Why Alcohol Affects Women more than Men

August 30, 2009

From Quality Health Newsletter:

In addition to the reasons below, alcohol affects bandsters more because we have

a smaller " stomach " and the alcohol is in contact with and absorbed faster from

a small pouch.

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Why Alcohol Affects Women More Than Men

Sure, many women have small frames so they can't process alcohol as quickly as

men, but the reasons women get drunker quicker go deeper than that.

By Jeanne Faulkner

Reviewed by QualityHealth's Medical Advisory Board

The evidence is mounting about women and alcohol. Even when we take differences

in weight into consideration, it's a fact: women get drunk faster, with less

alcohol than men. There's no way around it: drink for drink, women can't hold

their liquor like men.

The Dilution Factor

You've read articles about how many drinks are " recommended " for men and women.

The guys always get to drink more. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and

Alcoholism explains, " That's because women are at greater risk than men for

developing alcohol-related problems. Alcohol passes through the digestive tract

and is dispersed in the water in the body. The more water available, the more

diluted the alcohol. [usually], men weigh more than women and . . .women have

less water in their bodies than men. Therefore, a woman's brain and other organs

are exposed to more alcohol and . . .toxic byproducts that result when the body

breaks down and eliminates alcohol. "

Break It Down

Women aren't as efficient at metabolizing alcohol either. We used to think

alcohol was broken down primarily in the liver. We now know, that alcohol

metabolism starts in the stomach and once again, men have an advantage. A study

published in The New England Journal of Medicine (1990) found that women have

only about half the levels of gastric alcohol dehydrogenase, a compound that

breaks down alcohol, as men. It also found that the amount of alcohol

metabolized after its first passage through a woman's liver and stomach is 23

percent of what it is in men.

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