Question: Does Bread Soak Up Alcohol when Drunk?

Lauren Laing answered on 16 Mar 2016:

Hi! Great question! Although it sounds pretty logical that bread would soak up alcohol therefore preventing a bad hangover, bread does not “soak up” the alcohol in your system. In fact, scientists think that eating before drinking does nothing to prevent a hangover the next day. Instead, some scientist have shown that high protein foods help to slow the absorption of alcohol!

Factors which will more likely effect how alcohol is absorbed include:

– Medications: Some drugs and medications often have adverse effects and unpredictable interactions with alcohol.

– Women vs. men: Alcohol affects women more quickly due to a typically smaller body size and weight than men. Also, women have about half as much of the enzymes used to metabolize alcohol than men do.

– Smaller people vs. larger people: Smaller people have less body mass through which alcohol can diffuse, meaning there is more alcohol in their bloodstream. Therefore, they become more intoxicated quicker.

– High stress mood states vs. relaxed mood states: Stress can cause the stomach to empty directly into the small intestine, where alcohol is absorbed even faster.

– Higher proportion of body fat to muscle tissue mass: Alcohol is not drawn into body fat as well as it draws into lean muscle mass. Therefore, blood alcohol concentration is intensified in those with more body fat.