A.z.n Glow

The Asian glow. The Vietnamese Scarlet. The Red Face Victim.

After one sip of a drink, I start to get flushed. Though not as bad as my friend Tsz-ying (G), housemate TN and my big bro TT. Their eyes will get bloodshot, and their face will turn a disturbing shade of red. My G’burg genetic professor Dr. KH would sometimes turn purple, so I’ve heard, yeah. My friends would judge on how drunk we are by how red we get. It’s an allergy, but a mild one. I mean that it’s perfectly normal, natural. It's really not that attractive. Sometimes I will get wasted off of one drink (I’m definitely financially stable in that department), and sometimes I can handle up to 7, but even that is pushing it for me. Why does this happen, you may ask? Well, apparently some Asians lack the enzyme that properly metabolizes alcohol. It often results from a genetic change in an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase, which is one of a number of molecules that break down alcohol in the liver. Body weight does come in context too, but the face color scheme is an instant recognition. The actual scientific reasoning can be found here and here.

Many Asians have a slower than average aldehyde dehydrogenase to get rid of acetaldehyde. It’s as if I was working at a factory where I had to package 24 crayons in a box. Since I count slowly (don’t ask), it would take me longer get a box ready than Rosie the Riveter at the assembly line to my right, and I would have a bunch of crayons piling up in front of me. In alcohol catabolism, the slow enzyme results in a buildup of acetaldehyde which in turns makes some Asians radiate that warm, fuzzy glow of alcohol-induced joy.
Before everybody who turns red gets alarmed, acetaldehyde is toxic, but the amounts in the body after consuming a couple of drinks is still low. The effects are generally limited to flushed face and nausea. As can be demonstrated by looking at the demographics of almost any party, Asians can consume alcohol just fine. In fact, many Asians who suffer from the slow enzyme are also blessed with a fast metabolism, which lowers the time alcohol affects the body. Genes are funny like that….

It's true, some Asians are affected more than others, sometimes not at all. That's me, the glow victim. My other Asian friend, NQ, sneezes and gets watery eyes. My brother, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, drinks like no tomorrow because he has no effect to the azn glow. I sometimes won’t drink around people I don’t know. Besides being a desi driver, the glow is not attractive.