Georgia DUI Alcohol Metabolism Rate
The rate at which your body absorbs alcohol depends on several factors, including gender, weight, and food consumption. This is why some people may drink very little and still get charged with driving under the influence. By understanding how your body processes alcohol, you may be able to avoid a DUI conviction.
When you consume alcohol, a small portion is absorbed into your bloodstream through your esophagus and stomach lining before it reaches your small intestine. It takes only a minute from the first drink for the alcohol to reach your stomach, so the total amount of alcohol absorbed by your esophagus is only 5% to 10% of the ethanol in the alcoholic beverage you consume. Your stomach also absorbs alcohol: approximately 2% to 15%, depending on how much or how little food you consumed and also how long the alcohol remains there.
Alcohol takes time to “peak”—that is, reach its highest blood alcohol concentration—in your system. Consuming carbonated alcoholic beverages or mixing alcohol with carbonated beverages can increase the pressure in your stomach, pushing alcohol into your bloodstream faster. However, eating beforehand, especially foods that are high in protein, can delay the time it takes for alcohol to reach the small intestine.
Most of the alcohol—approximately 75% to 85%—gets absorbed into the bloodstream at the pyloric valve, located at the beginning of your small intestine. Eating protein-rich foods, which digest slowly before entering the small intestine, can keep your blood alcohol content (BAC) from sharply rising to a peak level. On average, drinking on a full stomach can delay the peak by 30 to 120 minutes after the last drink is consumed. If you plan to drive, never drink on an empty stomach.
Typically, a person can burn off only 0.16 grams of ethanol per hour, though men burn more per hour than women. For example, if a 180-pound man has one standard drink (such as a 12-ounce beer or 1.25 ounces of 80 proof alcohol), he will absorb 0.021 grams of alcohol into his bloodstream. If this man quickly drinks five beers in an hour then gets behind the wheel of a car, he still has four beers circulating though his bloodstream. If he is later pulled over on suspicion of DUI, his BAC reading could be between .08% and .10% because his alcohol level is still peaking.
What should you take away from this information?
- Always eat before drinking, especially foods high in protein.
- If you are going to drive, avoid carbonated alcoholic beverages.
- Drink slowly, so your body has enough time to process the alcohol. For a 110-pound female, this means one drink per hour; for a 190-pound male, two drinks per hour.
- Wait at least two hours after consuming your last drink before driving; but only if you do not feel buzzed at all.
If you ever have any doubts about whether or not you are over the legal limit, you should play it safe by taking a cab, staying with friends, or getting a hotel room.
