To answer the question, who is most affected by alcohol, men or women? We can start by saying that when you drink alcohol, its effects depend on several factors, including body composition and weight. Women tend to have a higher percentage of fat and a lower percentage of water than men. With the same amount of alcohol drunk, people with a higher percentage of fat have higher blood alcohol levels.
This is due to the fact that alcohol dissolves better in water than in fats, so in the presence of fat, it is distributed to a lesser extent by the tissues while remaining in circulation. In relation to weight, women tend to be less than men and at a lower weight with the same alcohol intake, blood alcohol levels are higher.
In addition to this, other factors associated with gender play an important role in alcohol metabolism and cause differences between females and males. The first metabolic digestion of alcohol is produced in the stomach by the enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase, which transforms alcohol to acetaldehyde. It is known that women generally produce less alcohol dehydrogenase than men and this means that the elimination of alcohol is slower.
Contraceptive relationship with blood alcohol levels
Another important aspect that women should take into account is that it has been shown that taking oral contraceptives lowers the rate of alcohol elimination, so blood alcohol levels and their effects are prolonged over time.
We must remember that alcohol is harmful to our health and among its many effects it can damage the liver (which metabolizes 90% of the alcohol we consume), inducing liver steatosis. If you drink alcohol it is important to do it with a full stomach or eating, since with food, the absorption of alcohol is slower which facilitates its metabolism, the peak of the blood alcohol level is delayed in time and is also lower that which is reached when you drink on an empty stomach.
In summary, various metabolic factors explain that tside effects of alcohol intake are greater in women than in men.
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