Alcohol and the Human Body
Facts on how alcohol goes through the human body and the effects it has on it.
The kidneys eliminate 5 percent of alcohol through urine.
The lungs exhale 5 percent.
Hangover headaches are caused by blood vessels expanding in the head from alcohol.
The only true cure for a hangover is the time needed for enlarged blood vessels to shrink.
About 20 percent of alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream from the stomach.
Chronic male alcoholics have reduced capacity for penile erection, decreased sperm production, and lower sperm counts.
Alcohol affects the upper part of the brain, where self-control and other learned behavior is stored.
Alcohol dilates the blood vessels, or capillaries, that carry blood just below the surface of the skin. When they expand, the flow of blood to the skin is increased. The skin flushes, causing a warm feeling.
The absorption of alcohol into the small intestine is slower on a full stomach.
When alcohol enters the bloodstream, it leaves the body through the kidneys, the lungs and the liver.
It takes one hour for a half ounce of alcohol to leave a fully grown man's body.
About one-fourth of longtime heavy drinkers develop alcoholic hepatitis, in which the liver becomes inflamed and cells die.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) says the brain continues to develop into the early 20s, and exposing the brain to alcohol in that period may impair brain development.