Dr. Sarah Wakeman

You know, you may be stumbling, not able to drive safely. You're not going to make the same decisions you would make if you weren't drinking. And then if you keep drinking, then you get, you can actually lose consciousness. So pass out. And people have experienced that. Your body is going to try to break down alcohol as quickly as it's able to.

You know, you may be stumbling, not able to drive safely. You're not going to make the same decisions you would make if you weren't drinking. And then if you keep drinking, then you get, you can actually lose consciousness. So pass out. And people have experienced that. Your body is going to try to break down alcohol as quickly as it's able to.

Like anything, we want to kind of excrete any abnormality and get back to our normal functioning. And so that process happens mostly in your liver, which is why the liver is so sensitive to alcohol.

Like anything, we want to kind of excrete any abnormality and get back to our normal functioning. And so that process happens mostly in your liver, which is why the liver is so sensitive to alcohol.

Yes. I mean, you know, I know you talked about this, Dr. Lemke, but your body always wants to restore what's called homeostasis. Your body's always going to fight to get back to what it feels its normal is. And so ethanol is not something that belongs in your bloodstream. Your body's going to try to excrete it as fast as it can.

Yes. I mean, you know, I know you talked about this, Dr. Lemke, but your body always wants to restore what's called homeostasis. Your body's always going to fight to get back to what it feels its normal is. And so ethanol is not something that belongs in your bloodstream. Your body's going to try to excrete it as fast as it can.

And then it converts it into something called acetate, and then you can pee that out and breathe that out and get rid of it. So to eliminate the alcohol in your body, you have to go through this process. And part of that process includes this toxic molecule that's going to be floating around and causing damage to your cells. So that's one way that alcohol can cause cancer.

And then it converts it into something called acetate, and then you can pee that out and breathe that out and get rid of it. So to eliminate the alcohol in your body, you have to go through this process. And part of that process includes this toxic molecule that's going to be floating around and causing damage to your cells. So that's one way that alcohol can cause cancer.

The other is just general sort of inflammation. People have probably heard that inflammation is just not good for the body and increases the risk of cancer. And alcohol generates a lot of that inflammation in the process of getting eliminated. And so it can actually change your cells that over time that can lead to cancer.

The other is just general sort of inflammation. People have probably heard that inflammation is just not good for the body and increases the risk of cancer. And alcohol generates a lot of that inflammation in the process of getting eliminated. And so it can actually change your cells that over time that can lead to cancer.

Yeah, great question. So here's our little mannequin. So just to orient people to the body. So we're looking at the inside of the body. So like the ribs are gone. The outside of the skin is gone. These two pink things are the lungs. They kind of encase the heart. You can see the hearts behind the lungs pumping your blood. The liver is this brownish organ.

Yeah, great question. So here's our little mannequin. So just to orient people to the body. So we're looking at the inside of the body. So like the ribs are gone. The outside of the skin is gone. These two pink things are the lungs. They kind of encase the heart. You can see the hearts behind the lungs pumping your blood. The liver is this brownish organ.

It's on the right side of your body, right under your ribs. It's quite large. It's big. And it's an amazing organ. It is quite big. It processes much of what any kind of toxins that we take in, things that we eat, your glucose, alcohol, 90% of it's metabolized by the liver. So the liver is sort of the clearinghouse, getting rid of byproducts in your body.

It's on the right side of your body, right under your ribs. It's quite large. It's big. And it's an amazing organ. It is quite big. It processes much of what any kind of toxins that we take in, things that we eat, your glucose, alcohol, 90% of it's metabolized by the liver. So the liver is sort of the clearinghouse, getting rid of byproducts in your body.

The other are the kidneys, but the liver plays a huge role, especially in alcohol. So it sits right here.

The other are the kidneys, but the liver plays a huge role, especially in alcohol. So it sits right here.

Yeah, yeah, it is.

Yeah, yeah, it is.

Yeah, it's a giant organ. And it's an amazing organ. So you can actually cut out 80% of the liver and it would regrow itself. So kind of like those lizards that you cut off their tail and they regenerate a tail. The liver is fascinating. It's why we can do living liver transplant. So I could take half of your liver and give it to someone who needed a liver.

Yeah, it's a giant organ. And it's an amazing organ. So you can actually cut out 80% of the liver and it would regrow itself. So kind of like those lizards that you cut off their tail and they regenerate a tail. The liver is fascinating. It's why we can do living liver transplant. So I could take half of your liver and give it to someone who needed a liver.