Everyone's heard that some people have a better digestive system than others and that some beverages, no matter if alcoholic or not, are digested faster than others. Unfortunately, there's no accurate data on how long it takes different beverages to get processed.
It depends not only on whether it is alcoholic or not and whether it's carbonated or not but also on the individual peculiarities of each human body. Still, here's what you should know in terms of the stomach's digestion of various drinks:
- Whenever you're making yourself fresh-squeezed orange juice and wondering how long it'll take your body to digest it, know that it depends on whether the fruits and vegetables are acidic or basic because basic fruits and vegetables are processed much faster than acidic ones. For example, a human stomach processes fruits such as pineapple, cherries and grapefruit for about 2 hours and apples, carrots, bananas, watermelons and apricots - for about 3 hours. Surprisingly, no matter how soft a melon may seem, it takes the human body over 3 hours to digest it.
- Whenever you're buying prepackaged fruit juice, whether carbonated or not, always check to see what kinds of preservatives it has. For example, lactic acid, which is widely added to sodas, is very difficult for the body to digest. In fact, it is not recommended for children.
- When it comes to alcoholic beverages, the differences in the stomach's processing of the alcohol can vary quite a lot. It's quite possible for people who weigh less to be able to process alcohol faster than those who are overweight.
- According to most experts, it takes your body about 1 - 1.5 hours to process 3 1/3 tbsp (50 ml) vodka and 2/5 cup (100 ml) champagne, and less than an hour for 2 cups (500 ml) of beer. However, it takes about 3.5 - 4 hours to process 2/5 cup (100 ml) cognac and 4/5 cup (200 ml) wine. It takes the body even longer to digest hard liquor with beer, champagne or any other carbonated alcohol. Remember, these are just estimates and you don't need to test them in real life.
- Almost all carbonated drinks contain large quantities of sugar which is difficult to digest and plus creates a feeling of constant hunger.
