The effect of oral administration of various sugars on blood ethanol concentrations in man

Abstract

Abstract Urine output and blood ethanol concentrations have been measured in volunteers for 2 h after the administration of a standard oral dose of ethanol (0.798 g kg−1) given 30 min after a large oral dose of one of several sugars in 200 ml water. Both fructose (125 g) and sorbitol (125 g) produced large reductions in urine output and blood-ethanol concentrations for the duration of the experiment when compared with controls. Galactose (125 g) had a similar but transient effect and smaller doses of fructose (62.5 g) were without these actions. It is concluded that the effects observed can be explained in terms of alterations in absorption of ethanol and water from the gastrointestinal tract.