<p>Johnson181: I used a microwave, not a stovepot.</p>
<p>I think it’s called Alcohol Flush Reaction, but I don’t know much bout it, so I can’t argue with a scientific approach. Like 50%+ of Asians have it, so it’s quite common for us. People say that it’s unfortunate for me to have such a ‘condition’, but in a way I take it as an advantage…for example, getting red and feeling those hang over effects after a few drinks sucks, but it definitely controls/ameliorates how much you drink. My friends (who don’t have this flush reaction) drink uncontrollably, don’t get red, but suffer from hangover the next day.</p>
<p>I’ve never liked alcohol, I think the taste is so nasty and can’t understand why people love it so much, but I drink for social occasions and to ‘feel relaxed’ after a drink or two. Essentially, I think that this reaction is good because it doesn’t make drinking a bad habit (at least for me).</p>
<p>i have asian friends who immediately become red when they drink–so red i was scared when i saw them for the first time! it does not necessarily mean getting drunk more easily, it’s just that they lack this sort of cell/agent to break alcohol molecules more easily. it’s called alcohol flush reaction.</p>
<p>Isn’t it the other way round? They break alcohol into acetaldehyde (more toxic) extremely rapidly?</p>
<p>I’m Asian. But I don’t know if I’m more prone to hangovers because I haven’t tried any alcohol before. One thing I noticed though is that my dad is an alcoholic and he tends to drink in vast quantities per sitting. If genetics matter, I would likely have a high tolerance for alcohol in addition to being being more susceptible to becoming an alcoholic( which is bad).</p>
<p>hmm…I haven’t gotten “drunk” persay yet, but it’ll be interesting to find out what the effects of alcohol are upon me. I’m 1/2 Chinese and 1/2 Caucasian. My dad’s family is polish and my grandpa was a lifelong alcoholic to the extreme (and that whole side of the family drinks a lot). Mom’s side.. midget asians. No idea what their reaction to alcohol is. My biggest worry is that I will like alcohol too much. I have a huge affinity for non-alcoholic drinks already (any kind..I love drinks), and of the tiny bits of alcoholic drinks I’ve tried, I’ve really liked the tastes as well. A few of my asian friends have mentioned that they do get really flushed after drinking alcohol though…so odd</p>
<p>I’m Asian and I don’t feel hung over during drinking. I definitely get the asian flush though. Hangovers occurs randomly. I would say that I get them 25% of the time after heavy drinking. The other 75% of the time when I do drink heavily I tend to wake up earlier than usual in comparison to when I don’t drink, and I feel fine for the rest of the day. It’s kind of weird.</p>
<p>i’m asian and have never had a hung over while drinking either. that includes mixing various types of alcohol. no asian flush here either.</p>
<p>a gene that causes hang overs? I’m not so sure about that. Here is what a hang over is:</p>
<p>-Alcohol is hard for the liver to process, so your liver draws lots of water from your body to work extra hard. That is why you dehydrate. The majority of water that your liver pulls is from your brain since the brain is like a huge sponge! Your brain can loose upto 2% of its normal weight after a heavy night of drinking. I’m sure that is not comfortable.
-When intoxicated, your brain can not fall into the REM stage of sleep. The result in the morning is your brain hasn’t had enough hours of sleep.</p>
<p>So a hang over is a combination of your brain with a lack of fluid, and a lack of proper sleep. It doesn’t sound likely that a gene can control this “property” since its a combination of cause and effects, but i guess it is possible for a gene to make one of them a little worse when consumed alcohol. Not eeryone is the same to begin with anyhow.</p>
<p>I drank quite a lot in China this past summer (beer mostly) and I felt just fine…no hangover, nothing. I did try a few very intense wine and my parents laughed and said my face turned into a tomato. Haha</p>
<p>The dehydration issue is for people with the wild-type alleles - even normal enzymes need substrates. There’s a lot of organic chem with hydrolysis and group adding and whatnot. The brain is mostly fat, IIRC. I imagine the liver merely drains water from plasma. This affects blood molarity and pH of course, and messes up a lot of other processes.</p>
<p>I am not asian but I can’t drink wine - after 1/4 of a glass the worst headache in the world starts and lasts for about 24 hours. Other types of alcohol don’t affect me. However the same thing happens when I eat grapes. A nurse practitioner told me there is a component in the grape that some people react to. None of my migraine meds work for these headaches because the headaches are not caused by migraine. So…Can you eat grapes?</p>