Why Does Alcohol Hit Harder as We Age?
Ever wondered why you can't drink like you used to when you were 20? Unfortunately, it's not because drinks are getting stronger. It's because as we get older, our bodies become more sensitive to alcohol.
As we age, changes in our bodies make it more difficult for them to metabolize our favorite drinks.
First there are our livers.
The liver breaks down alcohol in our bodies, and if it gets too much at once, the extra alcohol goes out to our blood and tissues until it can be metabolized. But as we age, our livers become weaker, meaning more alcohol goes straight into the bloodstream, and it stays there longer.
"A weakened liver basically leaves a larger amount of alcohol in your bloodstream. So, even if you're drinking the same amount you always have, the intoxicating effects will be much stronger," explains nurse Jaines Andrades on the Baystate Health website.
And drinking more alcohol than your liver can process will also cause damage to the organ, with aging being a major risk factor for developing alcohol-associated liver disease.
Our bodies also gain fat and lose muscle as we get older.
Fat tissue holds less water than muscle tissue, meaning there's less water in the body to help dilute any alcohol coming in.
"This leads to having a higher blood alcohol content when compared to consuming the exact same amount of alcohol when you were younger," Andrades explains.
"Without realizing, you'll find yourself feeling drunker faster."
So while it may become more difficult to tolerate our favorite alcoholic drinks as we age, there are some changes we can make to ease the process.
In a 2022 interview with lifestyle publication Well+Good, Erika Schwartz, founder of the Evolved Science health practice in New York, suggests enjoying drinks with a lower sugar content. Drinks with high sugar content such as cocktails increase the inflammatory effects of alcohol — and may also encourage us to drink more than we should.
Schwartz also recommends exercise, which helps keep our bodies in good shape and ready to process alcohol.
