tea v. alcohol

Sep 17, 2010 Last reply: 15 years ago 3 Replies
N

Browsing pubmed to put off going to work, I came across this abstract:

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"On the 1st hour after ethanol administration, the ethanol concentrations in blood of the theanine combined groups decreased compared with the ethanol-alone group. The alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase activities in the liver increased by combined theanine."



Those two enzymes turn alcohol into (more toxic) acetaldehyde, and acetaldehyde into (non-toxic) acetic acid. So if this is true, its seems to corroborate the anecdotes posted here about tea after drinking helping folks sober up.



Enjoy, N.


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L

Is acetaldehyde anything to worry about?

/Lew

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S

It is, and if you drink a whole lot, like my roommate in college did, it will build up in your body and be excreted through the pores, causing a very unpleasant but very distinct body odor.

--scott

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N

Those two enzymes are the main pair for the liver's metabolizing alcohol, so tea probably doesn't increase risk from acetaldehyde since it's rendered harmless faster. (Unless that translates into drinking more. :))

But yes, acetaldehyde's nasty stuff. Short term toxicity, think hangover symptoms. Carcinogenic, hepatotoxic, etc., with ongoing exposure.

N.

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