Understanding Alcohol Flushing Reactions

    You might have heard of the term "Asian Flush" or "Asian Glow" which is a term that refers to the reaction commonly shown in East Asians, that describes the facial flushing and side effects that occur when people drink. People who also take certain medications may also experience this flush. If you are a person who gets these symptoms, it is best to avoid certain activities. 

    

     For people who get symptoms such as facial flushing, nausea and an increased heart, your body most likely is not able to metabolize alcohol efficiently. The reason for that is due to the deficiency of Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 enzyme. This deficiency affects almost up to 50% of East Asians. This enzyme turns the alcohol into toxic chemicals, acetaldehyde. When this toxic chemical increase, it causes blood vessels to dilate, which causes the "Asian Glow," symptoms. 

Reports of flushing in East Asians dates over 10,000 years ago when rice was first being cultivated. Researchers found that over time there may have been a genetic mutation that causes reactions to alcohol consumption to protect these farmers from negative alcohol usage. 

If you're a person who experiences flushing, drinking should not be an activity to participate in because of the risk of cancer. The alcohol is producing what we know to be acetaldehyde, which is a carcinogen. A carcinogen is any substance or agent that causes cancer through DNA. Therefore, people who experience this flushing is at higher risk of cancer.

There is still a lot of research that needs to be done, but in conclusion if you experience flushing, there are certain activates and medications that should be avoided. 

Articles: 

https://ricecatalyst.com/discoveries/2020/11/the-asian-glow-explained

https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/alcohol-flush-reaction-does-drinking-alcohol-make-your-face-red#:~:text=Variations%20in%20the%20alcohol%20dehydrogenase,people%20of%20East%20Asian%20ancestry.

Alcohol can damage DNA and increase cancer risk

Scientist at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, gave diluted alcohol, ethanol, to mice. They then looked at the DNA sequencing and chromosome analysis to identify the genetic damage of acetaldehyde, which is a chemical produced when the body breaks down alcohol. Acetaldehyde was found to break down and damage DNA within blood stem cells leading to rearranged chromosomes and prominent alteration of DNA sequences. Damage of healthy stem cells leads to higher risk of developing cancers. It is important to understand that the body carries an enzyme, aldehyde dehydrogenase, that breaks down acetaldehyde into acetate but many people do not have this enzyme or carry a faulty form of it, particularly those from a South East Asian decent. When the effects of alcohol were monitored with mice lacking the ALDH enzyme were observed, it resulted in four times as much DNA damage in their cells compared to other mice. Obviously, there are also DNA repair mechanisms that can fix and repair DNA damage but these mechanisms and systems can sometimes be faulty. Thus, it will lead to more mutations in the body and eventually these can be harmful and cause cancers.

This was an interesting perspective to read about when it comes to binge drinking. I understood that binge drinking isn't good in general for your body but they did a great job explaining the effects it actually has. Essentially, binge drinking causes more mutations in the body that can eventually lead to cancers; specifically, it can lead to bowel and breast cancers. Perhaps, this could be why men are more susceptible to colon cancer because men binge drink much more than women do. I also find it interesting that there is so much contradicting research when it comes to alcohol; so much research has its beneficial effects of drinking and there is also tons that indicates how harmful it is for you.