Alcohol in the Human Body

[Music] stimulating drinks and drinks for parties alcoholic beverages form their own group they're generally drinks for social occasions alcohol is formed in sugary liquids through fermentation during this part of the sugar is changed into alcohol the yeast fungus which causes fermentation cannot live when the percentage of alcohol exceeds 12 to 14 percent by weight consequently the percentage of alcohol in natural wines is not higher than this figure however men soon found means of increasing the alcohol content by means of distillation whatever the source of the sugar may be grapes malt grain potatoes or the waste liquor from the sulphite cellulose mill the alcohol obtained is always the same ethyl alcohol in its pure form this is a colorless clear liquid which has a rather weak but acrid smell and a burning taste on ignition it burns with a blue rather hot flame alcoholic drinks vary in composition generally speaking beer contains 2.5 to 5 percent of alcohol by weight natural wines 7 to 11 percent strong wines are prepared by increasing the alcoholic content of natural wines to about 11 to 17 percent bourbon gin vodka and liqueurs contain a greater amount of distilled alcohol brandies and whiskeys have almost 40 percent one glass of bourbon or gin has the same alcoholic content as approximately three glasses of wine or 10 glasses of beer alcohol is distributed throughout the body in the same way as food it's absorbed into the bloodstream from the stomach but carries alcohol to all the organs and tissues alcohol warmth in the mouth and throat this is partially due to irritation of the mucous membrane in other parts of the body it results from dilation of the blood vessels in the skin this increases the blood circulation and the radiation of heat from the surface of the body approximately two-thirds of the human body consists of water so that in a person weighing 70 kilograms or 150 pounds there are about 50 liters or 44 quarts of water the tissues hold varying amounts and it's even present in the bones after about two hours of drinking the alcohol is mixed with this liquid and thus there is alcohol in all parts of the body the blood also carries alcohol to the liver and it's here that its burning or gradual decomposition begins a person weighing 150 pounds can burn about eight grams or approximately one-third ounces of alcohol per hour the more alcohol a person consumes the longer it stays in the body if one bottle of beer is drunk the alcohol will disappear from the body in about one and one half hours if a whole bottle of wine is taken the alcohol will remain in the body for about eight hours if a bottle of gin is consumed then the alcohol will disappear completely only after about 18 hours the major portion or at least 90 percent of the alcohol burns in the body the rest is secreted from the blood into the urine or exhaled with the breath the burning of alcohol in the body produces energy in the liver certain intermediate products are formed from the alcohol these products are carried with the blood to the muscles and organs where they burn further the body utilizes the energy released from this burning just as it does the energy obtained from sugar a glass of gin provides as much heat or calories as 12 lumps of sugar or three parts of butter however only calories are gained from alcohol from food in addition to calories one also gets vitamins minerals fats and proteins which the body needs for its proper functioning if we drink alcohol and eat in the normal way the body will first burn the calories from the alcohol these calories will provide only about one half of what is needed as long as there is alcohol in the body the food will provide additional calories along with vitamins and other nutritional necessities nevertheless as the body can utilize only a part of the calories supplied by the food the surplus calories turn into fat and the result is a gain in weight if we drink alcohol and eat less the need for calories may be satisfied but our other nutritional needs are not and eventually our health suffers the most obvious effect of alcohol is on the nervous system this can be compared to a telephone network the brain and the spinal cord or the central nervous system constitute the main switchboard the peripheral nerves are the telephone lines and cables some of these nerves convey orders from the sense organs to the central nervous system this registers sorts selects and retains the information received makes a decision and sends orders through other nerves back to that part of the body which is to perform the action the pathways of the nervous system consist of the long thin branched fibers of the nerve cells the messages of the nervous system travel along the nerve fibers as wave-like electrical impulses the electric currents of the nerve fibers are generated by certain salts which move backwards and forwards through the cell wall alcohol affects the functioning of this cell wall disturbing the nerve impulses when a certain strength has been obtained alcohol paralyzes the entire nerve impulse the brain is much more susceptible to alcohol than the peripheral nerves the construction and function of the brain are extremely complicated and the delicate work and balance of the central nervous system can be disturbed by a very small amount of alcohol the effect of this can be best demonstrated by showing how the normal electrical waves which register from the brain change under the influence of alcohol alcohol creates changes in behavior the sum total of which is termed intoxication the degree of intoxication depends upon how much alcohol there is in the brain at a given many factors determine this and the first of these is the amount of alcohol consumed however when a small man drinks as much as a large man there will be more alcohol in the small man's brain and he will be more intoxicated intoxication also depends on how the alcohol is consumed if we've eaten first then the alcohol will be absorbed slowly and distributed evenly throughout the body if the same quantity of alcohol is taken on an empty stomach the alcohol will be absorbed very quickly travel directly to the brain and in relation to the amount consumed result in a sudden and strong intoxication this effect will decrease as the alcohol slowly passes to the rest of the body as alcohol burns in the liver at a constant rate of 8 grams per hour it will stay in the body for as long as it takes to burn that amount if you take one long drink and consume it quickly and especially on an empty stomach the intoxication will be immediate it would take the alcohol about two hours to burn completely however if you take the same drink and consume it slowly during the two hours you will not get intoxicated as the alcohol will be burning at the same rate as being consumed the strength of alcohol in the blood is measured in per mils if you have one thousand drops then one drop in a thousand is one per ml the concentration of alcohol in the blood corresponds to that in the brain the more alcohol there is in the blood then the greater will be the effect on the nervous system a small quantity of alcohol point two to point three per mils parts per thousand will have an effect in the carrying out of precision work which requires speed such as for instance typing or telegraphy [Applause] with about 0.5 per mls in the blood the person will sway more as the portion of the brain which controls balance is disturbed the reaction time is lengthened by about 30 percent inhibitions tend to vanish and there is a weakening in the ability to discriminate when the content rises to about one per ml corresponding to four to five bottles of beer or one bottle of wine or half a bottle of gin consumed by a person weighing 150 pounds muscular coordination in normal movement is disturbed if the person concerned is engaged in hard physical labor superfluous use of strength will result and the tendency will be to tire quickly when the alcohol content of the blood exceeds 1.5 per ml a person is intoxicated his movements are uncertain clumsy he loses control of his voice his sight is weakened and his ability to judge distances is considerably impaired two to three per mls 10 to 12 bottles of beer two bottles of wine or one bottle of gin produces a state in which one can no longer control one's movements the contact between the surface levels of the brain and other parts of the nervous system has been broken other individuals and the physical surroundings recede and vanished when the alcoholic content rises to between three and four per mils all voluntary muscular movement is stopped all sense of time and direction disappears the person becomes pale and his skin is covered with cold sweat there's a tendency to drool all sensations are lost and the reflex movements which one can otherwise depend upon to save oneself from accidents no longer function usually however the body has its own defense mechanism when large quantities of alcohol are consumed and by wretching rejects the alcohol before it's had time for absorption into the blood when the blood content reaches four to five per mls at least two bottles of gin taken slowly the person falls into a stupor a content of five per mils will nearly always paralyze the nerve centers which regulate the breathing and functioning of the heart and results in death we've seen that alcohol is absorbed into the blood is carried with it to all the organs and tissues of the body and is eventually burned in the liver we have seen that alcohol burns at a constant rate and that the amount consumed will stay in the body for as many hours as it takes to burn we've seen that alcohol provides calories but no vitamins minerals or proteins because it creates surplus calories alcohol may cause a gain in weight but above all we've seen that alcohol disturbs the normal functioning of the brain and nervous system it is particularly for this reason that the use of alcohol has created a serious human and social problem [Music] you