More than 90% of alcohol is eliminated by the liver; 2-5% is excreted unchanged in urine, sweat, or breath.
About 90 per cent of alcohol is eliminated by the body's metabolism. While the kidneys and gastro-intestinal tract play a role in this process, the liver is the main organ responsible for transforming alcohol absorbed by the blood into substances that your body can process and eliminate.
Once alcohol has entered your bloodstream it remains in your body until it is processed. About 90-98 per cent of alcohol that you drink is broken down in your liver. The other 2-10 per cent of alcohol is removed in your urine, breathed out through your lungs or excreted in your sweat.
The liver does the heavy lifting when it comes to processing alcohol. After the alcohol passes through your stomach, small intestine and bloodstream, your liver starts its cleanup. It removes about 90% of the alcohol from your blood. The rest comes out through your kidneys, lungs and skin.
In addition, alcohol can disrupt the hormonal control mechanisms that govern kidney function. By promoting liver disease, chronic drinking has further detrimental effects on the kidneys, including impaired sodium and fluid handling and even acute kidney failure.
Alcohol can have serious, life-threatening health consequences for the liver, where alcohol is filtered and broken down in the body. Your liver is also responsible for filtering out toxins, like alcohol.
From the time you drink a glass of wine or take a shot, that alcohol could remain in your system (urine, hair, et cetera) for days. Once alcohol hits the bloodstream, it travels to the brain, liver, and other body tissues. The liver can process about one ounce of alcohol per hour.
Alcohol detection tests can measure alcohol in the blood for up to 12 hours, on the breath for 12 to 24 hours, urine for 12-24 hours (72 or more hours after heavier use), saliva for up to 12 hours, and hair for up to 90 days. The half-life of alcohol is between 4-5 hours.
In general, the liver can process one ounce of liquor (or one standard drink) in one hour.
Organs known to be damaged by long-term alcohol misuse include the brain and nervous system, heart, liver and pancreas.
Alcohol's Path Through the Body
About five percent of the alcohol consumed leaves the body through urine, sweat glands, and breathing. Most of the alcohol must be broken down (metabolized) by the liver to remove it from the system. The liver metabolizes alcohol at a very constant rate, approximately one drink per hour.
After drinking stops, damaged organs may regain partial function or even heal completely, depending on the extent of organ damage and whether there is relapse (i.e., resumption of drinking).
So what happens when you stop drinking? The good news is that the liver is the only organ that can restore and regenerate itself. Because the liver is in a constant state of regeneration, in many cases the healing process can begin within just weeks after foregoing alcohol.
First few hours: To be sure, symptoms of a detoxing liver start approximately 10 hours after alcohol abstinence. It is common for a person to experience nausea and abdominal pain. Psychological symptoms begin to appear, including anxiety. In general, a person feels tired but restless.
How long does it take alcohol to leave your body? On average it takes at least one hour for your body to clear one small alcoholic drink. For some people it can take longer. That is, at least one hour to clear a middy of beer, or a small (100ml) glass of wine, or a standard nip of spirits.
In some cases, the breathalyzer may detect alcohol for up to 12 hours. In other individuals, the breathalyzer test may work for twice that long. Although the average person metabolizes about 1 alcoholic drink per hour, this rate varies.
Wine: The average glass of wine can take 3 hours to leave your system, half of your favourite bottle can stay in your system for 4.5 hours, and the average bottle can take 9 whole hours to leave your body.
Generally, symptoms of alcoholic liver disease include abdominal pain and tenderness, dry mouth and increased thirst, fatigue, jaundice (which is yellowing of the skin), loss of appetite, and nausea. Your skin may look abnormally dark or light. Your feet or hands may look red.
For men, binge drinking is 5 or more drinks consumed on one occasion. Underage drinking: Any alcohol use by those under age 21. Heavy drinking: For women, heavy drinking is 8 drinks or more per week. For men, heavy drinking is 15 drinks or more per week.
It is estimated that alcohol-related fatty liver disease develops in 90% of people who drink more than 40g of alcohol (or four units) per day. That's roughly the equivalent of two medium (175ml) glasses of 12% ABV wine, or less than two pints of regular strength (4% ABV) beer.
A common expression among urologists is, “Dilution is the solution to the pollution,” which means that increased water (not alcohol) intake is the best way to make sure your kidneys are getting flushed out regularly and staying healthy.
Drinking vodka every day can lead to an accumulation of fat in the liver, which can cause fatty liver disease. This condition can progress to cirrhosis, which is scarring of the liver tissue. Cirrhosis can cause liver failure and increase your risk of liver cancer.