Alcohol in the Liver  

The liver is where the body finishes breaking down alcohol. Working at full speed, a healthy young man's liver takes about an hour to process one drink. A healthy young woman's liver will generally take longer. This is one reason why women often become intoxicated more quickly than men and why there are different recommended upper limits for women. <BR><BR>If you drink faster than your liver can process alcohol you will start to feel drunk. <BR><BR>The Liver is the main organ that gets rid of alcohol by breaking it down.&nbsp; It metabolises about 90% of the alcohol in our body while only about 10% is excreted through either our urine or breath.<BR><BR>The liver needs water to get rid of toxins from the body but, as alcohol acts as a diuretic, there will not be sufficient amounts in the body, so the liver is forced to divert water from other organs including the brain. <BR><BR>The liver also produces more toxins in the body as a by-product of breaking down alcohol. When the liver is m

The liver is where the body finishes breaking down alcohol. Working at full speed, a healthy young man's liver takes about an hour to process one drink. A healthy young woman's liver will generally take longer. This is one reason why women often become intoxicated more quickly than men and why there are different recommended upper limits for women.

If you drink faster than your liver can process alcohol you will start to feel drunk.

The Liver is the main organ that gets rid of alcohol by breaking it down.  It metabolises about 90% of the alcohol in our body while only about 10% is excreted through either our urine or breath.

The liver needs water to get rid of toxins from the body but, as alcohol acts as a diuretic, there will not be sufficient amounts in the body, so the liver is forced to divert water from other organs including the brain.

The liver also produces more toxins in the body as a by-product of breaking down alcohol. When the liver is metabolising alcohol it produces acetaldehyde, a substance which has toxic effects on our liver, brain and stomach lining, resulting in headache, nausea, vomiting and heartburn (aka hangover).