See What Happens To Your Body After Drinking a Couple of Beers
Beer ranks as one of the most popular beverages around. Beer brands are synonymous with sports advertising. It’s pizza’s go to partner. It’s refreshing after a long day in the hot sun or when meeting friends after work. It also has the reputation of not being as “hard” as other alcoholic beverages, like bourbon or tequila. Yet, its effects on the body are just as detrimental.
Beer, like all alcoholic beverages, is classified as a depressant because it “depresses” the action of the central nervous system. This decreases coordination and the ability to think clearly. Drink too much of it, and a hangover results. The hangover is the body’s reaction to the beer in the body. Your body recognizes beer, not as a way to let loose, but as a poison and the hangover is the body’s way of detoxifying itself.
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c in the UK created an infographic explaining the effects of one beer on the body during a 24 hour period. It might make you rethink having that beer.
After the First Sips
Once those first few sips go down and hit your stomach, the alcohol goes straight to the blood stream and travels throughout the body.
10 Minutes
The body doesn’t understand why you are drinking something poisonous to it and takes action to break it down and flush it out.
15 Minutes
Your stomach is working overtime to break down the alcohol to get it out of the body. It produces enzymes to convert it into chemicals. Eventually, it breaks down into fatty acids and water, which has a sobering effect on the body. At this point, the liver is at full capacity and drinking any more will cause you to become drunk.
20 Minutes
Here comes the buzz.
45 Minutes
Blood alcohol levels peak.
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60 Minutes Plus
Now your kidneys kick in to rid the body of poison, so the urge to use the bathroom dominates. This can cause dehydration, which contributes to the hangover. If you stop now, you’ll likely sleep it off, but your sleep quality is bad due to the dehydration.
12 to 24 Hours
When you wake up after “having fun,” you’ll have a headache, cotton mouth and the jitters. Most of this is caused by dehydration, since your body urinated out the poison.
While having a couple of beers sounds like fun on a psychological level, it wreaks havoc on the body. Check out the infographic above for the complete listing of how your body reacts to that one beer.