All About Alcohol

Learn what alcohol is and what it does to your body.

Teens Participating in the Summer Wellness Programs

Palo Alto Medical Foundation

What is an alcoholic beverage? The alcohol that people drink at bars or parties (ethyl alcohol, or ethanol) is created by fermentation, a process in which the yeast fungus feeds on sugars and starches in certain plants – such as barley or grapes – and excretes alcohol along with carbon dioxide (CO2).

From the cheapest beer to the most expensive wine or liqueur, all alcohol is made with the same fermentation process. The different colors, tastes, strength and flavors come from the different fruits or vegetables used, along with additives, by-products and diluting substances.

Alcohol’s Effects on Your Body

Alcohol is a drug that your body absorbs into the bloodstream from the stomach and small intestine. The liver slowly breaks it down before your body eliminates it.

There are limits to how fast the liver can break down alcohol and this process can't be sped up. Until the liver has time to break down all of the alcohol, the alcohol continues to circulate in the bloodstream, affecting all of your body’s organs, including the brain.

Age, gender, weight and many other factors affect how quickly the liver breaks down alcohol. In general, the liver can break down the equivalent of about one drink per hour. Nothing can speed this up — including black coffee. As alcohol reaches the brain, you’ll start to “feel” drunk. This feeling varies from one person or situation to the next.

In all situations, alcohol depresses the brain, meaning it slows down the brain’s ability to control the body and mind. This is one reason why alcohol is so dangerous. Alcohol acts like a sedative and slows down muscle coordination, reflexes, movement and speech. If you drink too much alcohol, your breathing or heart rate can reach dangerously low levels or even stop.

Alcohol is the most commonly used drug in the world and is legal for adults age 21 and older in the United States. Remember, you have the choice whether or not to drink, and drinking can have serious consequences, including possible jail time, suspension of your driver's license, injury or even death.

Sobering Facts

In 2015, The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and the National Institutes of Health reported:

Each year, more than 600,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are assaulted by another student who has been drinking.
95 percent of all violent crime on college campuses involves the use of alcohol by the assailant, victim or both.
90 percent of acquaintance rape and sexual assault on college campuses involves the use of alcohol by the assailant, victim or both.
About 25 percent of college students report academic consequences from their drinking.

Hopeful Facts

The 2018 Monitoring the Future Survey of eight, tenth and twelfth graders found that:

Teen binge drinking (having five or more drinks in a row within the past two weeks) dropped significantly in the last five years. In 2000, 24 percent of tenth graders reported binge drinking. In 2018, that number dropped to 9 percent.
Teen drinking is at its lowest level in more than 20 years.

What is Alcoholism?

Alcoholism, also known as alcohol dependence, is a disease. The symptoms include strong cravings for alcohol and continuing to drink, despite repeated alcohol-related problems — such as getting suspended from school, relationship problems or getting into trouble with the law.

Alcoholism includes four symptoms:

Craving — A strong need to drink.
Impaired control — The inability to limit or control drinking on a particular occasion.
Physical dependence — Withdrawal symptoms – such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety — when alcohol use is stopped after a period of heavy drinking.
Tolerance — The need for increasing amounts of alcohol in order to feel its effects.

Resources

Last Reviewed: November 2018