What is the average alcohol tolerance

While consuming alcohol in moderation is unlikely to be harmful, drinking in excess can have considerable negative health effects. But how exactly does alcohol affect your body?

How much alcohol is too much? And are there ways to drink safely? Continue reading as we explore the answers to these questions and more below. When we drink alcohol, its first destination is the stomach. The small intestine has a much higher surface area for absorption than your stomach, meaning alcohol will enter your blood faster. Therefore, alcohol will move out of your stomach more slowly.

Once in the bloodstream, alcohol can move to other organs of the body, including the liver. The liver is responsible for breaking down most of the alcohol that you consume. The cells of your body break acetic acid down further into carbon dioxide and water. These compounds can be easily eliminated from your body via processes like urination and breathing. So what exactly gives us that tipsy, drunk feeling? Your liver can only metabolize so much alcohol at a time, which means that alcohol can travel through the bloodstream to other organs, such as the brain.

Alcohol is a depressant of your central nervous system CNS. That means it has a slowing effect on your brain. Because of this, the neurons in your brain fire off nerve impulses more slowly. Alcohol can also stimulate the release of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine. These neurotransmitters are associated with pleasure and reward and can lead to feelings like happiness or relaxation.

These feelings are joined by additional physical symptoms of intoxication such as flushing, sweating, and increases in urination. A hangover occurs after you drink too much alcohol. Symptoms can be unpleasant and can vary by person.

As you consume additional alcohol, more and more of it enters your bloodstream. Is there a way that you can tell your level of intoxication? The only way that BAC levels can be measured is by using a breathalyzer test or a blood alcohol test. The charts below may be helpful for reference. They show the weight, legal limits, and levels of intoxication for men and for women.

According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans: — , a standard drink is defined as 14 grams or 0. Remember that alcohol levels can vary by specific beverage. That's because men tend to weigh more, which means that alcohol is less concentrated in the bloodstream. In addition, men's bodies tend to contain more water, pound for pound. This means that alcohol will be more dilute in a man's body. A pound woman who tries to "keep up" with a pound man over several hours can reach a blood alcohol concentration that's two times higher.

When it comes to driving, legally drunk means having a blood alcohol concentration BAC of 0. How much alcohol it takes to reach that level depends not only how much alcohol has been consumed and how fast, but also the drinker's body weight and gender. So while a pound man needs to drink about three standard drinks in an hour to reach the legal limit, a pound women needs to drink only two drinks in an hour to reach the limit.

Once alcohol is in the bloodstream, nothing can be done to increase the rate at which the liver processes it about one drink an hour. Coffee won't help, and neither will exercising or having a cold shower. But coffee can give a potentially dangerous impression of feeling more sober - potentially dangerous because someone in such a state may assume that it's okay to drive. Alcohol mixed with food takes longer to absorb than alcohol consumed on an empty stomach. Some people find it helpful to eat a meal before going out for a night on the town.

In addition to slowing the rate at which alcohol enters the bloodstream, eating before drinking might result in a full stomach that puts out fewer "fill me" signals. But it's important to realize that the ability to hold your liquor - what doctors call tolerance - is about how intoxicated you feel, and not how intoxicated you actually are. And before you start bragging about your high alcohol tolerance, you should know that it's actually considered a major risk factor for alcoholism.

That's because people who can drink a lot without feeling drunk tend to drink more than people with low alcohol tolerance. Any amount of alcohol consumption before driving can affect performance behind the wheel. At Banyan Massachusetts, we help people with drinking and drug problems move past their addiction and create healthier lives. If you or a loved one is ready to begin or just wants to learn more, call us today at After overcoming her own struggles with addiction, she began working in the treatment field in A part of the Banyan team since , Alyssa brings over 5 years of experience in the addiction treatment field.

Related posts. Is Concerta Addictive? Read more. Jessica Simpson 4 Years Sober Read more. How to Fight Heroin Cravings Read more. Get the help you need today at Banyan. Don't surrender your life to addiction, take control and get your life back today. Our drug and alcohol addiction treatment centers have helped thousands of people empower themselves to take back control of their lives.

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