How Long Does Alcohol Stay in the Body?
David J. Hanson, Ph.D.
After alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream it leaves the body in two ways. A total of about ten percent leaves through the breath, perspiration, and urine. The remainder is broken down through the process known as metabolism.
The rate at which alcohol is metabolized is the same for virtually everyone regardless of their height, weight, sex, race or other such characteristics.
Alcohol is metabolized at the rate of .015 of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) every hour. 1 Thus a person with a very high BAC of .15 will have no measurable alcohol in the bloodstream after ten hours (.15 divided by .015 = 10). Here are some other examples:
BAC Level Metabolism Time in Hours
.10 6.66
.08 5.33
.05 3.33
.02 1.33
It’s important to remember that BAC can continue to rise for a period of time after the last drink is consumed. For useful information about the biphasic curve and our reactions to alcohol How Alcohol Affects Us: the Biphasic Curve.
We can easily control the rate at which our BAC rises and how high it goes. Here are some hints:
* Don't be fooled. Standard drinks of beer, wine, or liquor (mixed drink or straight spirits) each contain virtually identical amounts of pure alcohol. When it comes to alcohol, a drink is a drink is a drink and are all the same to a breathalyzer. 2
Standard Drinks
Standard Drinks graphically illustrates information on the equivalence of standard drinks of beer, wine and distilled spirits or liquor. Its accuracy has been established by medical and other health professionals.
* Eat food while you drink. Food, especially high protein food such as meat, cheese and peanuts, will help slow the absorption of alcohol into your body.
* Sip your drink. If you gulp a drink, you lose the pleasure of savoring its flavors and aromas.
* Don't participate in "chugging" contests or other drinking games.
* Accept a drink only when you really want one. If someone tries to force a drink on you, ask for a non-alcohol beverage instead. If that doesn't work, "lose" your drink by setting it down somewhere and leaving it.
* Skip a drink now and then. Having a non-alcoholic drink between alcoholic ones will help keep your blood alcohol content level down, as does spacing out your alcoholic drinks
* A good general guideline for most people is to limit consumption of alcohol beverages to one drink (beer, wine or spirits) per hour.
* Keep active; don't just sit around and drink. If you stay active you tend to drink less and to be more aware of any effects alcohol may be having on you.
* Beware of unfamiliar drinks. Some drinks, such as zombies and other fruit drinks, can be deceiving as the alcohol content is not detectable. Therefore, it is difficult to space them properly.
* Use alcohol carefully in connection with pharmaceuticals. Ask your physician or pharmacist about any precautions or prohibitions and follow any advice received. 3
Estimate Your BAC
Estimate the Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) you would reach when drinking over a variety of time periods.
From: How to Control Your Drinking by William R. Miller and Richard F. Munoz.
Although we can control how high our BAC goes, we can’t speed up our metabolism of alcohol. Drinking coffee, exercising or taking showers and similar behaviors have no effect on alcohol metabolism. Only time can do that.
To avoid hangovers keep BAC low, no higher than about .05 to .06. 4 There is no scientific or clinical evidence that any of the hangover “remedies” on the market are of any value whatsoever. There is some evidence that, other things being equal, clear distilled spirits such as gin and vodka are less likely to cause hangovers. 5 But it’s always best to avoid drinking too much alcohol.
The human body produces alcohol throughout life 24/7. It’s called endogenous ethanol production and the volume of alcohol produced depends to some degree on what foods have been eaten. On average, it appears that people can produce about one ounce of absolute or pure alcohol each day. 6 However, the law doesn’t distinguish between alcohol produced in the body and that which is consumed.
Unfortunately, so-called alcohol breath testing machines only estimate BAC, which can only be measured by testing the blood itself. Breath, perspiration and urine can only be tested to estimate the amount of alcohol in the bloodstream. 7
Research indicates that a large proportion of people tested with a Breathalyzer or similar breath machine will receive a reading higher than their actual BAC. This means that many innocent drivers are falsely convicted of DWI/DUI. 8
But there is good news. You can easily avoid both alcohol-impaired driving and unfair DWI/DUI convictions by abstaining, drinking in moderation, or either being or using a designated driver (DD) who consumes no alcohol.
^^some of this shit is funny.
