High
Blood-Alcohol?...or a Zinc Deficiency?
Information
courtesy of Lawrence Taylor - DUIblog
So
you only had two beers, but the breathlyzer read .11%. What happened?
Well,
for starters, breath machines are generally inaccurate and unreliable.
Then again, maybe you had a dietary deficiency.
Scientific
research appears to indicate that a high blood-alcohol level may
not reflect alcohol consumption, but rather a deficiency of zinc
in the blood. In a study conducted at the University of North Dakota,
researchers discovered that the metabolism of alcohol was dramatically
affected by zinc intake. 46 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
688. For example, they found that for those subjects on a low zinc
diet, blood-alcohol levels increased rapidly within 15 minutes of
consumption of measured amounts of alcohol: roughly twice as much
alcohol was present in their blood as was present in those subjects
on normal zinc diets. Further, greater amounts of alcohol remained
in the blood for longer periods of time when there was a zinc deficiency.
Interestingly,
it has been discovered that individuals who regularly consume large
amounts of alcohol develop zinc deficiencies. This deficiency will,
of course, cause the higher alcohol concentration and slower elimination.
In other words, it is the problem drinker who is most likely to
have abnormal absorption and elimination of alcohol -- and abnormal
blood-alcohol test results.
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