Why does alcohol affect men and women differently? Why do women booze up more quickly than men?
A woman only needs to consume 90% of what a man does to have the same blood alcohol level, even if they are exactly the same weight. the everyday beast.
Do You Think It’s Unfair That Way?
It all comes down to how differently men and women are physically built. Because of their different physical characteristics from men, women experience alcohol’s effects more strongly. Women metabolise alcohol in a number of ways differently from men, including:
1. Less Water is in a Women body
Women have a higher percentage of body fat compared to men, who have a higher percentage of muscle mass, regardless of height and weight. (I’m aware, right?) Body fat has a water content of only 25% compared to 75% for muscle mass. (Science nerds among you will recall that fat repels water.) Women therefore have less body water.
Alcohol diffuses evenly into all body water when it enters the body. However, because women drink less water overall, their blood alcohol content is higher.
2. Alcohol Dehydrogenase Levels are Lower in Women
The main enzyme in the body that breaks down alcohol is called alcohol dehydrogenase. This enzyme, which is primarily found in the stomach, breaks down the majority of alcohol before it enters the bloodstream. Women will absorb more alcohol into their bloodstream than men because they have lower levels of this enzyme.
3. Hormonal Swings are More Pronounced in Women.
Hormones, ah. Too often, hormones are held responsible for female behaviour. It serves as the convenient excuse for all female woes and mood swings. But in this particular circumstance, hormones do in fact play a role. Really.
The rate at which alcohol is metabolised will vary with the menstrual cycle’s fluctuations in hormone levels. Premenstrual women typically absorb alcohol more quickly and thoroughly than other times of the month (the time before the arrival of the period). Birth control pill oestrogen also prolongs the effects of alcohol.
All of This Increases The Health Risks for Women.
Women are more negatively impacted by alcohol use because of how differently men and women process alcohol. Additionally, women are more vulnerable to alcohol-related illnesses like
Hepatitis, or a “alcoholic liver”: The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports that mortality rates from cirrhosis are roughly twice as high in women as they are in men.
Heart disease: Women who drink are more likely than men to experience high blood pressure and a stroke.
Breast cancer: Women who consume more than two drinks per day are more likely to get the disease.
Alcohol is more likely to disturb women’s sleep than men’s. Addiction: According to a study published in the Huffington Post, women who battle addiction are twice as likely to die from alcohol than men are.
Check out our infographic, “How much alcohol can I safely drink?” to learn how much you should or shouldn’t consume.
Conclusion
Women will have a higher BAC and become more intoxicated when men and women consume alcohol at the same rate, regardless of weight. This is brought on by physiological variations in hormones, metabolism, and body composition. Girls, don’t try to match the guys beer for beer because they have the biological advantage in this situation.
