Every person processes alcohol differently based on weight, age, gender, genetics, and overall health. However, there are some general facts that can help determine how long alcohol will stay in your system.
Blood-Alcohol Concentration, or BAC, is quantified through the percentage of alcohol present in the blood. This is the most common measurement of how much alcohol is in a person’s body. A BAC of 0.08 is considered legally intoxicated. Staying below this legal limit is important when considering driving, as the presence of alcohol above this amount can cause impairment.
How Alcohol is Processed
A healthy body has an effective system for processing alcohol. Alcohol is metabolized quickly and a high percentage of the amount consumed is actually metabolized. In fact, over 90% of alcohol is metabolized in the liver, while 2-5% is excreted without any change from the body through sweat, urine, and breath. The scientific explanation is that your body metabolizes alcohol by oxidizing the ethanol to acetaldehyde (using alcohol dehydrogenase) to acetic acid to carbon dioxide and water. The final alcohol metabolites are not harmful, nor is the alcohol itself, however, the intermediate metabolite, acetaldehyde is the culprit in causing hangover effects.
Once the alcohol is in the stomach, 20% of the alcohol is absorbed into the small blood vessels and distributed throughout the body. The remaining 80% is absorbed through the small intestine before traveling throughout the body. Once it is in your blood, alcohol is transported throughout the entire body, which explains why alcohol impacts so many different body systems. Most of the alcohol ends up in the liver. Because it does most of the work metabolizing the alcohol, the liver is generally the organ that is most damaged by long-term alcohol abuse, taking the brunt of health risks associated with excess alcohol use. Liver failure and liver disease are not uncommon with longterm heavy drinking.
Two factors determine how long alcohol stays in your system:
1) the speed at which your body processes the alcohol,
2) the amount of alcohol you consume
As a general rule, most individuals process one standard drink per hour (one beer, one shot, or one glass of wine). 5 drinks = 5 hours to process, 10 drinks = 10 hours, and so on. A healthy liver takes one hour to metabolize 1 ounce of alcohol. Though it may sound obvious, the more you drink, the longer alcohol stays in your system because it takes longer for your body to process the higher amount alcohol. If you drink faster than your liver can metabolize, alcohol will start to accumulate in the blood and body tissues, resulting in a high blood-alcohol concentration.
The following things can affect how a body processes alcohol:
Weight – Though your weight has little impact on how fast the human body processes alcohol, it can greatly influence the BAC, or, how fast and how intoxicated a person becomes after each drink.
Age – Generally speaking, younger individuals process alcohol faster and more effectively.
Body Composition – Individuals with a higher percentage of body fat have a higher BAC, because low-water fatty tissue cannot absorb as much alcohol as high-water muscle tissue can.
Gender – Some experts believe that men process alcohol faster and generally have a lower BAC than women after accounting for the difference in weight and body composition. Men generally have higher water content, which helps to dilute alcohol concentrations in the body
Overall Health – Healthy individuals process alcohol faster. This especially applies to liver health. Those with liver damage have a harder time processing alcohol.
Genetics – Studies show that those with certain ethnicities and backgrounds process alcohol at different rates.
Time since last meal – The more food that is present in the stomach when intaking an alcoholic beverage, the longer it will take for the absorption of alcohol to happen in your body. However, whatever the absorption rate, this doesn’t change the amount of time required to eliminate the amount of alcohol from your system. You will still reach the same maximum blood alcohol content.
There are several tests that can detect alcohol in the body. Urine tests can detect alcohol for 12-48 hours, depending on the amount of alcohol consumed. Similarly, a blood test can detect alcohol for up to 12 hours. Breathalyzers can detect alcohol for up to 24 hours after you have a drink. The longest lasting test, a hair test, can detect alcohol in the system for up to 90 days from the time of consumption.
Regardless of how fast your body absorbs the alcohol, it is metabolized at a rate of about 0.016% per hour. You cannot speed up the process by drinking water or coffee or energy drinks, eating food, showering, or even vomiting. Nothing that you can do will reduce the amount of time that the alcohol stays in your system. If you know that you are going to have to take a breath, blood, or urine alcohol detection test, the only way to lower your blood–alcohol content is to either abstain from consuming alcohol, or wait for sufficient periods of time between drinking and taking the test.
If you drink more than four drinks during a 2-hour session, or when you drink enough to get your blood alcohol levels to 0.08% or more, it is considered binge drinking. If you binge drink, it will take many hours for the alcohol to be completely gone from your system, up to 24 hours after you stop consuming alcohol. This means that even several hours after the majority of side effects have worn off, you can still suffer from mental and physical impairments as a result of the alcohol still in your system. If you are going to drink, it is best to keep your drinks to a minimum, trying to stick to one drink per sitting. Drinking responsibly ensures that your body will be able to effectively process the alcohol through your system while keeping your liver healthy. Based on the amounts of alcohol taken, it is possible your alcohol metabolism isn’t able to keep up in such a short time, resulting in the negative effects of alcohol poisoning.
Excessive alcohol consumption on a regular basis can in the longterm lead down the slippery slope to an alcohol use disorder. The effects of alcohol can be felt both in the short and long term.
If you or a loved one is struggling with alcohol addiction, there are treatment options available. Contact New Choices Treatment Centers today to learn more about our innovative approach to addiction recovery for drugs and alcohol. Any questions about treatment will be answered by members of our friendly and compassionate team.