Is it true? Do asians get drunk faster?

[Soggybagel]

I swear I read a while ago that they metabolise alcohol slower or something to that effect. I was just wondering if anyone knew for sure?

[VitaminH]

It doesn't apply to all Asians. Asains have a higher rate of a genetic trait that causes them to not produce as many of the enzymes that break down alcohol.

[tellumFS]

A Chinese friend of mine made that claim awhile ago...And for him, anyways, it seemed true. A glass of wine and he was on his way.

[Ripsaw]

Hot date tonight?

And yes, it is generally true. A lot of factors come into play, like age, bodyweight, overall physical health, and practice. I hold my liquor very well.

[superiorrain]

I met a few that can drink like fish then again i met some that stummble and fall after two drinks. Depends on many factors but still think in general they can take less than other races. One thing is true however that alcohol consumption in Japan is on the decrease and their whiskey is brewed in a similar way to scottish whiskey.

[bill96ab]

vitaminH speaks the trugh. there is a particular enzyme that breaks EtOH down. it is called alcohol dehydrogenase... and some who lack this actualy get flushed, and vomit with very little consumption.

[Supple Cow]

Alcohol dehydrogonase-2 is the enzyme and having it be inactive is a trait that is more common among in people of Asian and also, to a lesser extent, Jewish descent. So says my notebook from biology last year.

[Mephisto2]

Yes, it is true (to an extent). More correctly, many Asians with a defective ALDH2 gene, get ill quicker; they cannot metabolize the alcohol very well.

http://chemcases.com/alcohol/alc-06.htm
http://www.indiana.edu/~rcapub/v17n3/p18.html
http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/127/5/376


Mr Mephisto

[FngKestrel]

My mom can drink like a fish, but my dad smells alcohol and turns red. Alas, I hold my liquor better than my dad, but I still qualify as a cheap date.

Pepto or Pepcid supposedly negates the redness.

[irateplatypus]

i know that condition is present in a lot of asians... but certainly not all. i backpacked japan this summer. you wouldn't believe how much some of those 140 lbs. businessmen can take down. it really was quite remarkable.

[Mephisto2]

Yes, but they have terrible hangovers later... :-)

It's not that they get drunk easier (which a lot of them do also), but that there's an actual genetic mutation in the Aldehyde Dehydrogenase enzyme which makes metabolizing alcohol that bit harder.

Of course, with international travel so frequent now, all our genes are getting mixed up these days.

There's a joke in there somewhere about mixing "genes" and socks...


Mr Mephisto

[Suave]

Asians and North American aboriginals are both more prone to intoxication or other alcohol-related issues than Caucasians.

And superior: it's "whisky".

[KellyC]

This applies to me, I'm buzzed after 3 beers, drunk afer 5...I never go beyond this magical number so I dunno what happens next. I may have to find out soon

[welshbyte]

I saw a scientific tv program about this once. The reason behind it, they said, is that in the old days when water wasnt very pure, the "west" purified their water by brewing it and the "east" boiled it and made tea or whatever. Its understandable that it doesnt apply to all asians but an on-average difference is clear. I guess you can imagine the people in the west who couldnt take their ale drinking dirty water (probably every day) and dying so it made the ones who produced a lot of that enzyme which breaks down alcohol to be the ones who were more likely to reproduce.

[jorgelito]

Ah yes, the tell-tale signs of "Asian Glow", from light pink to deep red hue.

So besides the lack-of-enzymes, mutant-gene deficiency, metabolic haywire, why do Asians turn red (or some turn red) at the mere whiff of alchol? Is cause the alcohol doesn't process correctly so it "flushes" to the skin?

Incidently, I think the Japanese are the only ones that can run out of alcohol on a filght. They keep handcuffs on board cause some them get a little rowdy.

[jaded]

i read somewhere it has to do with enzymes, or the lack thereof. two kinds of enzymes can be more likely missing in asians (as compared to other races). one breaks down alcohol -- without it, you don\'t necessary get drunk faster but the alcohol instantly hits your face/neck. the other has to do with digesting dairy products. without it, you get diarrhea after drinking milk for example. it\'s not a universal problem for asian. i have lots of friends who can drink bottles of liquor without getting drunk. as for myself, my face turns red with a sip of beer. fortunately, i am fine with milk...

[fckm]

Heh, I'm drunk right now! and I only had two glasses of hard cider.
Then again, I didn't have any dinner, so...

[bermuDa]

Originally Posted by Suave

And superior: it's "whisky".

In america, we typically spell it with the "e".


A Scotsman who spells
Whisky with a n ‘e’,
should be hand cuffed
and thrown head first in the Dee.

In the USA and Ireland,
it’s spelt with an ‘e’
but in Scotland
it’s real ‘Whisky’.

So if you see Whisky
and it has an ‘e’,
only take it,
if you get it for free!

For the name is not the same
and it never will be,
a dram is only a real dram,
from a bottle of ‘Scotch Whisky’.

[Janey]

Well, i get flushed, and hot, not quite a scarlet colour. I tend not to drink too much because if it, because of one vomiting incident in front of Douglas Library on campus... good thing there were bushes. All of my family is the same. We come from Canton (Guangzhou) area.

As for other asians... I don't know about Philippinos or Sri Lankans or Indians or all the tribes around Burma through Vietnam.. But In know that us, and the Koreans, and Japanese all have this similar problem...

[Ydde]

See. It's not my fault that I got drunk. It's in the genes!

Seriously, it only require a few drinks to make me dizzy. That's why I generally avoid alcohol and as a result I have not experience being drunk.

[stonegrody]

My Asian friends are all lightweights so maybe it is true. Maybe the opposite is true about Hispanics. It takes a lot for me to get drunk and I'm not a big guy. *shrug*

[Suave]

Originally Posted by jorgelito

Ah yes, the tell-tale signs of "Asian Glow", from light pink to deep red hue.

So besides the lack-of-enzymes, mutant-gene deficiency, metabolic haywire, why do Asians turn red (or some turn red) at the mere whiff of alchol? Is cause the alcohol doesn't process correctly so it "flushes" to the skin?

Incidently, I think the Japanese are the only ones that can run out of alcohol on a filght. They keep handcuffs on board cause some them get a little rowdy.

It's probably because alcohol is a vasodilator and more blood is moved to the capillaries in the face, which just happens more quickly to a lot of Asians because they're more prone to alcoholic side-effects.

Bermuda: It's not that Americans spell it with an e, it's that American whiskey is spelled with an e. Canadian and Scottish is spelled without one, no matter where you are.

[Cynthetiq]

Not for me.. I need plenty in excess of 8-9 shots to get me well liquored up... 3-4 for just a decent buzz....

[yellowchef]

It all depends on the person, Im part Jap and have a tiny bit of Native American in me as well and the smell of alcohol will turn me red within the hour. Im definately a cheap date as well and if by some magic I get a 6 pack down.... oh boy.. someone better be around to hold my hair.

It all has to do with genetics, the gene mutation is more dominant than the heredity of alcoholism. My dad is a recovering alcoholic and he can still drink a TON and be fine.. me a drink or 2 and Im well on my way to lala land. My mom doesnt get as flush as I do, and neither does my brother. I turn a skin cancer 3rd degree sunburn red and it spreads about my body as I drink and time goes on lol. Im also the most fair skinned of my family. But Asians and Native Americans can be, easier to get drunk. hehehehe..

[ChrisJericho]

I am half whitey and half japanese. I definitely got the white genes, I don't turn red and I can put teh booze away.

[yellowchef]

I got the whitey skin tone, and the whitey fatness, but alcohol makes me sooooooo red.

[punx1325]

Yep it's true, I watched my roommate drink once. Well lets just say he never drank after that day...