Alcohol plays a big part in the lives of many of us. Be it a night out with friends, having drinks with colleagues or a glass of champagne on New Year. For something so common and widely used, we don't often wonder how alcohol really works and what effects it can have on us. So, let me give you an overview of the journey alcohol takes around your body and the aftermath of drinking. 

To start, what even is alcohol? In the chemical world, alcohol is known as ethanol. It’s a by-product of fermentation - a reaction of sugars and yeast. The sources of sugar include wheat, barley, molasses, potatoes and more.

Now, how does alcohol travel around your body? Alcohol doesn’t take pit stops at different organs and it doesn’t affect just one part of your body at a time. Alcohol travels to various body parts and organs simultaneously, as it is carried by the blood. We can take a shot of pure liquor as an example. Through your mouth, the shot will pass down your oesophagus and into your stomach. Approximately 20% of the alcohol will be absorbed by the stomach lining and enter the bloodstream. The rest of the alcohol squeezes into the bloodstream through the walls of the small intestine. Alcohol will be more readily absorbed by the stomach and intestinal walls if you have not eaten before drinking. The tiny size of alcohol molecules allow them to be absorbed very quickly into the bloodstream. In other words, alcohol does not need to be broken down to enter the bloodstream, like most food does, and it dissolves easily in water and fat. Your bloodstream will quickly transport it to your brain, lungs, kidneys, and liver.

How drunk you feel and act will be determined by how much alcohol is in your bloodstream. Even though alcohol can feel like a stimulant, it’s actually a depressant. This means that it slows down your central nervous system. When alcohol impairs the cerebral cortex, which processes thoughts, you not only become more talkative and confident, but also have problems sensing pain, seeing, hearing, and thinking clearly. All this is because alcohol affects your brain’s ability to process information like usual. Due to the effects of alcohol on the limbic system, your emotions may be heightened. You might experience uncoordinated muscle movements and imbalance when alcohol affects your cerebellum. Even simple tasks like crossing the street can turn into a dangerous experience.

Your kidneys function primarily to filter your blood. They keep all the useful things in your body while all the waste is removed. Your kidneys usually maintain a stable water balance in your body that shifts when you consume alcohol. Alcohol, like coffee, is a diuretic, meaning it increases the amount of urine the body produces. So, if you drink too much alcohol, your body will try to get rid of it and you will get dehydrated. Dehydration can cause headaches, nausea, and exhaustion, so make sure to drink water after consuming alcohol. 

Your liver is responsible for metabolising or breaking down 90% of alcohol in the body. The remaining alcohol ends its journey through sweat, breath or urine. The first step of alcohol breakdown is oxidation by alcohol dehydrogenases to acetaldehyde, which is a highly reactive and toxic substance. In healthy people, acetaldehyde is oxidized rapidly to a harmless acetate. The acetate is further broken down into carbon dioxide and water. Some people lack aldehyde dehydrogenase, and they experience unpleasant symptoms, like flushing, nausea, headaches and tachycardia. In general, the liver can process one ounce of liquor in one hour. This time depends on many individual factors. If you consume more than this, the alcohol accumulates in the blood and the tissues in the body until the liver can metabolize it. 

Some of the alcohol will travel from the blood to the lungs and evaporate into the air through alveoli (small lung sacs). This can also be known as “alcohol breath”. In regards to your heart, it starts beating faster when you drink. The reason for this is that alcohol expands the blood vessels, allowing more blood to flow through and putting more stress on your heart. 

When you stop drinking, you can go through what is known as a hangover. Usually, hangovers start within eight to twelve hours after consuming alcohol. They are characterized by fatigue, headaches, thirst, and nausea. However, the severity of the symptoms varies from person to person and depends on the alcoholic quantity and quality consumed. Avoiding hangovers is only possible if you drink moderately. But eating dinner before drinking and alternating alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks could lessen your hangover. 

When one is intoxicated and loses memories of what happened, they experience a blackout, also known as alcoholic amnesia or alcohol-induced memory loss. While the person experiencing a blackout might appear fine to others, they may have no memory of what happened the following day. There is no clear cause for blackouts, but it may involve alcohol interfering with short-term memory and deep seizures. It is important to note that blacking out does not equal passing out - losing consciousness as a result of being intoxicated to an unsafe level.

Even though this article is meant to be neutral and informative, it feels wrong to not mention that consuming alcohol can be dangerous. Drinking excessively and frequently can be harmful to your physical and mental health. Even a simple night out can have disastrous results due to the effects alcohol has on your feelings and actions. If you drink too much, you are not you. Know your body and know your limits.