Often people say, "You're just not used to drinking. If you drink more, you'll naturally be able to hold your liquor." Is there any truth to this statement?
We know that the majority of alcohol (90%) is metabolized in the liver. The metabolic process is "ethanol → acetaldehyde → acetic acid → carbon dioxide and water." In this process, aldehyde dehydrogenase is the most crucial. It enables the oxidation of acetaldehyde to acetic acid and determines the rate of alcohol metabolism. The amount of aldehyde dehydrogenase in the human body is fixed and is mainly related to genetics. Therefore, from this perspective, one's tolerance for alcohol is unlikely to be "trained."
However, there are exceptions. Although the amount of aldehyde dehydrogenase in some people remains constant, its activity can be induced by alcohol. Regular drinking can increase the activity of this enzyme, thereby increasing alcohol tolerance. It should be noted that this is the case for a minority of people, and alcohol causes great harm to the liver. Therefore, it is still better to "train" less in daily life.