23 Dec Know Your Booze

Do you know what’s in your booze? Know why you feel the way you feel after a couple of drinks? Well, let’s find out why.

It’s that time of the year again where we find ourselves at many social gatherings celebrating the holidays over a drink or two. A few drinks get us comfortable and open around people, our shyness simply goes out the door and next thing you know you’re in the middle of a twerking contest.

 Ever wonder what’s in Alcohol that causes us such effects?

Well I became interested in learning what’s in booze that causes us these effects and apparently its simple, ETHANOL. Ethanol is the intoxicating part of the boozy process. Ethanol is a colorless chemical and it acts as the main ingredient in alcoholic beverages. It is also used in beauty care products, cosmetics, household cleaners and as a food additive for enhancement of flavors. It’s also in one other thing. You might want to sit down for this one if you haven’t already pieced it together. Ethanol is in over 97% of Gasoline in the Unites States! WOAHH!

No brainer, right? Now you know why your shots can easily be lit on fire. Well that’s because Ethanol is extremely flammable just like gasoline.

As we continue to enjoy drink after drink as the evening progresses, we shortly realize that we lose our sense of balance, our hand and eye coordination is off or possibly might have impaired judgement. Everyone is different of course; and we all get to different stages at different times even if consuming the same amount of drinks. You might be a light weight like myself or a heavy drinker with much more tolerance.

The difference comes down to how much muscles each person has. The more muscles the more water the body contains and the more diluted the alcohol becomes.

When alcohol enters the body, it effects nearly every system of your body. From your skin, blood vessels, your gut, your heart and even your brain.

We’ve uncovered that Ethanol is the intoxicating part of booze. Its molecules are so small that they can pass into the gaps between brain cells.

Neurotransmitters send messages throughout the body; neurons transmit signals to one another, and this is how our cells communicate. Incredible huh!?

When alcohol arrives to our brain, it can interfere with the neurotransmitters that enable all the brain’s activities that control thought process, behavior and emotion. Wonder why we become emotional drunks!? LOL!

Neurotransmitters affect neurons in three different ways. Excitatory, Inhibitory and Modulatory. It’s important to understand how these work in order to understand why we react in a certain way.

• Excitatory Neurotransmitters have the effects of exhibiting, resulting or producing excitement.
• Inhibitory Neurotransmitters have the effects of preventing us from doing something.
• Modulatory Neurotransmitters have a number of effects and can affect neurons at the same time and influence the effects of chemical messengers.

Alcohol affects both Excitatory and Inhibitory Neurotransmitters. Let’s talk about the behaviors we display when these Neurotransmitters take effect…

• The Neurotransmitter that stuck out the most to me was Dopamine. Dopamine has the effects of both Excitatory and Inhibitory. It is mainly associated with reward mechanisms in the brain. Drugs such as heroin, cocaine and yes alcohol can temporarily increase its levels in the blood and cause intoxication along with consciousness and focus issues. Since Dopamine is associated with feelings of pleasure and satisfaction you probably already made the connection as to why sex is common after drinks.
• Another Neurotransmitter is Epinephrine or more commonly known as a adrenaline! This one is an excitatory neurotransmitter as you might have guessed it. It is produced in our adrenal glands. It is released into our blood stream to prepare us for dangerous situations. Our heart rate increases, our blood pressure goes up and we get excited!! Which is why commonly drunk drivers are more likely to take risks with speeding and were willing to do things like go skinny dipping. Seeking the excitement and thrill of the unknown.
• This next one is a perfect example of a Inhibitory neurotransmitter. GABA reduces energy levels and calms everything down. Which is exactly why alcohol can have depressant effects. By suppressing the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate and increasing inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. This basically means that your thought, speech and movements are slowed down and the more you drink the more of these affects you will feel. This is the reason why we stumble around, we become very clumsy and a lot of other things drunk people are known for doing.

Drinking Alcohol can make humans feel pretty good, at least very short term. Soon as you take the first sip of you’re preferred choice of drink whether its beer, wine, vodka or rum within minutes you start to feel the effects. But the truth is that Alcohol is a known carcinogen. Alcohol can damage cells, and its breakdown products damage cells that can lead to cancer. Alcohol modulates hormone levels, so it changes estrogen levels which raises the risk of breast cancer. So how do you decide which booze to stick with on a night out?

Lets simplify it, these are some things to remember when you choose your next drink at the bar…

Beer

• Pros:
• Cheap
• easy accessible,
• low alcohol content
•  Variety of different flavors.
• Cons:
• A lot of calories,
• Heartburn
• Burping
• Majority loaded with Carbs

WINE

• Pros:
• Red wine is low on cal
• The darker the wine the richer in polyphenols
• Red wine is Rich in Fiber
• Cons:
• White Wine is Acidic
• Red wine can trigger migraines
• Elevates your triglycerides levels which are associated with obesity, diabetes & kidney disease.

For your Vodkas, Cognac, Whisky and scotch always keep in mind that the darker the liquor the bigger the hangover.

Stay tuned, could it be possible that most alcohols contain animal products??

With Love,

Miss Rehab Ramdass

Yesenia Ramdass

Disclaimer: Miss Rehab Ramdass website, blog, social media and videos should not be construed as medical advice. Content from this site and blog are not intended to be used as a medical diagnosis or treatment. The information provided is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice.