Why champagne makes you drunk

But there was no difference in how the two drinks affected memory or general reaction times. At the end of the experiment, the bubbly drinkers were visibly worse for wear. It emphasises the importance of not drinking anything before driving, says Ridout. For non-drivers, one trick to avoid getting so plastered is to drink champagne from a shallow goblet. The large surface area allows the bubbles to dissipate quickly, whereas flutes preserve the fizz New Scientist magazine, 25 December But it remains a mystery why bubbly gets you drunk quicker.

Normally, we absorb 20 per cent of any alcohol we drink in the stomach and the remainder in the intestines. One theory is that carbon dioxide in the bubbles somehow speeds the flow of alcohol into the intestines. By Andy Coghlan Take care if you are planning to toast the New Year with champagne — the bubbles in this most celebratory of tipples really do get you drunk more quickly.

Costly wait with dementia symptoms. Chicken checked for BSE. New hope for Aids vaccine. Campaign to end stigma of mental illness. Parents to sue over epilepsy row. Links to more Health stories are at the foot of the page. You are in: Health. Front Page. UK Politics. Background Briefings. While the stomach absorbs some alcohol, the intestines are far more efficient at shuttling the substance into our blood, Heymann said.

So, the longer alcohol hangs out in the stomach, the less drunk you become. This process is controlled by the pyloric sphincter, a kind of gate that opens to let food exit into the intestines or closes to let it digest in the stomach. That's why it's a good idea to eat an appetizer with your champagne: "If you eat food with your alcohol, that slows down the process and you get less drunk," Heymann told Live Science.

The sphincter closes to let the food digest. As a result, your blood absorbs the alcohol over a longer period of time, Heymann said. As for why spirits make us drunk less quickly than weaker drinks: scientists hypothesize that high alcohol concentrations irritate the lining of our stomach, causing it to produce mucus. Mimicking food, the mucus causes the pyloric sphincter to remain closed. Carbonation could trigger the pyloric sphincter to open sooner than it would otherwise, emptying the contents of the stomach into the intestines, Heymann said.

There are some studies to suggest that carbonation does shorten the amount of time food and drink stays in the stomach. However, much of this research was conducted in the early-to-mid 20th century.

More recent studies suggest that carbonated and flat beverages spend the same amount of time in the stomach. So, if you're hoping to enjoy a glass of champagne on Valentine's Day, you probably don't need to worry about an extra bad hangover as long as you're consuming in moderation, of course.

To act on the safe side, go ahead and pair your beverage with a bite to eat — maybe a box of chocolates. Originally published on Live Science.