Alcohol in large doses is a powerful poison for the human body. Alcohol abuse affects the liver, kidneys, heart and nervous system, and all metabolic processes are disrupted.. This article examines the breakdown of alcohol in the body, the enzymes responsible for these processes, and ways to speed up the metabolism of alcohol and its elimination.

How alcohol is broken down

Once in the body, alcohol is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream from the gastric mucosa. Absorption time depends on many factors, for example, on the condition of the gastric walls, food intake or any medications.

Alcohol immediately passes from the blood to the liver, which produces enzymes that break down alcohol. The main one is alcohol dehydrogenase. It is with its help that alcohol is absorbed. Alcohol dehydrogenase is also produced in small quantities in the gastric cavity. In men, this enzyme is synthesized in greater quantities. This explains the tendency of women to get drunk faster.

Interesting fact: alcohol dehydrogenase is produced not only in the human body, but also in animals. Scientists believe that this enzyme evolutionarily began to be synthesized in our ancient ancestors for the purpose of digesting fermented fruits and vegetables.

Under the influence of these enzymes, alcohol is converted into acetic acid. When drinking alcoholic beverages in large quantities, a state of blood oxidation – acidosis – can develop. In this case, the pH decreases and all metabolic processes are disrupted.

Before acetic acid is formed, alcohol is first converted into a toxic substance, acetaldehyde.. It has a toxic effect on the entire body, and in large quantities provokes the development of acute alcohol poisoning. The produced acetic acid in metabolic processes breaks down into ordinary water and carbon dioxide and is eliminated from the body through the kidneys and lungs.

Acetic acid itself is harmless to humans; it is dangerous only when produced in large quantities. But when an alcohol molecule is converted into acetaldehyde, hydrogen atoms are split off from it. They cause the greatest harm to the human body and can lead to the following consequences:

• High production of lactic acid. This substance has a negative effect on the functioning of the central nervous system and can lead to anxiety attacks and panic attacks. This explains the frequent mental disorders in people who abuse alcoholic beverages.
• Development of gout. Hydrogen atoms can enhance the production of uric acid.
• To increase the level of lipids and cholesterol in the blood, which leads to fatty liver disease and atherosclerosis.

We have all heard that alcohol prevents the deposition of fatty plaques in blood vessels and the development of atherosclerosis. In fact, only moderate and rare consumption of alcohol can have a beneficial effect on the condition of blood vessels. And alcohol abuse stimulates vascular damage and the development of atherosclerotic plaques.

How long does it take for alcohol to leave the body?

The time it takes for alcohol to be broken down and eliminated from the body depends on many factors and is individual for each person. It depends on:

• amount drunk. The more alcohol a person has taken, the longer it will take the body to neutralize and break it down;
• liver conditions. If enzyme activity is impaired, the time for neutralization of alcohol increases significantly;
• alcoholic "experience". The liver of people who abuse alcohol is usually in poor condition;
• concurrent use of certain medications. For example, narcotic analgesics, antidepressants, nootropics increase alcohol intoxication;
• consumption of protein foods of animal origin. Scientists have proven that the process of neutralizing the elimination of alcoholic beverages in people who, in parallel with drinking alcohol, ate meat, fish, eggs or cheese, is accelerated by several hours.

Below is an indicative table of the breakdown of alcohol and its removal from the body.

But these figures are very approximate. In practice, everyone has an individual rate of alcohol elimination. Some people are genetically programmed to have low production of enzymes responsible for the metabolism of alcohol. They get drunk from a small dose of alcohol and then suffer from a hangover for a long time.

How can you speed up the elimination and metabolism of alcohol?

A hangover, dehydration and poor health are what a person faces after drinking alcoholic beverages in large quantities. You can speed up metabolism and eliminate alcohol from the body yourself, at home. Below we have put together recommendations for you to help you do this:

• Drink more fluids. Water is a catalyst for most biochemical reactions. It also helps eliminate alcohol through the kidneys. Alcohol leads to dehydration and acidosis. With the help of plain or mineral alkaline water, you can help the body cope with alcohol intoxication.
• Drink sorbents. These drugs do an excellent job of treating intoxication and will help remove toxins from the intestines that are formed as a result of exposure to alcohol. Any drugs from this group are suitable for this purpose, for example, activated carbon, enterosgel, atoxil.
• A contrast shower will help speed up your metabolism and relieve vascular spasms. Take it for 5 minutes and you will feel an improvement.
• Drink a glass of pickle juice. This drink will help normalize water and electrolyte balance and speed up recovery after drinking..
• Have a hearty breakfast. It is best to choose protein foods of animal origin. Fermented milk products, milk, eggs, meat, cheese and fish will speed up the metabolism of alcohol. Beware of fatty and spicy foods, they can cause indigestion.

If you want to get alcohol out of your body faster, you should never have a hangover. This method can only help relieve nausea and headaches, but it will not have a positive effect on the processes of alcohol elimination.

After abusing alcohol, you should not abuse coffee, cola and energy drinks. They can lead to increased blood pressure and increased headaches. You should also avoid taking hot baths. This procedure will cause nausea and dizziness.

The breakdown and metabolism of alcohol in the body is a complex and lengthy biochemical process. Its speed is influenced by many factors. You can speed up the body’s cleansing of alcohol by drinking plenty of fluids, protein foods, and sorbents. Do not abuse alcohol, this drink poisons the body and disrupts all metabolic processes in it, leading to cardiovascular diseases and liver pathologies.

You take a glass of vodka or whiskey with a strength of 40 degrees and a volume of 25 milliliters. Regardless of whether you diluted this drink with soda water, as is customary in many countries, or not, 10 grams of pure alcohol entered the body. What is the fate of these 10 grams of ethyl (wine) alcohol in your body?

First of all, alcohol causes a distinct burning sensation in the mouth. This sensation is usually caused by any drink with a strength above 20 degrees. After a large sip, the burning sensation is not limited to the oral cavity, but spreads to the esophagus and stomach.

In a few seconds alcohol taken ends up in the stomach. A small part of it will be absorbed by the gastric mucosa, and the rest will quickly be diluted by gastric juice released in response to the intake of this burning substance. Dilution will stop when the alcohol concentration reaches approximately 5 percent. If the liquid is taken on an empty stomach, it will flow further into the small intestine very quickly, within one fifteenth of a minute.

If the stomach is full or full (food comes in), the alcohol mixes with the food and stays in the stomach longer, which increases irritation of the stomach lining. Some alcoholic drinks (particularly beer and, to a lesser extent, grape wine) contain nutrients that slow down the passage of alcohol through an empty stomach. Foods rich in fat slow down this process even more. If you drink a little vegetable oil or a glass of milk before drinking alcohol, absorption slows down. This, of course, does not mean that less alcohol will penetrate the body or that the consequences of taking it will be weakened - simply the absorption will be extended over time.

Carbon dioxide, on the contrary, accelerates the passage of alcohol from the stomach to the intestines and, thus, speeds up its absorption. It is known that champagne goes to the head faster. The less an alcoholic drink lingers in the stomach, the less irritation it will cause.

So, 10 grams of alcohol (minus the very small amounts that had already passed into the blood through the stomach mucosa) ended up first in the small and then in the large intestine. Through the intestinal walls, alcohol quickly penetrates into the blood vessels. It has not yet undergone any changes: this small molecule easily passes through tissues without undergoing transformations.

Contrary to popular belief, alcohol spreads not only into the blood, but into all parts of the body that contain water. So, for a person weighing 70 kilograms, the “diffusion space” of alcohol is approximately 50 liters. It covers organs, cells and intercellular spaces, but does not enter bones (almost free of water) and adipose tissue (alcohol does not dissolve in fat). By the way, an obese person has proportionally less space for alcohol diffusion than a thin person. In women, the space over which alcohol can be dispersed is smaller than in men, since they have relatively more subcutaneous fatty tissue. Therefore, in other tissues the concentration of alcohol is higher.

Blood alcohol content after its administration is slightly higher than in other tissues (by about 20 percent). This is explained by the fact that blood is the most water-rich tissue in our body (note that the brain is in second place). Alcohol has an affinity for water and attracts it. Typically, two-thirds of the water in the body is inside cells, and one-third is in intercellular fluids. If a person has taken a lot of alcohol, the latter draws some of the water from the cells, circulating through the intercellular spaces. Water is still in the body, but it is not in place, not in the cells, which causes a feeling of thirst that does not go away for a long time, even if you drink a lot of water.

As alcohol circulates throughout the body, it gradually breaks down. The liver carries out a dehydrogenation reaction - it removes a hydrogen atom from the alcohol molecule, as a result of which the alcohol turns into acetaldehyde. The speed of this reaction is limited by the available reserve in the liver of the enzyme necessary for it and the rate of production of new quantities of this enzyme. On average, the liver can destroy 0.1 grams of alcohol per kilogram of a person's weight in an hour. However, there are substances that accelerate the breakdown of alcohol in the liver. These are fructose and some amino acids.

Several years ago, Parisian professor Jean Lerebullet conducted experiments with these substances. He showed that fructose, taken in an amount of 100 grams immediately before drinking alcohol, causes an accelerated decrease in the amount of alcohol in the blood (however, at the same time it causes digestive upset). The amino acid asparagine, taken after alcohol in an amount of 15 grams, acts in approximately the same way. According to Professor Lerebulle, frequent use of such substances can damage the liver and kidneys, since their metabolism is disrupted.

Note that acetaldehyde, obtained after a dehydrogenation reaction in the liver, is also a poison. The next substance resulting from the further breakdown of alcohol is acetic acid. If you have drunk a lot, the decay process can occur not only in the liver, but also in other tissues. But, since these tissues are not adapted to neutralize poisons, their cells immediately die during this process. The “usual” liver cells also have a bad time.

Because liver breakdown process It goes slowly, alcohol has time to circulate through the circulatory system many times before it is completely decomposed. Only a small part of it (about 2.5 percent) in an undecomposed form during this time will be excreted through the lungs and almost the same amount through the kidneys. Very little alcohol passes through the skin through sweat. It is mainly the breakdown products that are removed from the body, not the alcohol itself.

So, the alcohol has turned into acetic acid. It is then slowly broken down in all cells of the body, ultimately forming water and carbon dioxide. This process lasts several days, sometimes up to two weeks. Some of the acetic acid is converted into cholesterol and fatty acids, also compounds that are important to the body.

This oxidation of alcohol in the body releases energy. One gram of ethyl alcohol, when burned, produces seven kilocalories. The point, however, is that this energy cannot replace the energy that comes from food. Alcohol is not food. After all, it does not contain proteins, vitamins, or minerals usually found in food products, which, due to the influence of alcohol, the drinker often refuses. Hence the paradox: systematic alcohol consumption often causes exhaustion, but at the same time leads to obesity, since unused fats accumulate in the body - their calories are replaced in the body’s energy balance by constantly incoming calories from alcohol.

Described path of destruction and elimination of alcohol is typical, but individual people may have more or less significant deviations from it. Alcohol, like some medications, caffeine, and nicotine, can affect different people differently. There are people who are simply unable to drink even a small amount of alcohol. Alcoholic drinks cause stomach cramps and vomiting. The brain can also react differently to alcohol. Some people show obvious signs of intoxication even at 0.5 grams of alcohol per liter of blood, while others appear sober even at 4 grams per liter. This does not mean that alcohol harms the latter’s body less. The accumulation of hidden irreversible changes proceeds in the same way.

There is another significant difference in attitudes towards alcohol. Some people may develop a morbid habit of this poison. A person who drinks (sometimes even moderately drinks) develops a need for new doses, which becomes irresistible and is the first step towards chronic alcoholism. There are practically no cases when an alcoholic could drink in moderation. As Roger Williams, director of the Institute of Biochemistry at the University of Texas (USA), wrote, “an alcoholic either remains an alcoholic or stops drinking completely; There’s something about him that doesn’t allow for the middle option—moderation.” Drinking people are susceptible to liver cirrhosis, alcoholic psychosis and other diseases promoted by excessive alcohol consumption - tuberculosis, cancer of the upper respiratory tract.

Alcohol-induced changes in the brain, have not yet been studied enough. It has been shown that it affects substances responsible for the transmission of nerve impulses - adrenaline, norepinephrine, serotonin, acetylcholine. In addition, the effect of alcohol on the blood affects the brain. Several years ago, a group of researchers reported that alcohol increases the clumping of red blood cells, causing them to clog the smallest capillaries and impair blood supply to tissues. The brain is especially sensitive to lack of blood supply.

Dr. Ernest Noble from the University of California (USA) reported another aspect of the effects of alcohol on the brain. It turns out that this compound inhibits the synthesis of proteins and RNA in the brain, and it is RNA that is believed to be used to remember information. According to Noble, two or three glasses of wine, drunk daily on an empty stomach, are enough to cause irreversible destruction of brain cells, which a person is convinced of only 20-30 years later.

While the long-term effect of alcohol on the brain has not yet been fully studied, its effect on human behavior has been known for a long time. As already indicated, there are large individual differences here, and yet the main dependencies can be traced quite clearly. When the alcohol content in the blood reaches 0.04-0.05%, the higher parts of the brain, which are responsible for self-control, restraint and common sense, begin to weaken. A drunk person frees himself from internal inhibitions and more easily allows himself to satisfy impulsive desires, without particularly caring about what others think of him. The ability for self-criticism weakens, the person becomes talkative.

These symptoms intensify as the concentration of alcohol in the blood increases. When it reaches 0.1%, deeper layers of the brain are suppressed, in particular those associated with motor functions. This state of intoxication is expressed in the fact that the drunk person sways slightly, it is difficult for him to insert the key into the keyhole, eloquence weakens, since it is already difficult for him to speak - his tongue becomes slurred. For some, this state is accompanied by euphoria (especially good mood, liveliness), for others, on the contrary, depression. In 15% of drinkers, neither one nor the other effect appears to be externally manifested, but special psychomotor tests make it possible to detect them.

As blood alcohol levels rise the clarity of visual and auditory sensations is dulled, the sense of touch weakens, and the speed of motor reactions decreases. Nevertheless, it seems to the person that he is in excellent shape and his reactions have accelerated and his senses have become more acute.

When the concentration of alcohol in the blood reaches 0.2%, the activity of even deeper parts of the brain - the so-called midbrain - is suppressed. The midbrain is believed to largely control emotional responses. This is already intoxication in the full sense of the word. In addition to disturbances in perception, the activity of motor centers and balance organs, there is an out-of-control primitive instincts. Hence - sharp outbursts of anger and aggressiveness, foul language, antisocial acts, and often crimes. It is interesting, however, that even when the alcohol concentration reaches 0.2-0.3%, approximately 5% of people may not outwardly show signs of intoxication. It is these people who are said to tolerate alcohol well. This does not mean that the consequences of drinking do not affect them.

When the blood alcohol concentration reaches approximately 0.3%, it affects even deeper areas of the brain. Feelings and reason turn out to be so dull that a person, even while conscious, understands almost nothing of what he sees and hears. The so-called alcoholic stupor occurs.

At 0.4-0.5%, all perception is turned off, and the person falls into a state of shock. Being, as they say, fatally drunk, he falls unconscious, falls asleep, and his breathing becomes short and uneven. Reflexes are inactive, the circular muscles that close the main openings of the body involuntarily relax. Other muscles of the body also weaken. In this state, a person can die either from a cerebral hemorrhage or from suffocation during regurgitation or vomiting. Sensitivity is so reduced that you can perform a surgical operation on someone who is asleep and he will not wake up.

If a person managed to take an even higher dose of alcohol before losing consciousness, 0.6-0.7 or even more percent of alcohol may accumulate in the blood. In this case, the brain stem, which contains the centers that control breathing and heartbeat, is switched off. The consequences of this are clear.

Interesting statistics obtained in the USA when analyzing the behavior and reactions of car drivers who have taken different doses of alcohol, on dangerous and difficult sections of roads. The alcohol content in the blood is determined after an accident or violation by analyzing the exhaled air with a special device (if the drunk driver is still breathing after the incident).

When the alcohol concentration reaches 0.06%, the risk doubles compared to a completely sober driver, and at 0.1% it increases 6-7 times. At 0.15% it increases more than 25 times, and at 0.2% almost 50 times (however, there were so few drivers with such a high concentration of alcohol in the blood that this figure may be inaccurate). The area of ​​greatest risk is between 0.08 and 0.24% alcohol content. This concentration is achieved if a person weighing 70 kilograms drinks 0.75-2.5 liters of ten-proof wine or, accordingly, 4 times less vodka. A person who has consumed more alcohol than these limits is most often, due to his condition, no longer able to even get behind the wheel, or, in any case, understands that this should not be done.

An interesting experiment was carried out by English researchers. They selected three groups of city bus drivers. All of them were experienced, highly qualified specialists who had never been in an accident. The drivers of the first group did not drink alcohol before the experiment, the second group drank 45 grams of whiskey, and the third group drank 140 grams. Each driver, sitting behind the wheel of his usual bus, had to drive between two high cones, which moved and moved apart at the request of the drivers. It turned out that drinking alcohol completely impaired the eye of experienced drivers. Some of them thought they could travel along a corridor narrower than the width of the bus. Thus, one of the drivers was convinced that he could drive his 2.5-meter-wide bus along a 2.2-meter-wide corridor, another - even along a 1.95-meter-wide corridor. The error in estimating the width of the gap between the cones was greater among those who drank more whiskey.

So, from burning the lips to changes in the deep parts of the brain - this is the hidden route of a sip of alcohol in the human body.

A. Dorozinsky. Abridged translation from French by M. Khilkova.

Ethyl alcohol penetrates very quickly through the mucous membrane of the digestive tract. It is absorbed already in the mouth, and therefore even small doses taken slowly can have a strong effect. The transfer of alcohol from the stomach to the circulatory system depends on many factors: the presence of food, as well as the volume, concentration and type of drink. On average, this process lasts 2-6 hours. The absorption time of alcohol increases when eating food, especially milk and carbohydrates (sugars). Due to the large number of nutritional components, beer is absorbed gradually. This is of great practical importance, since drinking on an empty stomach maximizes the concentration of alcohol in the body, and therefore the consequences of its exposure.
Alcohol penetrates all tissues in the same way. The concentration of alcohol in the body is the result of its absorption, decomposition and removal. Alcohol breaks down to acetaldehyde primarily in the liver. It is even believed that the rate of this process is approximately proportional to the mass of the liver.
On average, the body of an adult neutralizes about 10-15 ml of pure alcohol in 1 hour. This means that, for example, after drinking 150 g of vodka, an increased alcohol content in the blood can be detected after approximately 8 hours (!). The speed of this process is subject to large fluctuations.

In persons with alcohol dependence, at first there is an acceleration of its decomposition as a result of stimulation of the enzymatic activity of the liver, and then a slowdown as a result of damage to this organ (for example, with cirrhosis of the liver). After drinking the above amount of alcohol by a person with a damaged liver, alcohol can be detected in the blood even 24 hours after consumption. This effect of alcohol on liver function is a very common cause of complex and dangerous changes in the effects of medications taken at the same time.
Only 2-10% of alcohol entering the body is removed unchanged through the kidneys with urine and through the lungs with exhaled air. This explains the low effectiveness of diuretic drugs in the treatment of acute poisoning, and this is also used in judicial practice to determine the amount of alcohol consumed.
Thus, alcohol concentration is characterized by large individual variations. Its physiological concentration in blood serum is about 0.2 mg/100 ml (0.2%o). In general, it is believed that a concentration of 200 mg/100 ml (2%o) causes a moderate state of poisoning, 200-500 mg/100 ml (2-5%o) a significant degree (loss of consciousness), and a concentration above 500 mg/100 ml (5%o) can lead to death.

In addition to ethanol itself, its metabolite, acetaldehyde, has a toxic effect on the body. Under normal conditions, this effect is negligible because the compound decomposes almost immediately. Therefore, in the treatment of alcoholism (aversion therapy), medications are used that have the ability to significantly increase the concentration of acetaldehyde in the body.

Alcohols do not have pronounced acidic or basic properties. Both alcohols themselves and their aqueous solutions do not conduct electric current to a noticeable extent. Since the alkyl group is an electron donor, the electron density on the oxygen atom is increased and the dissociation of the O-H bond occurs to an even lesser extent than in a water molecule:

Due to their availability and ability to enter into numerous chemical reactions, alcohols play a huge role in various, including industrial, syntheses.

The reactions in which alcohols enter can be divided into the following groups.

1. Reactions involving the hydrogen atom of the hydroxyl group.

2. Reactions that occur with the replacement or elimination of the entire hydroxyl group.

3. Oxidation reactions in which the hydroxyl group, α-hydrogen atoms, or even neighboring carbon-carbon bonds simultaneously participate.

1. Reactions involving the hydrogen atom of the hydroxyl group

The hydroxyl hydrogen atom has a certain mobility and is capable of easy substitution.

A) Substitution of a hydrogen atom in hydroxyl metal scrap.

The substances resulting from such substitution are called alcoholates:

Alcoholates formed by methyl alcohol are called methylates, those formed by ethyl alcohol are called ethylates, etc.

Alcoholates are solid substances that are easily soluble in alcohol. Sodium alcoholates are unstable compounds and quickly darken (resin) in air, especially when heated. The most stable is sodium methoxide. In the presence of traces of moisture, sodium alcoholates decompose and alcohol is formed again:

The reaction of alcoholate formation illustrates the similarity of alcohols to water. Lower alcohols (CH 3 OH, C 2 H 5 OH) react violently with sodium, middle ones - weakly, and higher ones react only when heated. Alcoholates are formed when alcohols react with other active metals, such as magnesium and aluminum. In the reaction of alcoholate formation, alcohol exhibits the properties of a weak acid.

B) Replacement of the hydrogen atom in the hydroxyl with an acyl group to form esters.

When alcohols interact with organic acids (preferably in the presence of traces of strong acids), esters are obtained:

The reaction to form esters is called an esterification reaction. The esterification reaction is reversible: water in the presence of acids or alkalis decomposes esters to form the starting materials - acid and alcohol. This hydrolytic decomposition of esters is called a hydrolysis reaction. The esterification reaction, as well as the esters formed as a result, are of very important industrial importance.

2. Reactions involving replacement or elimination of the entire hydroxyl group

The hydroxyl group of an alcohol has a certain mobility in some reactions and can be replaced or cleaved.

A) Replacement of hydroxyl with halogen with the formation of hydrocarbon derivatives.

Typically, the reaction is carried out by the action of phosphorus or sulfur halides, as well as hydrogen halides, on alcohols:

The reaction between alcohol and halogenated acids is reversible. To achieve a greater yield, i.e., shift the equilibrium to the right, it is necessary to remove water from the reaction mixture. Therefore, the reaction is carried out in the presence of water-removing substances, for example concentrated sulfuric acid, or gaseous hydrogen halide is passed into anhydrous alcohol. To reduce the amount of water present, it is more convenient to take not the hydrohalic acid, but its salt and separate the dry hydrogen halide from it by the action of concentrated sulfuric acid.

B) Formation of olefins by elimination of water

When alcohol is heated with a large amount of strong sulfuric acid or zinc chloride, as well as when alcohol vapor is passed at 350-500 ° C through a tube with aluminum oxide, a dehydration reaction (removal of water) occurs and ethylene hydrocarbons are formed. So, for example, ethylene is obtained from ethyl alcohol:

The formation of a water molecule occurs due to the hydroxyl and a hydrogen atom at the neighboring carbon atom (β-elimination reaction).

Tertiary alcohols dehydrate most easily, then secondary and then primary alcohols. In alcohols of complex structure, the tertiary (3-hydrogen atom) is predominantly eliminated, the secondary atom is much less eliminated, and the primary one is practically not eliminated (Zaitsev’s rule):

B) Intermolecular dehydration.

When heating excess alcohol with sulfuric acid or passing alcohol vapor through powdered anhydrous aluminum sulfate at 200°C, along with ethylene hydrocarbons, ethers are also obtained:

D) Replacement of hydroxide with an amino group. Under harsh conditions (300 °C, aluminum oxide), the hydroxyl group of alcohols can be replaced by an amino group to form primary amines:

The reaction is complicated by the formation of secondary (R 2 NH) and tertiary (R 3 N) amines as a result of the interaction of alcohol with already formed amines.

Oxidation reactions in which a hydroxyl group simultaneously participates α -hydrogen atoms or even neighboring carbon-carbon bonds

A) Removal of hydrogen (dehydrogenation, dehydrogenation).

When alcohol vapor is passed at 200-300°C over finely crushed copper or silver, primary alcohols turn into aldehydes, and secondary alcohols into ketones. The reaction proceeds with the release of hydrogen:

B) Oxidation of alcohols.

Oxidation is usually carried out with strong oxidizing agents, for example K 2 Cr 2 0 7 + H 2 SO 4 or KMn0 4 + + H 2 SO 4. During the oxidation of alcohols, the action of the oxidizing agent is directed to the carbon atom that is already bonded to the hydroxyl group. Consequently, depending on which alcohol is oxidized - primary, secondary or tertiary, different oxidation products are obtained.

The oxidation of secondary alcohols produces ketones:

The oxidation of primary alcohols occurs in a similar way, but since in primary alcohols the carbon atom associated with the hydroxyl has one more hydrogen atom than in secondary alcohols, the oxidation products in this case are aldehydes:

This reaction is difficult to carry out in high yield due to the easy oxidation of the resulting aldehyde to the corresponding carboxylic acid.

No matter how paradoxical it may sound, progress did not always give only positive effects. For example, various infusions of alcohol originally appeared and were used as medicinal ones. And alcohol itself acts as a preservative for substances found in fruits and berries.

Somewhere in the middle of the 15th century, the Russians found a technology for producing alcohol based on their own raw materials. After the Napoleonic War of 1812, Russian vodka in France began to be perceived as a noble and pure drink of the victors.

The dangers, and possibly benefits, of drinking alcohol are discussed in the video material.

Video lesson “Alcohol in the human body”

Against the background of euphoria of progressive proportions, popularity and variety of drinks, experts began to increasingly think about such a problem as the effect of alcohol on the body. And first of all, what is ethyl alcohol?

The answer is simple - it is a chemical compound that is harmful to the body.

A very small part of it is absorbed in the mouth when consumed. About 80% is in the small intestine and about a fifth is in the stomach. The decomposition of alcohol in the human body occurs along the entire path of alcohol:

1. Alcohol enters the body.
2. Descends into the stomach.
3. Alcohol processing begins in the stomach.
4. Alcohol gets into the heart.
5. The heart supplies alcohol to the brain.

The liver contains the main enzymes that break down alcohol. Moreover, the body also produces alcohol, only 0.01%. But this is enough to provide 10% of the volume of energy metabolism.

Is it a lot or a little?

If a person drinks a glass of vodka, after a few hours an additional portion of alcohol will appear in the body: 80 kg (weight) + 200 g (vodka) + 2 hours = 0.1% endogenous alcohol.

Notice the difference between the 0.1% that comes from outside with vodka, without any difficulty, and the 0.01% that the body itself produces? This is the same as giving a person working with one shovel 10 more people with shovels to help him. What will the first one do? He will stop working and will begin to constantly demand outside help.

The situation is even more complicated with the female body, which lacks the necessary enzymes, in particular in the stomach.

The second enzyme, which turns on the body’s action when alcohol appears in it, is located in the cells of the human body.

The liver and kidneys are most active in counteracting alcohol. And the heart muscle, brain and retina, as part of it, are protected to a lesser extent - this is the weakest link in the chain of alcohol movement through the body. But here the highest concentration of alcohol is formed: in the brain it is one and a half times higher than in the blood, therefore the effect of alcohol is more noticeable.

The decomposition of alcohol in the human body from its dangerous state, C2H5OH, goes through the transformation into an even more dangerous compound acetaldehyde - CH3CHO and acetyl coenzyme A, CH3COOH, and only after that into water, H2O, and carbon dioxide, CO2.

Removing toxic substances from the body is the main question for understanding the process and how to treat.

The problem is not only in the vodka, but also in the dosage. Our “feast professionals” make fun of the plots of overseas films, where the heroes drink a glass of beer in small doses all evening. But this is not at all from weakness. The movie characters in the frame consume as much alcohol as the human body can handle.

A standard has been determined that cannot be exceeded

Every 1-2 grams per 1 kg of human weight is harmless to the body or:

• 40-60 or maximum 80 ml of vodka;
• glass of wine, i.e. 150 – 200 ml;
• 0.3 liters of beer.

We wish you health and reasonable drinking during the feasts!