Alcohol Physiology

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Alcohol Physiology
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Wines, beers, and spirits all contain CH3 CH2 OH
ethyl alcohol also called ethanol.
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The alcohol is produced by fermentation, in which
yeast enzymes decompose carbohydrates into carbon
dioxide and ethanol.
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The carbohydrate source in wines is the sugars in
fruits or berries (usually grapes) in beers, its
grains.
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In spirits, the carbohydrate source is also
grains, but spirits differ in that they are put
through an additional process, in which the
alcoholic beverage is distilled from the
fermented carbohydrate material.
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Although ethyl alcohol is the chief ingredient of
all potable alcoholic beverages, very small
amounts of amyl, butyl, propyl, and methyl
alcohol also find their way into some beverages.
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Youll also find congeners acids, aldehydes,
esters, ketones, phenols, and tannins along
with occasional vitamins and minerals.
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The various combination of these substances
especially the congeners produce the
characteristic flavors, odors, and colors that
differentiate one alcoholic beverage from one
another.
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Alcohol was believed to be the active ingredient
in the healing powers of wine. Up to that time,
the word alcohol was applied as a generic term
to any product derived through vaporization and
condensation.
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Its origin from the Arabic word al-kuhl refers to
the Arab practice of producing a black powder by
condensing a vapour of the metal antimony. The
powder was then used as eye make-up, which is why
eye-liner is still occasionally known as kohl.
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It was not until some time during the 16th
century that alcohol was used specifically in
reference to distilled spirits.
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An ounce of 100-proof bourbon (or other 100-proof
hard liquor), for example, contains as much
alcohol as 12 ounces of beer, five ounces of
wine, or three ounces of sherry.
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Take a drink, and the alcohol is immediately
absorbed into your bloodstream. Unlike most other
substances you ingest, alcohol does not require
digestion before it is absorbed and circulated.
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While it circulates throughout the body, alcohol
is diffused in proportion to the water content of
the various tissues and organs, appearing in
greatest concentration in the blood and the brain.
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Just as it is quick to soak the alcohol up, your
body wastes little time in starting to eliminate
the substance. Some alcohol very little is
exhaled, and a slightly larger amount is secreted
in sweat.
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Even more is excreted by the kidneys and soon
finds its way out in urine. Nevertheless, no
more than 10 percent of the alcohol is eliminated
through breathing, sweating and urination.
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The rest at least 90 percent is processed
metabolically, chiefly by the liver.
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In the liver, enzymes convert the alcohol to
acetate, which enters the bloodstream and is
eventually transformed into carbon dioxide and
water and then disposed of.
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In a man of average size, about half an ounce of
alcohol the equivalent of an ounce of hard
liquor, a 12-ounce bottle of beer, or a 4-ounce
glass of wine- can be metabolized (processed and
eliminated) per hour.
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If you drink more than one drink per hour,
unprocessed alcohol will accumulate in the
bloodstream and continually affect the organs,
particularly the brain.
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Example an average-sized man drinks four ounces
of 100-proof bottled-in-bond whiskey within an
hour. This will put 1 ½ ounces of alcohol in his
body, and, by the end of the hour, the
concentration of alcohol in his blood will be
0.07 percent.
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If he continuous to drink- another four ounces in
the next hour the blood alcohol concentration
will rise to 0.11 percent.
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Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC), sometimes
called Blood Alcohol Level (BAL), is the
concentration of alcohol in the blood, expressed
as the weigh of alcohol in a fixed volume of
blood. It is used as an objective measure of
intoxication.
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Immediate Effects of Alcohol Consumption BAC
(percent) Probable Effect 0.05 Loss of
inhibitions clouded judgment 0.10 Impai
rment of coordination staggering
slurred speech visual
impairment 0.20 Senses dulled loss of control
over emotions 0.30 Blackout possible
loss of consciousness 0.35 -
0.45 Coma possible death 0.60 Death
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Alcoholic Beverages
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An alcoholic beverage (also known as booze in
slang term) is a drink containing ethanol,
commonly known as alcohol, although in chemistry
the definition of alcohol includes many other
compounds.
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Ethanol is a centrally-acting drug with a
depressant effect, and many societies regulate or
restrict its sale and consumption
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Ethanol is only slightly toxic compared to other
alcohols, but has significant psychoactive
effects at sublethal doses.
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A significant blood alcohol content may be
considered legal drunkenness as it reduces
attention, lengthens reaction time and lowers
inhibitions.
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Alcoholic beverages are addictive when consumed
repeatedly or in high doses and the state of
addiction to ethanol is known as alcoholism.
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Alcoholic Content
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The concentration of alcohol in a drink may be
specified in percent alcohol by volume (ABV), in
percentage by weight (sometimes abbreviated w/w
for weight for weight), or in proof.
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Most yeasts cannot grow when the concentration of
alcohol is higher than about 18 by volume, so
that is a practical limit for the strength of
fermented beverages such as wine, beer, and sake.
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Strains of yeast have been developed that can
survive in solutions of up to 25 alcohol by
volume, but these were bred for ethanol fuel
production, not beverage production. Spirits are
produced by distillation of a fermented product,
concentrating the alcohol and eliminating some of
the by-products.
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Fortified wines are produced by adding brandy or
other distilled spirits to achieve higher ABV
than is easily reached using fermentation alone.
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