Women and alcohol

She has a glass or two of wine and feels it go straight to her head. He has the same amount to drink and feels fine.

Researches confirm something many woman have always suspected-it takes less alcohol for a woman to feel tipsy than it does for a man, and it’s not all to with body size. Even if a woman is the same weight as a man and drinks the same amount of alcohol, she will end up with a blood alcohol level a third higher than his. It will also take a third longer for her body to eliminate the alcohol from her blood.

Why alcohol affects woman more than men and is potentially more harmful is one of a number of topics covered in a booklet produces by the Alcohol and Advisory Council.

Alcohol affects woman more that men because woman have higher proportion of body fat and less water in their bodies than men. This means that once it is in the bloodstream of a woman, the alcohol is not as diluted and has a stronger effect. So even of a woman is the same size as the man, she will generally be affected more quickly and feel the effect for much longer than the man will.

Both males and females have enzyme in their stomach designed to produce alcohol into a safer substance, yet for reasons that are not yet cleared to scientists, this enzyme is 70-80 percent more effective in men than woman. If the liver of a healthy young woman is compared with that of a healthy young man, it will generally take her liver longer to process one drink than his, and a person starts to feel drunk when they drink alcohol faster than their liver can process it.

New Zealand researches have found more women are drinking and the amount of alcohol consumed by woman is increasing. Young woman are also drinking more, and what is particularly concerning is that a significant proportion of young woman are adopting a pattern of drinking similar to their male counterparts-that is, consuming large amounts of alcohol in one go.

Other topics included in the booklet are alcohol and woman’s health, alcohol and sex, alcohol and pregnancy and alcohol and breastfeeding. There is also a guide to how much is too much and a section on getting help and advice.

Source: http://www.alcohol.org.nz/ 24 July 2000