After drinking 2 cans of beer, why is some people's alcohol level down to 0 after 4 hours, while others still have it?

Doctor Than Manh Hung, Deputy Head of the Emergency Department, Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases ( Hanoi ) shared on Vietnamnet Newspaper that, basically, alcohol in beer or medicine is calculated in mg per weight, essentially it is metabolized through the liver when entering the body.

Drinking alcohol and releasing alcohol concentration depends on each person's constitution, on the alcohol metabolism/degradation enzymes of each person's body and the level of excretion by the liver. That is why some people get drunk even if they drink a little, but some people drink a lot but do not get drunk.

Each person's body system is different. Whether a person gets drunk easily or not, whether he or she gets drunk or not, has nothing to do with the ability to eliminate alcohol from the body.

Two cans of beer are equivalent to 3 units of alcohol, and it usually takes about 3 hours to eliminate alcohol. After elimination, the body needs 2-3 hours for the alcohol in the breath to be completely dispersed. Thus, it usually takes the body 5-6 hours to bring the alcohol concentration to 0 after drinking 2 cans of beer.

However, the rate of elimination is different for each person, depending on the metabolic enzymes, so with the same amount of beer, after drinking time, some people have reduced the alcohol concentration to 0 after 4 hours after drinking 2 cans of beer, but some people still have alcohol concentration in their body.

Doctor Nguyen Huy Hoang, in charge of the Vietnam - Russia Hyperbaric Oxygen Center, Vietnam - Russia Tropical Center, Ministry of National Defense , also said that for a healthy adult, every hour, the liver will eliminate 1 unit of alcohol.

This is an average number. Depending on the individual, for example, people with weak livers or people who are heavier than average, this period of time may increase or decrease.

Studies have shown that when the alcohol concentration in the body is high, meaning when we drink a lot of alcohol, the liver's rate of alcohol elimination is faster. Conversely, when the alcohol concentration in the body is low, this rate slows down.

With current regulations, if you are tested for alcohol concentration, if you detect alcohol in your breath, even if it is less than 0.25 mg/L, you are in violation. Therefore, one glass of beer within an hour can still get you fined. If you drive, you should avoid drinking beer for about 5-6 hours before driving, even if it is just one glass.

Nguyen Mai (synthesis)

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