Science | March 24, 2009 | 11 comments

Drinkers’ Red Face May Signal Cancer Risk

source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/24/health/24blush.html?ref=science

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Apocalipstick
People whose faces turn red when they drink alcohol may be facing more than embarrassment. The flushing may indicate an increased risk for a deadly throat cancer, researchers report.

The flushing response, which may be accompanied by nausea and a rapid heartbeat, is caused mainly by an inherited deficiency in an enzyme called ALDH2, a trait shared by more than a third of people of East Asian ancestry — Japanese, Chinese or Koreans. As little as half a bottle of beer can trigger the reaction.

The deficiency results in problems in metabolizing alcohol, leading to an accumulation of a toxin called acetaldehyde in the body. People with two copies of the gene responsible have such unpleasant reactions that they are unable to consume large amounts of alcohol. This aversion actually protects them against the increased risk for cancer.
  1. groups:
    Science,   Health,   Alcohol
  2. tags:
    Health,  Science,  Medicine,  Cancer,  2 more
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11 comments // Drinkers’ Red Face May Signal Cancer Risk

  • banditalamode
  • jeich55
    • 0
      jeich55  

    • people with red faces usually have their eyes bugged out also. and anti freeze breath. and dont live long. oh well worlds overpopulated anyway.

    • 3 years ago
  • keviar
  • gazinga
    • 0
      gazinga  

    • I heard that the redness is a reaction to acid which is produced from ingesting alcohol. Pepcid AC seems to work best to neutralize the acid and overcome the redness.

    • 3 years ago
  • Ares
    • 0
      Ares  

    • Actually a buddy of mine who's Korean always has a red face when he drinks. I had never heard anything relating it to cancer though. His doctor told him it just mean his body couldn't digest alcohol at 100% efficiency.

    • 3 years ago
  • khaichoo
    • 0
      khaichoo  
    • Ares:

      FACT! A good amount of Asians turn red simply b/c they do not possess the enzyme that breaks down alcohol, and hence the allergic reaction.

      I know firsthand when I turn beet red b/c I get strange looks from strangers.

    • 3 years ago
  • Soap
    • 0
      Soap  

    • I call bullshit. Just another media scare of another way you can die and how to live your life with extra anxiety.

    • 3 years ago
  • alivein85
  • Soap
    • 0
      Soap  
    • Soap:

      possibly, or maybe I don't think all my asian friends who drink are all at risk for cancer because of a single thing related to this bogus article that generalized such a common symptom to a deadly disease in order to gain views.

      whew, run-on sentences drain me.

    • 3 years ago
  • bo6us
    • 0
      bo6us  

    • hmmm this happens to me but only with certain things like jack, and some kinds of beer....but im not Asian. very strange,

    • 3 years ago
  • Alex_French
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