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Once the
alcohol enters the body, it is passed into the
bloodstream through the small intestine walls (80
precent) and the stomach walls.
How
fast the alcohol enters the bloodstream depends
on (1) the drinking manner (slowly, fast or
swigged), (2) the type of alcoholic beverage
(alcohol's concentration, content of carbon
dioxide, sugar, temperature) and (3) the stomach
condition. Usually, the alcohol enters the
bloodstream fast when the person drinks a warm,
sweet and high carbonate alcoholic beverage with
a up to 6 percent concentration of alcohol on an
empty stomach.
When takin in consideration the
time criteria, usually after 10 to 15 minutes
half of the alcohol has entered the blood flow.
After 20 minutes around 60 percent of the alcohol
has entered the blood flow and after 30 minutes
almost two thirds. In 60 up to 90 minutes the
entire amount of alcohol is in the blood.
The
alcohol concentration in the blood is indicated
in %o. An alcohol
concentration of 1%o
represents one milliliter of pure alcohol per one
litre of blood.
Blood alcohol
concentration formula is
C = A : G .
r
where
C = alcohol's concentration in the blood
A = quantity of alcohol in grams
G = body weight
r = a diffusion factor (0,7 for male; 0,6 for
female)
| As
we can see on the above formula, the
blood alcohol concentration also depends
on the body weight and the amount of
liquids in which the alcoholic drink can
be mixed with in the stomach. However,
when we calculate the blood alcohol
concentration we have to take in
consideration several other factors like:
gender, personal tolerance, and the
lenght of alcohol consumption. If
the person drinks for a
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longer time, the blood alcohol
concentration value decreases because the body
eliminates a certain amount of alcohol during
normal physiological functions. The alcohol
eliminated by the body also depends on the body
weight, and is around 0,15%o per
hour.
Let's
take a closer look to this phenomenon.
Approximately 5-10 percent of the alcohol that
enters the blood flow is eliminated untainted by
the body mostly through the expired air, urine,
and sweat. Approximately, 90 to 95 percent of the
alcohol amount that enters the body is processed
by the liver. The alcohol is decomposed through
an oxidation process. Intially, it is transformed
into acetaldehyde by a hepatic enzyme called
alcoholdehydrogenesis (ADH). Acetaldehyde is also
transformed by aldehyddehydrogenesis (ALDH) into
acetic acid which becomes carbon dioxide and
water. Therefor, the body eliminates 7 to 10
grams of alcohol in one hour by decreasing the
blood alcohol concentration with 0,15%o per
hour.
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