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| Alcohol Reactions Are Common Amongst The Asian Population |
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Alcohol reaction or alcohol flush reaction is also commonly referred to Asian Flush, Asian Glow, Oriental Flush and Russian Glow. It is a condition of the face and/or body in which the it produces blotches or flushing caused by missense polymorphism which erodes the enzyme responsible for the break down of the product that metabolizes alcohol. It is a condition which causes the resulting protein to become nonfunctional. The actual flushing is caused by the dilation of capillaries in the face, neck, and shoulder and can even be found in the rest of the body after consuming alcohol. Past research has proven that a person that has these alcohol reactions is deficient in acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2). It has also shown that these people that are deficient in ALDH2 has a 6 to 10 times greater chance of developing esophageal cancer, as compared to a person that is not deficient in the enzyme.
Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) is responsible for the conversion of the primary alcohol to baldheads. These are then changed to carboxylic acids by aldehyde dehydrogenase. The alcohol that is consistent in called ethanol, it is first converted into acetaldehyde then into acetic acid. The most toxic of the three compounds is acetaldehyde, and is a likely carcinogenic. About half of all people of Asian decent are said to be afflicted with an alcohol reaction condition. The flushing can take place after only one or two drinks, and can even lead to nausea, headaches, an increased pulse, itchy skin and on occasion, swelling.
Some evidence suggests that taking a heart burn medication like Pepcid AC or Zantac, before alcohol consumption can help to prevent some of the symptoms that the body produces. These heartburn medications contain ranitidine or famotidine and it is theorized that because these components are H2-antagonists or H2 antihistamines that are used to treat gastric ulcers. If the people that have alcohol reactions do so because of an allergic reaction, then this theory would explain why they can control the redness, but they do not have anything to do with reducing the blood concentrations of histamine, so this theory is often disputed.
Another possible explanation is that the acetaldehyde causes the redness and vasodilatation and the H2-antagonist medication inhibits the ADH enzyme in the GI tract and in the liver, the changes happen at a much slower rate, thus reducing the effects of the alcohol reaction. It has been shown that the acetaldehyde is the cause of the alcohol reaction and the resulting flush. It is also shown through clinical use that the use of Antabuse, the drug used to treat alcoholism which blocks the acetaldehyde from the body by way of ALDH inhibition.
While the majority of people afflicted with a alcohol reaction have stated that they can lessen the effects by conditioning their body with more moderate drinking which may lead to increased ALDH2 metabolizes acetaldehyde. As mentioned before, acetaldehyde is a carcinogen which puts those affected at a much higher risk of developing digestive track and esophageal cancers as well as liver disease. There has been some promising results shown on tests done on rats. With an increased consumption of carbohydrates it dramatically increases the metabolism of ethanol via an unknown pathway.
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