Alcohol is a psychoactive substance that significantly changes the functioning of a person's central nervous system. Alcoholic drinks relax, enhance mood, bring pleasure. It is for this purpose that many people use it.
However, for some drunk it is enough to drink one glass of wine, while others drink alcohol in large quantities and continue to look quite sober, while behaving absolutely normal. But why don't people get drunk with alcohol? This is due to various factors, which also include individual characteristics of the human body. Let's talk about this in more detail.
The effect of alcohol on the human body
In order to accurately answer the question of why some people do not get drunk from alcohol, one should understand what specific effect ethanol can have on the human body.
When alcohol enters the digestive tract, it begins to be absorbed into the blood. With blood flow, it spreads to other tissues. When alcohol enters the brain, it interacts with cerebral cells, thus triggering the process of arousal and inhibition. With the inhibition of the function of some centers in the brain, ethanol affects speech, appearance and human behavior.
In the case of drinking a small amount of alcohol in a person, the following actions are observed: speech is accelerated, a person speaks louder, behaves most freely, his mood improves.
If a person continues to drink alcohol, this will provoke the clumping of red blood cells. This is because under the influence of ethanol, the protective membranes of these blood cells lose their own properties. In a normal state, red blood cells repel each other, that is, they exist autonomously. In the event of the destruction of their membranes, they begin to lose a similar ability, uniting with each other. Such conglomerates cannot overcome small blood vessels, as they begin to get stuck in them.
All this provokes a deterioration in the blood supply to the brain, and also leads to hypoxia. An insufficient amount of oxygen and some substances worsens the functioning of different parts of the brain, the metabolic process is disrupted, as a result of which many neurons die.
Essential Enzymes
We continue to consider why people do not get drunk from alcohol. Since the human body reacts to alcohol in this way, it tries to get rid of it as soon as possible. To neutralize ethanol, the body requires certain substances. They are called enzymes, and they are produced by the organs of the gastrointestinal tract, as well as by the liver.
The latter is actively involved in the utilization of alcohol, since the main function of this organ is to filter and remove harmful and unnecessary compounds from the body. In order for ethanol to oxidize, the alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme is required.
When alcohol enters the body, the automatic formation of this enzyme begins. As a result, ethanol begins to decompose into neutral compounds and highly toxic acetaldehyde. This substance is a dangerous poison. It is its effect on the tissue caused by a negative reaction from different organs.
To neutralize the compound and turn it into acetic acid, the liver produces another enzyme called acetaldehyde dehydrogenase. It is synthesized at a certain speed, which will depend on the individual characteristics of a particular human body.
Part of the acetaldehyde does not have time to utilize the liver, due to which it penetrates the bloodstream and spreads to other organs. That is why intoxication occurs during the consumption of large amounts of alcohol.
The metabolic processes that occur with the participation of alcohol
Each person has his own rate of synthesis of those enzymes that are necessary for the breakdown of acetaldehyde and ethanol. There are 3 possible scenarios:
- Both enzymes form slowly. This type of activity is most characteristic of peoples living in Asia who do not drink or become addicted too quickly.
- Both enzymes form quickly. In this case, people consume a large amount of alcohol, without showing signs of intoxication. That’s why they don’t get drunk with alcohol.
- Alcohol dehydrogenase is synthesized quite quickly, and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase is synthesized slowly. With this type of enzymatic activity, people do not experience intoxication for a long time, but the lack of a second enzyme causes a large amount of alcohol to provoke a strong hangover due to the high concentration of toxic acetaldehyde in the tissues.
Reasons for not getting drunk
There are two main reasons why a person cannot get drunk on a lot of alcohol. Let's consider them separately.
Body training
The first is characterized as the training of the body. In the case of regular use, a person begins to increase the level of enzyme activity, so he is able for a long time not to feel the effects of a strong drink. That is why they drink alcohol and do not get drunk. However, it should be noted that this fact indicates the development of alcohol dependence in a person, especially if a similar condition appeared in a person with regular drunkenness.
The second stage of alcohol dependence is characterized by the need to use a large amount of alcohol in order to achieve "condition". This is due to the destructive effect of ethanol on the brain.
In the case of regular use in the brain, there are less and less neurons, which is why they begin to die more slowly. If a person continues to drink, then his brain will begin to decrease in volume due to cell loss. At the same time, the center of the nervous system ceases to work effectively, due to which the personality begins to degrade, and at the same time, the level of intelligence decreases.
Genetics
What is the second reason why you do not get drunk on alcohol? It consists in a special set of genes. The rate of synthesis of enzymes that are necessary for the breakdown of ethanol in the body in different people is determined by the composition of their genome.
During scientific research, it was proved that the inhabitants of the wine regions have the set that contributes to the rapid formation of the necessary enzymes in the body. Since ancient times, the ancestors of such people produced strong drinks, after which they drank alcohol. For this reason, in the course of evolution, the body has adapted.
The French, Italians, Greeks, as well as other peoples who cultivated grapes in ancient times, are distinguished by the fact that they do not get drunk for a long time. This is another reason why a person drinks alcohol and does not get drunk.
Who gets drunk fast?
If we talk about representatives of the northern peoples, then most of them did not know about alcohol before the Europeans arrived on their territory. For example, the Eskimos, as well as some indigenous peoples of America did not even produce alcohol. The Eskimos did not produce alcohol due to a lack of resources, and the Americans did not find out the reason for the lack of alcohol.
Since the ancestors of these peoples were not familiar with ethanol, representatives of the current generation have low activity in the body of enzymes. They begin to quickly lose control of their body, which provokes the development of alcoholism. That's why you get drunk fast with alcohol. But there are more to come.
What affects the speed of intoxication?
We continue to consider the features of the speed of intoxication. Why do you get drunk quickly from alcohol? And why does not the expected result come for so long? All this will be influenced by several factors, as well as the individual characteristics of the human body. These include:
- Gender
- Age.
- Weight and height.
- The amount of circulating blood.
- The speed at which a person drinks.
- The number of strong drinks, fortress.
- The quality and quantity of snacks.
- Hereditary predisposition.
Age
Speaking about why you get drunk on a small amount of alcohol, you should pay attention to the fact that a person’s age will play a special role in this matter. For example, young people get drunk quickly. After all, their body is not yet accustomed to alcohol and slowly produces enzymes. In addition, older people also become intoxicated faster than people in the middle age group. This is due to a slowdown in life, a slow metabolism, as well as a decrease in enzyme activity.
Weight, height, gender
Why does a person get drunk from a small amount of alcohol? This fact will depend on height, gender, weight, and the amount of blood. As a rule, men can drink more alcohol, while not getting drunk. This is because their weight is greater than that of women, and the amount of blood in the body is also greater. That is why fragile women can get drunk on just one glass of wine, and a strong man will not even feel the effects of ethanol from such an amount of alcohol consumed.
Speed
When answering the question of why you do not get drunk from alcohol, as before, it is very important to pay attention to the speed with which alcohol drinks. If you immediately drink one bottle of strong alcohol, then a person will fall drunk. In some cases, this even provokes a fatal outcome. But if a person drinks slowly, then the liver manages to produce enzymes, as a result of which the intoxicating effect is reduced.
Snack
Why does a person get drunk from a small amount of alcohol? It is likely that while drinking alcoholic beverages, he did not eat anything. The fact is that while biting, a person significantly slows down the absorption of ethanol in the blood, which is why drunkenness will come much later.
Psychoemotional state
If you have a question about why you stopped drinking from alcohol, then it is likely that the psychoemotional state played a significant role. The fact is that if alcohol is used in a pleasant company, in a good mood, then a person is less likely to get drunk. But if you drink with grief, feeling the urge to get drunk as soon as possible, then this will happen to the person.
Recommendations
So, we have figured out why you quickly get drunk from a small dose of alcohol, and also why a person for a long time can not get drunk from alcohol. However, you should pay attention to the fact that alcoholic beverages will have an effect on absolutely any person. It doesn’t happen that people don’t get drunk at all, no matter how much they drink. In different people, this phenomenon manifests itself in different ways.
The speed of this process will depend on many factors that have been described above. However, there are some tricks that help you to stay drunk for a long time, for example, when you go to a party.
People who drink regularly regularly will feel sober longer. This is due to the fact that enzymes in such people for the breakdown of ethanol are formed faster. But if a person rarely drinks, then you can provoke the production of enzymes yourself. To do this, a couple of hours before the party, you need to drink 40 ml of alcohol, which will be present at the event.
Experts also recommend eating a small amount of fat, for example, lard or vegetable oil, 1 hour before the party. Such a measure helps to slow down the absorption of ethanol, as well as delay intoxication.
Conclusion
So, we have figured out why a person drinks alcohol and does not get drunk, and also for what reasons intoxication occurs quickly. If you want to delay this condition, then adhere to the recommendations described above.