How Alcohol Works

Alcohol is rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream from the small intestine, and less rapidly from the stomach and colon. 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.

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 vary dramatically among individuals, however, depending on such diverse factors as usual amount of drinking, physique, sex, liver size, and genetic factors.