What is Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH)?

Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) is like a special worker who helps change one type of molecule into another inside your body.

Imagine you have a glass of juice, and it's made of sugar molecules. Now, if you drink alcohol, let’s say it's like a fizzy orange drink, the alcohol molecules need to be changed so your body can use them. That's where ADH comes in!

ADH is like a little machine that takes alcohol (which is called ethanol) and turns it into something else, acetaldehyde, which is like a slightly tougher version of the juice molecule.

This change helps your body process alcohol more easily, kind of like how you might turn a big pile of blocks into smaller ones to build a better tower.

Every time you have a drink, ADH is working hard in your liver, it's like the main factory for turning alcohol into something else. Some people have more or less of this special worker, which can make them feel the effects of alcohol differently.

So next time you're having fun with drinks, remember, there's a tiny helper called ADH making sure everything gets processed!