Health: Why Men Can Outdrink Women

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The study supports the common notion that it is better to drink on a full stomach than on an empty one. Booze takes longer to pass through a well-fed stomach, allowing more time for the enzyme to digest the alcohol. Fasting does the opposite: it speeds the stomach's emptying. Taking the popular ulcer medication cimetidine (Tagamet) also appears to interfere with alcohol metabolism by suppressing enzyme activity.

The new findings intensify earlier warnings that drinking holds special risks for women. Labels on liquor bottles and placards in some restaurants and bars already caution that for a pregnant woman to drink can cause serious birth defects in her baby, including physical deformities and mental retardation. The new research indicates that women who are not pregnant need to take heed as well.

"For social drinkers," observes Dr. Lieber, "what is moderate drinking for men is not moderate drinking for women. To reach a given blood-alcohol level, women need to drink only about half of what men drink." Women should be especially aware of their greater sensitivity if they are driving or performing any other task that requires close attention or fine coordination.

What the study emphatically does not suggest is that men now have a green light to drink. Stresses Harvard's Mendelson: "This should not be taken in any sexist way -- that is, 'Men can handle it, women can't.' Men can tolerate alcohol in slightly higher doses than women, but that's about it. There are other factors that might mitigate this difference, for example, how one behaves when drunk." In other words, men may be better enzyme makers, but they are not better drinkers.

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CREDIT: TIME Chart by Joe Lertola

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