How Does the Human Body Process ‘Alcohol’?

Imagine your body is like a factory that turns things into energy. When you drink alcohol, it's like sending in a special kind of worker called ethanol, and the factory starts turning it into something else. The main machine for this job is the liver, which uses another worker named alcohol dehydrogenase to change ethanol into a compound called acetaldehyde. This new compound can make you feel dizzy or sick, but eventually, your body turns it into energy and gets rid of what it doesn't need.

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Examples

  1. Drinking wine makes your brain feel relaxed because the body starts turning alcohol into energy.
  2. A kid who drinks soda doesn't get a hangover, but if they drink juice with alcohol, they might feel tired afterward.
  3. When you’re sick from too much drinking, it’s often because your liver can’t process all the alcohol quickly.

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Categories: Health · alcohol· metabolism· liver