Eating food while drinking alcohol may

• A. Increase the rate of intoxication
• B. Have no effect
• C. Slightly speed up the rate of intoxication
• D. Slow down the rate of intoxication

Answer: (D)

Eating food in the stomach slows how quickly alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream. When you have a meal, gastric emptying slows down and the alcohol mixes with the food, so less alcohol enters the small intestine at any given moment. Since most absorption occurs in the small intestine, this delay lowers the peak blood alcohol concentration and makes the onset of intoxication come on more gradually. This is why eating slows the rate of intoxication. It doesn’t prevent impairment, and drinking on an empty stomach can lead to faster intoxication. The other options don’t fit because they either claim no effect or the opposite effect on absorption.