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Dear Readers,
Think about these stats: An average of about
225,000 people in this country die each year as
a result of abuse of alcohol and other drugs (excluding
tobacco)...616 a day! But, relatively few of these
(38 ) die because of illicit drug use. All of
the rest....578, or 93.8%, lose their lives each
day of the year because of abuse of the legal
drug, alcohol. I'm sure most of you would agree
with the adage that a "little knowledge is
a dangerous thing." Over the years I have
been astonished at the public's lack of knowledge
concerning alcohol. So, using material published
by the National Institute of Alcohol and Alcohol
Abuse (NIAAA), for the next couple of weeks, I
plan to share the information...what is alcohol?
What does it do?
Ethyl alcohol, or ethanol, is
a clear, thin, odorless liquid that boils at 173
degrees . It can burn, it can be mixed with water
in any proportion, and it is one of the few alcohols
that is made for consumption; however, it never
exists full-strength in any alcoholic beverage.
.
Alcohol (ethanol) is produced
during a natural process called fermentation,
which occurs when yeast, a microscopic plant that
floats freely in the air, reacts with the sugar
in fruit or vegetable juice, creating alcohol
and releasing carbon dioxide. The process stops
naturally when about 11% to 14% of the juice is
alcohol; the product of this fermentation is wine.
A similar process is used to make beer.
Distillation is the process
used to make beverages with a higher alcohol content.
In this process the fermented liquid is heated
until it vaporizes, and then the vapor is cooled
until it condenses into a liquid again. Distilled
alcoholic beverages (e.g., whiskey, gin, vodka,
and rum) contain 40% to 50% alcohol. They are
sometimes referred to as "spirits" or
"hard liquor".
When someone drinks an alcoholic
beverage it flows into the stomach. While it is
in the stomach, the drinker does not feel the
effects of the alcohol, but alcohol does not remain
in the stomach very long. Some of it is absorbed
through the stomach walls into the bloodstream,
but most alcohol passes into the small intestine
and then into the bloodstream, and then circulates
throughout the body. Once alcohol is in the bloodstream
it reaches the brain and the drinker begins to
feel its effects. The reason that a large person
does not feel the effects of a drink as quickly
as a small person is because the large person
has more blood and other body fluids and will
not have as high a level of alcohol in the blood
after drinking the same amount of alcohol.
The body disposes of alcohol in
two ways: elimination and oxidation.
About 10% of the alcohol in the body leaves by
elimination from the lungs and kidneys. The remainder
leaves by oxidation. The liver plays a major role
in the body's oxidation of alcohol. When alcohol
enters the liver, some is changed to a chemical
called acetaldehyde . The acetaldehyde combines
with oxygen to form acetic acid which is further
combined with oxygen, to form carbon dioxide and
water.
The oxidation of alcohol produces
calories. One ounce of pure alcohol contains about
163 calories (or about 105 calories in a 1 1/2
ounce glass of whiskey or gin). It contains no
vitamins or other beneficial nutrients. The liver
can oxidize only a certain amount of alcohol each
minute; the oxidation rate of alcohol in a person
weighing 150 pounds, for example, is about 7 grams
of alcohol per hour. This is equivalent to about
3/4 of an ounce of distilled spirits, 2 1/2 ounces
of wine, or 7 3/4 to 8 ounces of beer per hour.
If a 150 pound person drank no more than 3/4 of
an ounce of whiskey or half a bottle of beer every
hour, the alcohol would never accumulate in the
body, the person would feel little of the effects
, and would not become intoxicated. Oxidation
continues until all the alcohol has left the body.
Since the body can remove only a small amount
of alcohol at a time, those who choose to drink
are advised to drink slowly.
Next week: Alcohol: What does
it do?
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