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Food vs. Booze: How Eating Before Drinking Lowers Your BAC?

Eating before drinking can help manage and reduce blood alcohol concentration (“BAC”) by slowing the absorption of alcohol, increasing metabolic activity, protecting the stomach lining, and distributing alcohol more evenly. This can lead to a safer and more controlled drinking experience, minimizing the risk of intoxication and its associated effects.
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Collen Clark Published by Collen Clark

What is “BAC”?

According to the Cleveland Clinic, blood alcohol content (BAC), also referred to as blood alcohol level, measures the amount of alcohol in your bloodstream [1].

Alcohol (ethyl alcohol or ethanol) is the intoxicating ingredient found in beer, wine and liquor. When you drink a beverage that contains alcohol, your stomach and small intestines rapidly absorb the alcohol and enter it into your bloodstream. Alcohol is a toxin to your body, so your liver then metabolizes the alcohol to filter it out of your blood – Cleveland Clinic

When you drink alcohol faster than your liver can metabolize it, your BAC rises, leading to the effects of drunkenness, or intoxication. On average, your liver can process the equivalent of one standard alcoholic drink per hour.

A standard drink is typically considered to be:

  • 12 ounces of beer
  • 5 ounces of wine
  • 1.5 ounces of liquor

It’s important to note that different beers and wines can have varying alcohol content percentages, which can affect your BAC and the rate of intoxication.

How Does Eating Affect BAC?

Eating before or while drinking can significantly slow the rate at which alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream. This slower absorption means less alcohol enters the bloodstream compared to drinking on an empty stomach, resulting in a lower blood alcohol concentration (BAC).

When alcohol is consumed, about 20% is absorbed through the stomach and 80% through the small intestine. Eating food before or during alcohol consumption slows this absorption process, reducing the amount of alcohol that enters the bloodstream and thereby lowering BAC levels.

Eating leads to a slower rise in BAC before it peaks, extending the period of impairment. For example, drinking on an empty stomach can cause BAC to spike quickly, reach a higher peak, and then decline rapidly as the body metabolizes the alcohol.

Conversely, with a full stomach, BAC rises more slowly and steadily as the body absorbs alcohol at a reduced rate. This gradual absorption allows the body to filter out alcohol more efficiently, potentially reducing the level of impairment but extending the duration of alcohol presence in the system.

Understanding this process can help manage alcohol consumption and its effects, promoting safer drinking habits and reducing the risk of rapid intoxication.

What Other Factors Influence BAC?

According to Bowling Green State University, in addition to food consumption, other factors that may affect a person’s BAC include [2]:

Amount of Alcohol & Speed of Consumption:
The greater the quantity of alcohol consumed in a shorter time frame, the higher the Blood Alcohol Content (BAC).

Biological / Genetic Risk:
Individuals with a family history of alcoholism are four times more likely to develop alcoholism themselves. Everyone has a certain biological risk for alcoholism, but for some, this risk is significantly higher.

Ethnicity:
Genetic variations affect enzyme production related to alcohol metabolism. People of Asian or Native American descent often produce lower levels of alcohol dehydrogenase, causing alcohol to remain in the bloodstream longer and accumulate at higher concentrations more quickly.

Gender:
Men and women metabolize alcohol differently. Women generally become intoxicated faster due to smaller body size, lower levels of alcohol dehydrogenase (40% less than men), and a higher percentage of body fat, which affects alcohol distribution in the body.

Body Size and Composition:
Individuals with smaller stature become impaired more quickly. Alcohol is distributed through the body via the circulatory system and penetrates most tissues except bone and fat. Higher body fat percentages result in a higher concentration of alcohol in lean body tissues.

Dehydration:
Alcohol consumption inhibits the production of vasopressin, causing the kidneys to send water directly to the bladder instead of reabsorbing it into the bloodstream. This diuretic effect, increasing with higher BAC levels, leads to dehydration as the body expels more liquid than consumed.

Carbonated Beverages:
Carbonation accelerates alcohol absorption. Drinks mixed with carbonated beverages, such as soda or tonic water, and even champagne and wine coolers, enter the bloodstream more rapidly.

Energy Drinks:
Combining alcohol with energy drinks is risky as the stimulants in energy drinks mask the depressant effects of alcohol, creating a false sense of sobriety and potentially leading to heart failure due to the conflicting stressors on the body’s systems.

Illness:
Being sick or recovering from an illness can increase impairment from alcohol.

Moods:
Strong emotions like anger, fear, or loneliness can speed up impairment. The psychological and social effects of alcohol, amplified by expectations, also play a role.

Hormones:
Women taking birth control pills or those in the premenstrual phase may experience higher BAC levels.

Sleep:
Lack of sleep or fatigue can increase impairment. For example, getting five or fewer hours of sleep for several nights can make two drinks feel like six, as lack of sleep lowers tolerance.

Marijuana:
Marijuana can reduce nausea, hindering the body’s ability to expel toxins through vomiting and increasing the risk of alcohol poisoning.

Over-the-Counter Drugs:
Mixing alcohol with painkillers like aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil), or acetaminophen (Tylenol) can be harmful. These drugs are metabolized by the liver, creating a “bottleneck” effect that slows alcohol metabolism and can damage liver cells. Avoid combining alcohol with other depressants, including some antihistamines.

Prescription Drugs:
Alcohol can interact dangerously with prescription drugs, leading to increased or rapid impairment, hazardous side effects, reduced heart rate, and dangerously low blood pressure.

Understanding these factors can help manage and mitigate the effects of alcohol consumption, promoting safer drinking habits and reducing health risks.

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References:

1. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diagnostics/22689-blood-alcohol-content-bac
2. https://www.bgsu.edu/recwell/wellness-connection/alcohol-education/factors-that-affect-intoxication.html

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