Effects - What is the effect of consuming food in which alcohol is mixed?

[robert27189]

Suppose we happen to consume food in which alcohol is mixed, what will be the effect on our body? After how much time will we feel the impact of alcohol? Is there any difference in the time duration of alcohol absorbtion in our blood and its eventual impact on our brain when we consume food in which alcohol is mixed compared to consuming alcohol directly? Suppose if alcohol is mixed in food (especially spicy food) without our knowledge, can we make it out by taste? A few days back, I ate Pav Bhaji (a bread like dish) with Channa Masala (a very spicy dish) as side dish around 6:00 PM in evening. I suspect that my friends could have mixed some alcohol in Channa masala without my knowldege. I did not feel any noticeable difference in taste. I also did not feel much difference in my feelings for about 1 hour. But at around 7:30 PM (around 1.5 hours after eating), I started feeling somewhat drowsy with decreased attention and wanted to sleep. I also did not feel much hungry though I ate my dinner. I soon fell asleep but when I woke up in the mid night, I felt some mild headache and vomiting sensation. I also felt some saliva like fluid coming from my throat for some time the next morning. Could it be the effect of alcohol? Kindly shed some light on this. Thanks in advance.

[SmokeRings]

When cooking with alcohol, once it's heated, one does not get "drunk" or any effects. The heat stops that dead in it's tracks. Its for flavor only. You did not get drunk or get a buzz, placebo all the way.

[shivakiva2112]

What you experienced may have been due to one or a combination of the spices, also, if there were any dairy in the pav bhaji, that could contribute. It sounds like a mild reaction to the food. No alcohol though.

[Desertfox]

Well some alcohol could remain even if heat was applied, if heated for a short amount of time not all of the alcohol would have evaporated and still remain in the food that then in turn is consumed by you and metabolized in your stomach and taken into you brain through the blood brain barrier. But having said that it most likely would of been such a small amount remaining in the food that noticeable effects could not be discerned, and if one did experience a drunkeness it's probably better explained by a placebo effect and not psychoactive effect from the alcohol.

[Mikeymc]

I think the important question that needs to be asked, is was the dish that was prepared with alcohol heated(cooked) If so most of the alcohol most likely would burn off.

Best wishes

[robert27189]

Actually, the food was NOT cooked with alcohol. I suspect that my friends could have mixed some alcohol in that side dish without my knowledge while I was eating. They were asking me lots of questions and so my eyes were not always on the pate while I was answering them. So in that case, if they had mixed some alcohol when I was not seeing, could it lead to the effects that I mentioned or could the effetcs be because of something else?

[shivakiva2112]

^You would surely have tasted it, any amount of spirits in any sufficient quantity to cause intoxication would be very hard to miss, tastewise.

[SmokeRings]

No joke! This post is very odd to SWIM, dosing someone w/alcohol in their food, uncooked? Seems like some OTC sleeping pills crushed up would make more sense. Who thinks of this stuff anyway?

[Potter]

yeah, there's little doubt that you would have noticed alcohol in those two dishes. Had it been some sort of desert, it might have been possible to add a sweet cordial with out raising suspicion, but yeah, not those foods. At the very least you would have noticed them being all wet.

Do you know these people well? Why do you think they would have done this?

[robert27189]

Thanks for the replies.

Actually Channa masala is a liquid side dish with peas, onions and lots of spices added to it. So if alcohol is mixed in that, can we always make out by looking and tasting it?

Also I have heard that certain alcoholic beverages like Vodka does not have much odour and taste. If those kind of drinks are added in our side dish, can we feel the difference while tasting and can we make out the presence of alcohol?

I know these people very well. They are my own close colleauges in my office. Actually the person who was sitting beside me while eating in the bakery frequently carries alcoholic drink even in the workplace in a non transparent water bottle.

Only they know why they do it to me. May be they want me to be more social and talkative. I do not know what is in their mind.

But I do not want this to happen because I am afraid that I may end up losing some of my positive attributes (like cognitive ability and thought process etc), since alcohol is known to affect a person's intellectual and mental abilities.