# Developing a tolerance to alcohol **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 20, 2004, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/developing-a-tolerance-to-alcohol/256004 "2004-07-20T14:55:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/developing-a-tolerance-to-alcohol/256004/1 "2004-07-20T14:55:27Z")
If I wanted to get back into “fighting trim,” like I was in college, or going out with some football hooligans, how would I best decrease my “one beer knocks me out” tolerance? Would I best go one a controlled course (one today, two tomorrow, etc.)? Should I just high-tail it down to the liquor store and pick up a 30 pack of Old Style and see how quickly I can go through that? Better off with a fifth of Jack? I assume that any tolerance developed will mean that I’m damaging things that shouldn’t be damaged no matter how “controlled” I make my “training.” ---
**Author:** ![SiXSwordS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/developing-a-tolerance-to-alcohol/256004/2 "2004-07-20T16:55:24Z")
I’m not sure I should be replying to this; I have no medical or chemical expertise and all my “experience” should be nullified by by my… “experience.” Unfortunately, I do have some experience… I think the best way to increase your tolerance is to stay drunk for as long as possible. Pass out? Start drinking as soon as you wake up. Better yet, just slow down when you start to get really messy and maybe eat a little; but don’t get sober! ☹ Can’t believe I just wrote that. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![PaulFitzroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2acd7d/32.png) [@PaulFitzroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulFitzroy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/developing-a-tolerance-to-alcohol/256004/3 "2004-07-20T18:35:18Z")
> [@](#): > > If I wanted to get back into “fighting trim,” like I was in college, or going out with some football hooligans, how would I best decrease my “one beer knocks me out” tolerance? Change your name to O’Connor. Or McSweeney. Or Fitzroy 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/developing-a-tolerance-to-alcohol/256004/4 "2004-07-20T21:16:36Z")
> [@Chairman Pow](#): > > I assume that any tolerance developed will mean that I’m damaging things that shouldn’t be damaged no matter how “controlled” I make my “training.” Certain hepatic enzymes are used to metabolize alcohol. The production of these enzymes (dehydrogenase?) is “induced” or increased on exposure to alcohol. The induction of certain enzymes has nothing to do with your body being damaged. As far as the most efficient way to build tolerance, sorry no advice. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/developing-a-tolerance-to-alcohol/256004/5 "2004-07-20T21:40:51Z")
Someone who can regularly consume intoxicating amounts of alcohol while being able to conduct a somewhat normal life, or maintain a rather normal outward appearance are known as functional alcoholics. Surely this is not what you want for yourself. If you’d just like to be able to prolong the drinking experience when out with a group, have a glass of water between each drink. This makes it nearly impossible (at least for me) to get arseholed. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/developing-a-tolerance-to-alcohol/256004/6 "2004-07-21T00:50:27Z")
Stick with the hard stuff, says I. Beer is fun and all, but I can never be satisfied with it as a primary intoxication source. Better to have a few rounds of shots, or some cocktails, and then finish off the night with some brewskies. But, yeah. Get the fifth of Jack, drink, oh, a quarter or a third of it (depending on how much you weigh). That should get you REALLY plastered, good 'n hammered, without making you sick (as long as you drink it over the course of an hour or two). Do this a couple times a week, and by the end of the week, you’ll be able to down half that bottle without too much trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/developing-a-tolerance-to-alcohol/256004/7 "2004-07-21T03:35:31Z")
> [@vetbridge](#): > > Certain hepatic enzymes are used to metabolize alcohol. The production of these enzymes (dehydrogenase?) is “induced” or increased on exposure to alcohol. The induction of certain enzymes has nothing to do with your body being damaged. No liver failure? The reason I ask was I was reading AMONG THE THUGS and there is a story of a guy whom the author observed drinking 18 pints, four [presumably pint] cans and a “better part of a bottle of Tesco vodka” and didn’t appear to be terribly impared. I talked to a kid in a bar in Prague who claimed to drink 12 liters of beer a day. He claimed his father drank 24 (my memory is fuzzy, he probably said 12 .5 liters/day). The kid, assuming that he was honest and somehwere near his limit was pretty lucid. I was just idly wondering (or perhaps not so idly as I posted about it…). ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/developing-a-tolerance-to-alcohol/256004/8 "2004-07-21T04:06:52Z")
I suppose 12 half liters isn’t that outrageous. I’m just a little boy of 17, and I went through 17 1/3 liters in one night. I even navigated my way with the subway in a foreign town home. And then made it to the bed. And then had to get up to go to the bathroom to throw up. Whoops. But the point is, that’s possible even when I haven’t built up an alcohol tolerance. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/developing-a-tolerance-to-alcohol/256004/9 "2004-07-21T04:17:20Z")
> [@Chairman Pow](#): > > No liver failure? Well. I think _some_ tolerance is achieved early in the downward spiral. The _degree_ of tolerance increases with increased exposure. My initial reading of the OP lead me to believe that you were gonna do some mild to moderate partying, not going out in flames ala` _Leaving Las Vegas_. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/developing-a-tolerance-to-alcohol/256004/10 "2004-07-21T05:32:36Z")
> [@SiXSwordS](#): > > I’m not sure I should be replying to this; I have no medical or chemical expertise and all my “experience” should be nullified by by my… “experience.” Unfortunately, I do have some experience… > I think the best way to increase your tolerance is to stay drunk for as long as possible. Pass out? Start drinking as soon as you wake up. Better yet, just slow down when you start to get really messy and maybe eat a little; but don’t get sober! > > ☹ Can’t believe I just wrote that. :smack: As a recpvering alcoholic I also have some experience in this field. My method was to have some measurable amount of alcohol in my bloodstream at all times. That way, when I got drunker it wasn’t so noticeable. I was the paradigm for that joke, “Everybody needs an eyeopener. A little midmorning snort to get through to noon is OK. And of course buisiness relations require a couple of Martinis at lunch. For sure, everyone knows that you can’t get through the long afternoon without a little help. Brandy or wine after dinner is standard and a night cap is almost mandatory. But this sip, sip, sip all day long just has just got to stop.” ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/developing-a-tolerance-to-alcohol/256004/11 "2004-07-21T06:16:46Z")
Well, unfortunately, both **vetbridge** and **David Simmons** are correct. It takes regular alcohol consumption over a long period of time to condition the liver to more and more efficiently process the alcohol in your system. It took me ten years of drinking a six pack a night before I got to the point where I was putting away twelve packs. And then I started on the hard stuff, and discovered I could consume a half a liter a night before passing out. Not adviseable… ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/developing-a-tolerance-to-alcohol/256004/12 "2004-07-21T08:12:48Z")
B12, baby, B12. ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/developing-a-tolerance-to-alcohol/256004/13 "2004-07-21T20:10:06Z")
> [@vetbridge](#): > > Well. I think _some_ tolerance is achieved early in the downward spiral. The _degree_ of tolerance increases with increased exposure. My initial reading of the OP lead me to believe that you were gonna do some mild to moderate partying, not going out in flames ala` _Leaving Las Vegas_. The question itself was just as you suspect; average college student/soccer fan partying. After reading the rest of the thread though…damn, I’m glad I gave up drinking! (After being a average college student for a couple of years) ---
**Author:** ![WILLASS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/54ee81/32.png) [@WILLASS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WILLASS)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/developing-a-tolerance-to-alcohol/256004/14 "2004-07-21T21:19:34Z")
I think the best way to go is to have a big, stodgy meal before you go out (something with mashed potatoe or similar) then to drink an alcholic drink followed by a non-alcoholic drink throughout the night. I also find that if I drink 330ml bottles instead of pints I can actually drink all night without getting too drunk. ---
**Author:** ![YEP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/43a26b/32.png) [@YEP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YEP)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2004, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/developing-a-tolerance-to-alcohol/256004/15 "2004-07-22T03:09:59Z")
Workout. Increasing your metabolism will also increase your body’s ability to absorb and process alcohol. Works for me, after weeks of working out I notice I can drink more. Also less hangovers. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2004, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/developing-a-tolerance-to-alcohol/256004/16 "2004-07-22T04:35:27Z")
The best way to raise tolerance to alcohol is to weigh as much as possible. If you want to be in shape, take up body-building! Muscle weighs more than fat, so theoretically, a 250 pound muscle man should be able to to knock back just as much booze as a 250 pound slob, yet look much better!🙂 My “cite” for this is my own experience. At the end of my junior year in high school I weighed 172 pounds, but man, I was ripped!! Veins popping out of my biceps and everything, due to working out for sports. At the end of my senior year (no sports, no mandatory gym class) I weighed 155, but looked over weight. Also, my drinking ability shrunk. A sixer could keep me occupied all weekend. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2004, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/developing-a-tolerance-to-alcohol/256004/17 "2004-07-22T05:15:53Z")
If it’s just beer drinking, I suggest no more than getting a decent buzz (not drunk) all five days prior to the event, followed by a hearty meal just before the event. This should do it. Don’t do shots (if possible) and certainly don’t violate the “beer before hard you’re in the yard, hard before beer you’re in the clear” rule. If it’s hard liquor, eat lots of bread products often. Obviously nurse every drink you get, watering it down whenever neccesary. Take as many piss breaks as you can, and don’t be afraid to add water to your drink in the bathroom. ---
**Author:** ![hammerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hammerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammerbach)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2004, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/developing-a-tolerance-to-alcohol/256004/18 "2004-07-22T05:56:25Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > … > Take as many piss breaks as you can, and don’t be afraid to add water to your drink in the bathroom. Please keep these two thoughts separate.