Who metabolizes alcohol faster?
In addition, women appear to eliminate alcohol from the blood faster than men. This finding may be explained by women's higher liver volume per unit lean body mass (7,8), because alcohol is metabolized almost entirely in the liver (9).
Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), which are most abundant in the liver, are the main enzymes involved in ethanol metabolism in humans.
THE CHEMICAL BREAKDOWN OF ALCOHOL
Alcohol is metabolized by several processes or pathways. The most common of these pathways involves two enzymes—alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). These enzymes help break apart the alcohol molecule, making it possible to eliminate it from the body.
Although the liver is the main organ responsible for metabolizing ingested alcohol, stomach (i.e., gastric) ADH has been reported to contribute to FPM.
MEN: Have a larger quantity of dehydrogenase, which allows them to break down the alcohol they take in more quickly.
In general, males metabolize alcohol more efficiently than females because they have ADH in the stomach and very active ADH in the liver.
After drinking the same amount of alcohol, women tend to have higher blood alcohol levels than men, and the immediate effects of alcohol usually occur more quickly and last longer in women than men. These differences make women more susceptible to the long-term negative health effects of alcohol compared with men.
Women have proportionally more body fat and less water than do men of the same body weights. Because alcohol is dispersed in body water, women reach higher peak BACs than men after consuming equivalent doses of alcohol, even when doses are adjusted for body weight (Frezza et al.
In the testes, alcohol can adversely affect the Leydig cells, which produce and secrete the hormone testosterone. Studies found that heavy alcohol consumption results in reduced testosterone levels in the blood.
Chromic acid (H2CrO4, generated by mixing sodium dichromate, Na2Cr2O7, with sulfuric acid, H2SO4) is an effective oxidizing agent for most alcohols. It is a strong oxidant, and it oxidizes the alcohol as far as possible without breaking carbon-carbon bonds.
What organelle helps break down alcohol?
The smooth endoplasmic reticulum also contains enzymes responsible for degrading inorganic toxins, such as alcohol and drugs. This organelle is especially prevalent in hepatocytes (liver cells) where the blood if filtered and toxins are removed for degradation.
Before alcohol reaches the blood stream, it goes through the stomach, where so-called gastric alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) isozymes break some of it down.

Within 20-60 minutes after a drink is consumed, all of the alcoholic content has probably been absorbed into the body. Average individuals will eliminate alcohol from their bodies at the rate of approximately . 015 BAL per hour.
Genetics and Metabolism
The size of the liver and body mass of the drinker are factors in how much alcohol a person can metabolize in an hour, but research tells us that the genetic makeup of the individual is probably the most significant factor in how efficiently alcohol is broken down and eliminated.
Cholesterol Regulation by Leptin in Alcoholic Liver Disease
Although many organs show ethanol-metabolizing properties, more than 90% of ethanol is metabolized into acetaldehyde in the liver, primarily, in the area near the central vein.
Also, women have less alcohol dehydrogenase, an enzyme that breaks down alcohol before it reaches the bloodstream. At any given dose, our blood levels of alcohol will be higher than a man's, even taking into account differences in body weight.
Thus men, being larger than women on average, will typically have a higher alcohol tolerance. The alcohol tolerance is also connected with activity of alcohol dehydrogenases (a group of enzymes responsible for the breakdown of alcohol) in the liver, and in the bloodstream.
Put simply, men's bodies are more tolerant of higher amounts of alcohol. This is because: Men tend to have lower body fat ratios than women. Since alcohol is stored in body fat, men need to drink more in order to feel the substance's effects.
Once you drop around 10 percent of your body weight, it takes less alcohol to make you intoxicated, Swartzwelder says. Since you're smaller, there's less H20 in your body. Consuming the same amount of booze you did when you were larger will get you drunker a lot faster, he explains.
Once we add alcohol to our meal, the metabolism of alcohol will take immediate priority. Essentially, fat, carbohydrate and protein oxidation is suppressed.
Do our bodies prioritize alcohol metabolism?
When you consume alcohol (or any calories, for that matter), your body prioritizes what to break down or store first. However, in the case of alcohol, there is no place for your body to store it. Because of this, fats and carbs get stored while your body processes the alcohol first.
Alcohol is broken down through the work of three enzymes. Research shows that different people can have variations of the gene that produces these enzymes. The differences in these enzymes mean that some people metabolize alcohol differently from others.
- Get Some Sleep. While sleeping late won't physically flush alcohol out of your system, it's a good step toward getting your body back to normal. ...
- Drink Lots of Fluids. ...
- Get Food In Your Body. ...
- Sweat the Alcohol Out.
- Sex. There is a faster rate of alcohol elimination by women when rates are corrected for lean body mass. ...
- Age. Very young animals have low alcohol elimination rates because ADH (and CYP2E1) are not fully expressed. ...
- Race. ...
- Food. ...
- Biological Rhythms. ...
- Exercise. ...
- Alcoholism. ...
- Drugs.
Alcohol intolerance occurs when your body doesn't have the proper enzymes to break down (metabolize) the toxins in alcohol. This is caused by inherited (genetic) traits most often found in Asians. Other ingredients commonly found in alcoholic beverages, especially in beer or wine, can cause intolerance reactions.
Food prevents alcohol from passing quickly into your small intestine. When there is food in your stomach before drinking, alcohol is absorbed more slowly.