Alcohol

[Hockey Playa]

Just a random Question: I was wondering why alcohol is classified as a depressant? I figure more than half of people use it for pleasure, and it seems to put everyone in a good mood.
One thought i had was, that if alcohol was classified, as lets say a stimulant, there would be excessive usage, and more deaths, car accidents, etc....im sure there is a technical reason why its a depressant, probably a process in the brain, but it seems to have opposite effect on most people from my experience.

 

[Rollo Tomassi]

Alcohol has many interesting properties - it is both a stimulant and a depressant. In the first stages of intoxication a person experiences an enegry rush and even increased ability to focus, communicate, heightened sense of arousal, ncreased creativity and social confidence as inhibitions lower. It's not until the later stages of intoxication that alcohol acts as a depressant, essentially reversing everything listed above as your liver struggles to neutralize the toxicity of the alcohol in your bloodstream.

Alcohol is technically classified as a food since it is very calorie dense (though completely nutritionless).

 

[Docs]

Alcohol is also technically classified as a poison.
Ohh! Ohh! And I beatya didn't know that cigerettes are also poisonious!

 

[banGbro]

It slows down neuron exchange in your brain, thus depressant. On the contrary coke speeds up neuron exchange and thus stimulant.

Carbs 4 cal/gram
Alcohol 7 cal/gram
Fat 9 cal/gram


technically kcal, but we call it calorie.

 

[Gubby]

It slows down neuron exchange in your brain, thus depressant. On the contrary coke speeds up neuron exchange and thus stimulant.

Carbs 4 cal/gram
Alcohol 7 cal/gram
Fat 9 cal/gram


technically kcal, but we call it calorie.

Is it the same as taking the calories in other ways, as far as getting fat is concerned? Do you use up a significant amount of energy in metabolism?

 

[banGbro]

Its been a while when I studied nutrition in college. Here is link: http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa22.htm


You can look yourself, its called nutrient absorption. While sugars start to get absorbed in your mouth, proteins, fats, and I do believe alcohol are absorbed differentely.

 

[Riptastic]

Alcohol is also technically classified as a poison.
Ohh! Ohh! And I beatya didn't know that cigerettes are also poisonious!

That's interesting.