Alcohol & Your Health

April Is Alcohol Awareness Month

April is Alcohol Awareness Month.  Here are some resource links from a variety of sources highlighting alcohol and health:

Oprah - Mind and Body:  Spotlight on Health in April: Alcohol Awareness

US Dept. of Health and Human Services:  Alcohol and Drug Information

US Dept. of Labor:  Employers Encouraged to Recognize April as Alcohol Awarness Month

National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence:  2oth Annual Alcohol Awareness Month

AVOIDING THE WRATH OF GRAPES

Products claim to prevent morning-after ailments

Whether you’re a mild, moderate or heavy drinker, morning-after hangovers don’t discriminate. According to the Mayo Clinic Web site, nearly 75 percent of people who drink to intoxication experience a hangover the next day. Because so many people experience the symptoms, many look for any way they can to prevent or treat hangovers, including over-the-counter pills which claim to help prevent the condition. From the "all-natural" pill RU-21 to a patch called Sober X, they each use a different method to reduce the effects caused by overdrinking.

Read full article by Kate Lohnes, The Monitor, McAllen, TX,  here

Older Women Should Severely Limit Alcohol to Avoid Multiple Risks

Mayo Clinic advises postmenopausal women to drink less than one drink a day

March 4, 2006 – New research has led Mayo Clinic to recommend that older women (postmenopausal) limit their consumption of alcohol to less than one drink a day to avoid serious consequences with heart disease, cirrhosis, cancer and their appearance. Until recently, most studies on alcohol and its effect on health have been conducted only in men. But new research that included women has highlighted some differences.

Two new studies released last year raised red flags about dangers of even moderate alcohol consumption for older women. One found that postmenopausal women who consume even moderate amounts of alcohol may face an increased risk of breast cancer and, the second said women develop alcohol-related brain damage more readily than men.

Read entire article here

Alcohol and Women's Health Links

Alcohol: A Women's Health Issue

http://www.athealth.com/Consumer/disorders/womenalcohol.html

 

Women and Drinking - NIAAA of the National Institutes of Health

http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochurewomen/women.htm

 

Women and Alcohol Fact Sheet

http://www.cspinet.org/booze/women.htm

 

Alcohol and Urine Screens

If someone has been drinking alcoholically and stops for treatment, how long after stopping will it (alcohol) continue to show up in urine screens?  Thank you.

The ethanol disposal rate in a 150-pound human is about 0.5 ounce of ethanol per hour, which corresponds to 12 ounces of beer (1 can), 4 ounces of wine (1 glass), or once ounce of hard liquor (one shot).  So, depending on how much you've had to drink, you can calculate how long it will take to clear the alcohol so that it doesn't show up in a urine screen.

-- Dr. Ken Krul

Kudzu vs. RU-21

I have been told that Kudzu root is effective in metabolizing alcohol.  Do Kudzu and RU-21 work the same?

No -- Kudzu (which is an obnoxious, fast-growing weed) is antagonistic to RU-21.  RU-21 works to reduce the levels of acetaldehyde in the blood, thereby reducing the toxic effects of alcohol.  Kudzu causes the acetaldehyde to collect and remain in the system longer - in hopes that the sickness from the toxicity will keep the person from drinking further.  Obviously, the thought of voluntarily doing something that allows a potent toxin like acetaldehyde to collect in your body (when there are other, safer ways to curb drinking) is idiotic.

-- Dr. Ken Krul

Enzymes and Alcohol Metabolism

How does my body produce more enzymes and how does this help process the alcohol through my body?

Your body produces enzymes as they are needed from the genetic code in your DNA. Enzymes are proteins. Some proteins are produced in response to stimulus. Others are produced on a "scheduled" basis. Some people have more genes for a specific enzyme than other people do. Some enzymes come in different forms known as isozymes. Liver alcohol dehydrogenase (LADH) is one such enzyme. Some LADH isozymes are more efficient at processing alcohol than others. Genetic predisposition toward the more effective alcohol processing forms of LADH affects your tolerance of alcohol. People without certain isozymes may have no tolerance of alcohol whatsoever. It has long been known that American Indians have a low tolerance for alcohol. This is a genetic predisposition that probably evolved through thousands of years without fermented beverages in their culture. People with lactose intolerance, for example, develop it as adults after many years of no longer drinking the quantities of milk they did when they were children. The body "realizes" that it is producing an enzyme it no longer uses and stops producing it. Unfortunately, the reverse does not work; you can't stimulate enzyme production beyond normal limits just by ingesting a substance like alcohol or dietary fats.

- Dr. Ken Krul

Metabolizing Different Kinds of Alcohol

What is harder to metabolize -- wine, liquor or beer?

It's not that it's harder to metabolize alcohol -- there are other non-inebriating substances that are hard to metabolize and some drugs (legal and illegal) can stay in the body for months.  It's just that alcohol is absorbed into the blood principally from the small intestine.  It accumulates in the blood because its absorption is more rapid than its oxidation and elimination. The more alcohol you drink, the more accumulates in the blood. In short, you do yourself in by overloading the system unnaturally.

-- Dr. Ken Krul

Alcohol Metabolism and Age

How much alcohol can a 30 year and older person metabolize while drinking? What is the percentage?

Actually, you will eventually metabolize all of the alcohol you drink -- unless you die in the process. How much any person can metabolize before getting "loaded" or creating a hangover varies from person to person. I've known people who go off the deep end after one or two drinks and other people who have the proverbial "wooden leg." It also depends on what the person is drinking. Fortified drinks (with heavier sugar content) and mixed drinks are generally tolerated less well than alcohol with lower sugar content and served neat or on the rocks. Then again, one person may handle fortified/sweet drinks well, while another doesn't. Much of it has to do with the individual's genetic makeup and the varying quantities of enzyme types (known as isozymes) found in the body.

In general, 5% to 10% of ingested alcohol is excreted unchanged in urine, sweat, and expired air. The remainder is oxidized to carbon dioxide and water at the rate of about 5 milliliters to 10 milliliters per hour in terms of pure alcohol. In the real world, this means that the alcohol in a single 1.5 ounce shot of 80 proof booze will be totally cleared from the body in 1.75 to 3.5 hours -- on the average.

-- Dr. Ken Krul

Drinking Water with Alcohol

Dear Dr. Ken,

How much water should one drink in a night where one is drinking a lot of alcohol?

Thanks!

H20

Dear H20,

As much as possible!  I order an ice-water chaser with every drink. The more water you drink, the less likely you are to experience alcohol-related dehydration. Also, you will urinate more, causing you to get rid of more blood ethanol and acetaldehyde that can cause a hangover.

- Dr. Ken Krul