What happens when you drink and your stomach is “empty”? First, let’s look quickly at what’s in your alcoholic drink, and then we’ll look at how not having any food in your stomach affects alcohol’s interactions with your body. Show Most people who’ve consumed any alcohol know that alcohol affects the way they think, feel, and act. But few people may know exactly how alcohol works in the body. To understand what happens when you drink alcohol, it can help to know what is considered a “standard drink.” Different beers, wines, and liquors can have different alcohol contents. Drinks with more alcohol have a stronger effect on the body than drinks with less alcohol. A standard drink contains about 14 grams of pure alcohol. This equates to about 12 ounces of regular beer at 5 percent alcohol content, 8–9 ounces of malt liquor at 7 percent alcohol, 5 ounces of wine at 12 percent alcohol, and 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits with 40 percent alcohol. Here’s how the body absorbs alcohol when you drink:
The bloodstream moves alcohol to different parts of the body. Here’s where the alcohol goes and what it does:
In pregnant women, alcohol passes through the placenta from the mother’s blood to her unborn baby. Babies are exposed to the same levels of blood alcohol as their mothers but cannot break down alcohol like adults. Drinking alcohol at any stage of pregnancy is not advised. Everyone absorbs alcohol at a different rate. Women, young people, and people who are smaller tend to absorb alcohol more quickly than men and people who are older and larger in body size. Your liver health will also affect the rate at which your body processes alcohol. But eating also plays a big role in how your body handles alcohol. Alcohol is most quickly absorbed by the small intestine. The longer alcohol stays in the stomach, the slower it is absorbed and the slower it affects the body. Food prevents alcohol from passing quickly into your small intestine. When there is food in your stomach before drinking, alcohol is absorbed more slowly. When you drink on an empty stomach, much of the alcohol you drink passes quickly from the stomach into the small intestine, where most of it is absorbed into the bloodstream. This intensifies all the side effects of drinking, such as your ability to think and coordinate your body movements. Light to moderate drinking on an empty stomach may not be a major cause for concern. But drinking large amounts of alcohol fast on an empty stomach can be very dangerous. An inability to think clearly or move your body safely can cause serious harm, leading to injury or death in extreme cases. Choosing a lower-alcohol beverage, cutting it with water or other non-alcohol liquids, sipping it over a long period of time, and drinking water at the same time are all ways to dilute the alcohol concentration in your drink. But this will have little effect on how rapidly your body absorbs the alcohol that’s present. The most ideal situation to avoid any ill effects from drinking on an empty stomach is of course to avoid doing it by eating some food. Eat at least an hour before drinking if you plan on consuming more than one drink in a sitting. Don’t drink more than one standard drink per hour and know your limits. If you’re drinking on an empty stomach and begin to feel stomach pain or nausea, or begin vomiting, it’s important to stop drinking and tell someone you’re with how you feel. Most likely you’ve probably consumed too much or drank too quickly. Start drinking water slowly and try to eat easy-to-digest foods with lots of carbohydrates like pretzels or bread. Pain, nausea, and dry-heaving or vomiting can also be signs of a life-threatening condition called alcohol poisoning. You can identify alcohol poisoning by several other symptoms, including:
If you are with someone who may have alcohol poisoning, call 911 right away. Without fast treatment, alcohol poisoning can lead to coma, brain damage, or even death. Try to keep the person sitting upright and awake. Give them a small amount of water to drink if they are conscious and keep them warm with a blanket if possible. If they’ve passed out, lie them on their side and watch their breathing. Never leave the person alone to “sleep it off,” as the amount of alcohol in a person’s bloodstream can continue to rise 30–40 minutes after their last drink and suddenly worsen their symptoms. Do not give them coffee or more alcohol, and do not try to give them a cold shower to help them “sober up.” Drinking on an empty stomach can also increase your risk for the usually harmless but still unpleasant side effect of a hangover. A hangover usually happens the day after drinking large quantities of alcohol. Symptoms may include:
While hangover symptoms usually resolve on their own, there are some things you can do to help them go away more quickly. These include:
Consuming a very large amount of alcohol in a short amount of time, especially on an empty stomach, can be dangerous and sometimes even fatal. But in most cases, drinking on an empty stomach will cause only the unpleasant side effects associated with a hangover. Eating before moderate drinking can slow down alcohol’s effect on you and reduce your chances of a bad reaction to alcohol. Is it better to drink alcohol on a full or empty stomach?When there is food in your stomach before drinking, alcohol is absorbed more slowly. When you drink on an empty stomach, much of the alcohol you drink passes quickly from the stomach into the small intestine, where most of it is absorbed into the bloodstream.
Should I eat after drinking alcohol?Do eat. Ideally, eat both before and after drinking. Having food in your stomach slows the rate of alcohol absorption.
Is it good to drink alcohol with empty stomach?Drinking with an empty or full stomach
If you drink alcohol with an empty stomach, the alcohol passes directly into your bloodstream. If you've eaten before drinking, the rate of alcohol absorption slows down but doesn't stop.
What should u eat before drinking alcohol?Here's our process.. Eggs. Eggs are highly nutritious and filling, packing 7 grams of protein per one 56-gram egg ( 1 ). ... . Oats. Oats double as a great source of fiber and protein, both of which support feelings of fullness and ease the effects of alcohol ( 3 , 6 ). ... . Bananas. ... . Salmon. ... . Greek yogurt. ... . Chia pudding. ... . Berries. ... . Asparagus.. |