Which statement is true about alcohol after ingestion?

Which statement is true about alcohol after ingestion?

• A. It must be digested like other foods.
• B. It is absorbed directly into the bloodstream without digestion.
• C. It is absorbed only in the liver.
• D. It is digested in the stomach before absorption.

Answer: (B)

Alcohol doesn’t need to be digested like most foods to be absorbed. After you drink, ethanol passes through the lining of the stomach and small intestine directly into the bloodstream. A small amount can be metabolized in the stomach, but the absorption into the blood happens without a digestion step. The liver then metabolizes the alcohol after it’s already in the bloodstream. That’s why the statement that alcohol is absorbed directly into the bloodstream without digestion is the best choice. The other ideas—that it must be digested before absorption, that it’s absorbed only in the liver, or that it’s digested in the stomach before absorption—don’t match how alcohol is absorbed.

Alcohol doesn’t need to be digested like most foods to be absorbed. After you drink, ethanol passes through the lining of the stomach and small intestine directly into the bloodstream. A small amount can be metabolized in the stomach, but the absorption into the blood happens without a digestion step. The liver then metabolizes the alcohol after it’s already in the bloodstream. That’s why the statement that alcohol is absorbed directly into the bloodstream without digestion is the best choice. The other ideas—that it must be digested before absorption, that it’s absorbed only in the liver, or that it’s digested in the stomach before absorption—don’t match how alcohol is absorbed.