, vomit, hives
• Severety of reaction is affected by the inherited form of their alcohol
metabolizing enzymes
o 2-10% of alc is not metabolized in the liver/tissues
▪ Instead, it is excreted unchanged by the lungs, kidneys, and sweat glands
• Ex: Smelling alc on a person's breath
• Explains breath and urine analysis for alc levels
o Alc enters human brain
▪ Affects neurotransmitters temporarily
▪ With chronic heavy usage, alc effects become permanent
• Interferes with production of new brain cells until the age of 21
• In mature adults, new brain cells are unable to be produced to replace
damaged ones
• Alcohol Intake and Blood Alcohol Concentration
o Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) = Ratio of alcohol in a person's blood by weight
expressed as a percentage of alcohol measured in a decilitre of blood
▪ Affected by amount of alc consumed in a given amount of time and a few factors:
• Body weight
• Small person has higher BAC than large person after drinking the
same amount of alc
• Has less overall body tissue into which alc can be distributed
• Percentage of body fat
• Alc does not concentrate as much in fatty tissue as in muscle and
most other tissues
• Because fat has fewer blood vessels
• Sex
• Woman metabolize less alcohol in the stomach than men do
• Stomach enzyme that breaks down alc before it enters
bloodstream is 4 times as active in men as in women
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• Women will have higher BAC than men
• Hormonal fluctuations may also affect their rate of alc metabolism
• Ex: menstrual cycle
▪ BAC depends on rate of alc absorption and rate of alc metabolism
• Rate of alc metabolism varies among individuals
• Genetic factors and drinking behaviour
• Chronic drinking activates enzymes that metabolize alcohol in the
liver
• People who drink frequently metabolize alcohol at a more rapid
rate than non drinkers
• Metabolic rate CANNOT be influenced by exercising, breathing
deeply, eating, drinking coffee, or taking other drugs
▪ People can drink large amounts of alcohol over a long period by absorbing slightly
less alc each hour than they can metabolize in an hour without becoming
noticeably intoxicated
• Still long term health hazards
▪ If people drink alc more quickly than it can be metabolized, the BAC will steadily
increase
• They will become increasingly drunk
•
• Alcohol and Health
o Immediate Effects of Alcohol
o Alc is a Central Nervous System depressant
o When BAC is increasing rather than decreasing, the effects of alcohol are more
pronounced
o If a person drinks on an empty stomach, alcohol is absorbed more quickly and BAC rises
more quickly
o Low Concentrations of alcohol:
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Document Summary
Alcohol: the intoxicating ingredient in fermented/distilled beverages; colourless, pungent liquid, types of alcohol, beer, 3-6% alc, mixture of grains, ales and malt liquors are similar, around 6-8% alc, wine, 9-14% alc. Fermentation: sugars from fruit react with yeast = ethanol. Skin feels hot, heart + respiration rates increase, headache, vomit, hives. Severety of reaction is affected by the inherited form of their alcohol metabolizing enzymes: 2-10% of alc is not metabolized in the liver/tissues. Interferes with production of new brain cells until the age of 21. Sex: woman metabolize less alcohol in the stomach than men do. If people drink alc more quickly than it can be metabolized, the bac will steadily increase: they will become increasingly drunk, alcohol and health. Immediate effects of alcohol: alc is a central nervous system depressant, when bac is increasing rather than decreasing, the effects of alcohol are more pronounced.
