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The first time I had two pints of beer in my late teens I was horribly sick. Now I can drink two pints of beer without feeling any ill effects.What is the mechanism by which our bodies become tolerant to alcohol, or indeed other drugs, all of which have a smaller and smaller effect with regular use?After all, I am consuming exactly the same amount of poison which made me ill 30 years ago - why doesn't my body just do what it did back then?Rob Howe, Gomersal, West Yorkshire, UK(Image: KAPSA, stock.xchng)

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Answered by Casey
on 2009-06-11 20:46:45

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Pulling a couple of the comments together for fun:Phil Manning said in his second comment on October 23, 2008 6:47 PM: quot;if your cytochrome p450 enzymes are busy doing something else when alcohol arrives, they will be torn between the two jobs and alcohol metabolism will be greatly reduced.quot;Dan Stotland said on October 23, 2008 10:34 PM: quot;[Alcoholic dehydrogenase] converts alcohols to ketones and aldehydes. it works on many alcohols, including wood alcohol, [the poison methanol]. Ethanol is converted to ethyl aldehyde and that chemical is metabolised further. The more we drink; the more we can drink.quot;In particular, methanol is converted into methylaldehyde, otherwise known as quot;formaldehydequot; -- the well known toxic preservative of laboratory tissue specimens. Hence, the poisonous nature of methanol.And back to Phill Manning#39;s comment, when methanol poisoning is suspected, the treatment is to have the patient drink large amounts of ethanol in order to create a competitive environment where the alcohol dehydrogenase will end up processing the enthanol (producing ethylaldehyde) instead of the methanol (resulting in the poisonous methylaldehyde == formaldehyde). This gives the patient#39;s kidneys time to eliminate the methanol without it being precessed by the liver.

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Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2009-06-10 17:02:00

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Categories: Human Body.

Tags: human body, domestic science.

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Pint of the usual?

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Answered by Anonymous
on 2009-06-14 01:57:29

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Whilst it is true that the Liver contains inducible enzymes this alone does not and cannot account for the tolerance to the early effects of alcohol consumption, such as feeling drunk. In the seasoned drinker not only is the alcohol metabolised more quickly by the liver, the brain is less affected by the drug. The mechanisms i#39;m sure are known to Physicians expert in addictions. In summary, the drug (be it alcohol, opiates, cannabis) has a much lower impact on the brain in experienced users than in those that are new to the drug. This is known as toleranceIn addition over a longer period of time there is enhanced ability to clear the drug via the liver

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Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2009-06-10 17:02:00

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Categories: Human Body.

Tags: human body, domestic science.

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Pint of the usual?

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Answered by Modus Ponens
on 2009-06-17 00:57:22

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Consuming any type of drug causes certain chemical pathways to work in overdrive. If this becomes routine the body will respond by cutting back on its natural production in order to keep you running business as usual, at this point the body is able to again tolerate more intake, which leads to a further change in natural production etc. This is the primary mechanism of physical dependence, and is why prolonged use or sudden discontinuation of any drug can be very very dangerous.

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Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2009-06-10 17:02:00

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Pint of the usual?

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Answered by Anonymous
on 2009-06-23 02:07:00

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Late teens?I grew up in West Yorkshire and got most of my bad hangovers over and done with by 15.Start earlier and don#39;t sopGordonH

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Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2009-06-10 17:02:00

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Pint of the usual?

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Answered by Anonymous
on 2009-06-25 06:31:31

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quot;that#39;s why a students medicine cabinet should contain ibuprofen instead!quot;Please do some research before you spout off about this quot;wonder drugquot;. Ibuprofen will tear up your stomach intestines and has been linked to liver and kidney diseases when taken in large doses. My doctor prescribed 1000mg every 2 hours for a quot;muscle spasmquot;, a week later I was in the hospital with a bleeding ulcer.

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Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2009-06-10 17:02:00

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Leaf me alone Why does my dishwasher have such difficulty cleaning spinach from my plates?Frank Schanze, Stuttgart, Germany(Image: MLON, stock.xchng)
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Answered by Prudie
on 2009-06-11 08:11:45

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Perhaps you should pay your dish washer a more generous wage.

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Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2009-06-10 17:01:00

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Categories: Domestic Science, Technology.

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Leaf me alone Why does my dishwasher have such difficulty cleaning spinach from my plates?Frank Schanze, Stuttgart, Germany(Image: MLON, stock.xchng)
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Answered by Anonymous
on 2009-06-11 11:20:24

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Perhaps dishwashers are as averse to spinach as I am?

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Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2009-06-10 17:01:00

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Categories: Domestic Science, Technology.

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Leaf me alone Why does my dishwasher have such difficulty cleaning spinach from my plates?Frank Schanze, Stuttgart, Germany(Image: MLON, stock.xchng)
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Answered by james1
on 2009-06-11 14:50:03

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If you don#39;t rinse your dishes prior to dishwashing then what do you expect?

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Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2009-06-10 17:01:00

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Categories: Domestic Science, Technology.

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Leaf me alone Why does my dishwasher have such difficulty cleaning spinach from my plates?Frank Schanze, Stuttgart, Germany(Image: MLON, stock.xchng)
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Answered by Anonymous
on 2009-06-11 15:44:44

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Depends on a few reasons:1st. Does your dishwasher have just 1 sprayer rack or several? Single sprayer racks are awful if you don#39;t habitually pre-wash your dishes (ie rinse etc). 2nd. Do you use a finishing agent like jetdry? 3rd. Some dishwashers have several settings for dish type. My most recent had several dish settings including a light rinse up to more or less pot scrubbing for dishes. This seemed to vary the length of the wash cycles and power of the jet sprays used.4th. Most spinach is served with a sauce of some sort...It could be the sauce residue that is causing it to stick.

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Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2009-06-10 17:01:00

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Categories: Domestic Science, Technology.

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Leaf me alone Why does my dishwasher have such difficulty cleaning spinach from my plates?Frank Schanze, Stuttgart, Germany(Image: MLON, stock.xchng)
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Answered by Charlie
on 2009-06-11 21:25:17

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it may have something to do with the high levels of oxalate (the same thing that makes your teeth feel funny after you eat it...). Honestly though, that#39;s weird.

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