Whether due to being in a hurry, not feeling hungry, or wanting to get drunk faster, there’s no legitimate reason to drink on an empty stomach. Having a meal before drinking is an important step in preparation, though many skip it to get to the bar quicker. However, after seeing a detailed simulation of what happens when you consume alcohol without eating first, you might rethink this choice.
Dandelion Medical Animation highlights how the world increasingly favors visual learning, making illustration a powerful educational tool. Their YouTube channel, with over two million subscribers, uses animation to break down complex medical topics in an engaging and easy-to-understand way, ideal for addressing tricky health questions.
In April 2022, they released a simulation showing what occurs in your body when you drink alcohol without first eating. Starting from when alcohol touches your lips, the short video made many viewers reconsider their drinking habits.
Comments included: “Alcohol is not good,” and “Great video showing what happens in our body when we drink alcohol. People need to understand it’s not beneficial and should avoid it, as it’s unnecessary for daily life.” One viewer simply responded, “Oh….” while another noted, “No wonder I’m in constant pain.”
With that in mind, let’s dive into what the experts from Dandelion Medical Animation revealed in their video. Check it out here:
As viewers watched a detailed simulation of the human body, a voiceover explained, “Once alcohol leaves the mouth, it travels down the esophagus to the stomach. Without solid food in the stomach, most of the alcohol quickly moves to the small intestine, where it is absorbed more easily and enters the bloodstream rapidly.
This allows all the alcohol from one drink to be absorbed within 30 minutes.” With no food in the stomach to slow it down, the alcohol heads straight to the small intestine, the fastest site of absorption — whereas eating beforehand would slow this process. Essentially, if you eat before drinking, you’re less likely to be completely drunk by 10 p.m. after only a few drinks.
The video further explained that “drinking alcohol with food in the stomach traps the alcohol there, where absorption is inefficient, delaying its entry into the small intestine. This greatly slows alcohol absorption into the bloodstream, resulting in slower impairment and a lower peak alcohol concentration.
Moreover, alcohol increases stomach acid, potentially leading to severe stomach pain or intestinal sores in heavy drinkers. Therefore, eating a substantial meal while drinking is recommended. In fact, consuming fatty foods can reduce peak blood alcohol concentration (BAC) by up to 50% compared to drinking on an empty stomach.”
In short, it’s crucial to have a meal before starting to drink.