If you have a friend who turns bright red when they’ve had a bit to drink it could be a sign of something more than simply increased temperature.
Turns out the phenomenon has a name – the ‘alcohol flush reaction’, and has nothing to do with feeling the heat from a packed nightclub or feeling a hot flush from a good time.
The condition results in a heightened heart rate, headache and nausea as well as for causing a red face (it can also affect the neck and even the whole body).
People who turn red when they drink alcohol lack activity by an enzyme called aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2).
Alcohol or ethanol is broken down or converted in the liver to acetaldehyde, a highly toxic compound that contributes to the feeling of being hungover, reports Wales Online .
In most people, acetaldehyde is rapidly transformed to harmless acetate and water.
But for some people the toxic acetaldehyde isn’t broken down as quickly so it hangs around and accumulates in the liver and body — resulting in the red glow.
These people are at higher risk of the bad effects of alcohol, both immediately and in later life. They could also be at higher risk of mouth and throat cancer. Acetaldehyde is more toxic than alcohol and a known cancer-causing agent.
And a Korean study suggests people who flush after drinking could be more vulnerable to the harmful effects of alcohol on blood pressure.
The reaction is sometimes known as 'Asian flush'.
Alcohol flush reaction is a genetic condition, thought to have originated in East Asia, and more specifically China, and spread, The Mirror reported . There is no cure and prevention would include simply not drinking alcohol.
A study by the US Department of Health and Human services showed the ‘alcohol flush’ is linked with an increased risk of esophageal cancer in East Asians. It advises limiting alcohol consumption.