How Long Does Alcohol Stay in Your System?

Factors such as the amount of alcohol consumed and the speed at which the body processes alcohol greatly determine how long alcohol remains in your body. The metabolism process of alcohol is much faster in comparison to other substances, as it contains a very short life span in the body. On average, it takes our body around one hour to process one standard drink.

Once consumed, alcohol travels to the stomach, where the metabolism phase begins. Around 20 percent of alcohol is absorbed through the stomach. The rest travels through the small intestine, where it would then be absorbed into the bloodstream.

Once the alcohol reaches the bloodstream, it is rapidly transported throughout the body. Most of this alcohol ends up in the liver, where the majority of alcohol metabolism takes place. Since the liver undertakes most of the heavy work in alcohol processing, it is one of the organs that are most at risk from long-term alcohol use.

The liver holds the two enzymes that are primarily responsible for alcohol processing. These two enzymes break down ethyl alcohol (drinking alcohol) into Acetaldehyde, which is further broken down into substances that are easily absorbed by the body. Alcohol dehydrogenase, an enzyme that is also found in the stomach, breaks down high levels of alcohol in our liver and stomach and converts them into energy. While one enzyme converts alcohol into energy, Cytochrome P450 2E1 is an enzyme that absorbs the body of its energy to break down alcohol. This enzyme is highly active in the liver of chronic drinkers.

Catalase, a third enzyme that is found in cells throughout the body, also metabolizes a small portion of alcohol. The Acetaldehyde that is delivered to the brain through catalase metabolism can fuse with the neurotransmitters to form tetrahydroisoquinolines, which are believed by some scientists to be the cause of alcoholism (although this is quite controversial.) These scientists believe that the existence of tetrahydroisoquinolines can be used to determine if an individual is a social drinker or an addict.

Many factors influence the processing time of alcohol, including:

• Gender
• Bodyweight
• Diet
• prescription medications or recreational drug use
• medical history
• Pace of drinking

This implies that the alcohol processing pace can vary from one person to another. Nevertheless, alcohol processing time is exceptionally consistent for most people. Most individuals process one standard drink (one glass of wine or beer or one-shot) within one hour. If an individual has five standard drinks, it will require 5 hours for their body to process alcohol.

The body is remarkably effective in processing alcohol unless the alcohol is consumed too quickly that it leads to alcohol poisoning. Around 90 to 98 percent of alcohol that enters the body is rapidly metabolized and absorbed, whereas the remaining alcohol is excreted through urine, sweat, feces, and vomit.

Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is the standard measurement of ethanol present in a person’s bloodstream. In other terms, BAC, also known as blood alcohol content, refers to the percentage of alcohol in the blood. For example, for most people, one ounce of alcohol will produce 0.015 percent of BAC. This level signifies little to no alcohol in the bloodstream after 10 hours.

The negative effects of alcohol appear once the BAC level spike from 0.05 to 0.055 percent. However, the lethal amount of blood alcohol is considered to be 0.45 percent. Most individuals start to lose their balance and motor skills from 0.08 to 0.09 percent BAC level. With a BAC of 0.15 percent, most individuals begin to vomit due to the excessive levels of alcohol in the blood and the body’s inability to metabolize the alcohol fast enough. Once the BAC reaches 0.35 percent, most individuals lose consciousness. However, if the alcohol is consumed rapidly, through binge drinking, an individual might reach lethal levels of BAC before they pass out. This lethal level of alcohol can result in alcohol poisoning.

Many factors can influence the body’s alcohol processing speed. Some of the most important factors are:

Each and every alcoholic beverage has different concentrations of alcohol. A standard drink is described as the amount of alcohol present in one normal-strength (5% percent/10 proof) of a 12-ounce beer. The alcoholic concentration in various alcoholic beverages are provided below:

As alcohol is transported throughout the body via the bloodstream, various tests are currently available to detect its presence. Traces of alcohol remain longer in certain systems compared to others. Hence, these tests are able to detect alcohol, even hours or days from consumption.