Hey there and welcome to Life Noggin.
Science is awesome.
We know this.
It can help explain what’s going on when you come across new things in life.
One of these new things you might encounter is having a drink of an adult beverage.
It can make you feel different than you have before, and if you drink enough, you can get
drunk.
I brought my good friend Hannah Hart from My Drunk Kitchen to help explain.
So Hannah, so what happens to you and your body when you get drunk?
Hannah: Well obviously make sure to wait until the
legal age of wherever you live to actually have a drink yourself!
We should start off with what happens when you first start to drink.
Early on, as you’re having a glass of wine or a bottle of beer, the alcohol in whatever
you’re drinking will make its way on down to your stomach.
Once it’s here, the alcohol will quickly get absorbed into your bloodstream, and then
it can be transmitted through your body.
But the main place that actually breaks down or metabolizes alcohol in your body is your
liver.
Your body does this because, while some people like the way alcohol makes them feel, alcohol
is actually pretty poisonous to you.
When your liver encounters alcohol enzymes known as alcohol dehydrogenase, or ADH, and
aldehyde dehydrogenase, or ALDH, it will metabolize the alcohol.
These enzymes break down alcohol and convert it into something called acetaldehyde.
This can then be metabolized into a less active byproduct known as acetate, which can be broken
down even further into things like water and carbon dioxide so that you can easily eliminate
this stuff from your body.
So how do you start to get drunk?
Well, this happens when you drink more alcohol than your liver can process.
Your body can only metabolize a certain amount of alcohol at a time, and it’s usually not
a lot.
This amount can vary depending on a number of different factors, from liver size and
body mass, to what ADH and ALDH enzymes you have, which research has shown to vary among
different people.
When you drink more alcohol than your liver can process at a time, you start to get drunk
as your blood-alcohol level rises.
At first, this may make you feel good.
You might feel a sense of euphoria and other stimulating effects as more dopamine is released
within you.
But at a certain point, things will often take a turn.
You might become more clumsy and not react to things as fast as you would normally.
Your vision could get also blurry.
Since your body is trying to do all it can to rid itself of the alcohol, it’s also
likely you’ll need to pee.
A LOT.
Getting drunk can also lower your inhibitions and alter the way you think, so you might
make choices you wouldn’t have made if you were sober.
And that can make for some pretty interesting stories...that I will not get into because
we don't have the time.
Now, when talking about getting drunk, people often want to know if there are ways to cure
or prevent hangovers.
While some things may make you feel better, there doesn’t seem to be much scientific
evidence that a true cure exists.
According to a study published in the British Medical Journal, researchers weeded down nearly
300 potential relevant articles on hangover cures to a total of only 8 that had randomised
controlled trials and that met their inclusion criteria.
In their research, they found no compelling evidence that suggests that there is anything
that’s actually effective for treating or preventing a hangover.
In the end, it seems more about treating the symptoms of a hangover rather than being able
to cure it all together.
Hey, if you’re old enough, where were you when you had your first drink?
Let us know in the comment below!
Thank you so much to Hannah for being in this video!
Her series "My Drunk Kitchen" is hilarious, and ya know, there is some education in there.
Make sure you go subscribe right now if you haven't already, and tell her Blocko sent
you!
As always, name is Blocko, this has been Life Noggin, don't forget to keep on thinking.
WOOO!