The Asian Glow What Is It?

Hey guys

Ok, this post may be a little shorter than previous posts but for all my Asian readers out there this post may be useful.

So you are reading my blog right now as you are looking for ways to cure your blushing right?

But what if you are diagnosing yourself wrong, or the doctors have it wrong and you are putting all this time and energy into searching for a cure for your red face.

So my question to you is????

Are you Japanese? Chinese? Korean? are you East Asian?

If so and if you have not heard of it you may simply be suffering from Asian Glow also known as Asian Flush, East Asian flush reaction, or East Asian flush syndrome.

Asian people typically suffer from a red face that is very much aggravated after drinking alcohol. The main reason why Asians suffer from a red face is that of genetics, nearly 36% of northeast Asians are lacking in an enzyme that metabolizes alcohol. This is caused by a gene mutation called ALDH2.

East Asian bodies are not metabolising alcohol efficiently because of the inactive enzyme ALDH2. The body needs two enzymes to effectively break down alcohol and these are alcohol dehydrogenase and Acetaldehyde dehydrogenase ALDH2.

So the alcohol dehydrogenase works by converting alcohol into acetaldehyde, and then the Acetaldehyde dehydrogenase ALDH2 breaks down acetaldehyde into non-harmful compounds.

A build-up of acetaldehyde is the cause of blood vessels widening and dilating causing facial flushing.

( in fact I was just wondering if you are Asian or not, I wonder if us facial flushing sufferers who are not Asian have higher levels of acetaldehyde in the body?. Food for thought I’m going to check that out 🙂 )

So the build-up of Acetaldehyde causes the Asian flushing syndrome, but as well as cosmetic Asian flush can be dangerous. Acetaldehyde is more toxic than alcohol and it is a known cancer agent.

If you are of East Asian descent and drink more than 4 units of alcohol per day, because of the higher levels of ALDH2 in the body your risk of getting cancer is ten times that of a person with normal levels of ALDH2 in their body. Asian flush sufferers are at most risk of oesophageal and stomach cancers but are also at risk from peptic ulcers.

So if you are East Asian lookout for a flushed face, feeling sick, severe headaches and a racing heartbeat after you have had a few beers, wines, spirits etc.

You can also measure the level of flush reaction to alcohol, to do this you need to know what level of Acetaldehyde is in your bloodstream.  You can find out these levels through a blood test or a breathalyzer test.

If you wish to avoid the cosmetic symptoms of East Asian flush syndrome, then I was reading that Antihistamines can help.

If you want to avoid the higher chance of developing oesophageal cancer, then, of course, it would be best to totally avoid larger quantities of alcohol.

Ok that’s it for now

If you are looking to cure your blushing go here 

Cheers

Zach