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Is Rice Domestication to Blame for Red-Faced Asians?
ScienceNOW Daily News ^ | January 20, 2010 | Michael Balter

Posted on 02/04/2010 6:31:23 PM PST by SunkenCiv

If your face turns red after drinking just one glass of wine, blame ancient Chinese farmers. Researchers are reporting that the "Asian Flush" mutation cropped up just as rice was first being domesticated, and it may have protected early farmers from the harms of drinking too much. But some other scientists urge caution, saying that the dates may not match up.

When you drink, enzymes in the liver known as alcohol dehydrogenases (ADHs) convert alcohol to an organic compound called acetaldehyde; another enzyme then converts acetaldehyde to acetic acid. But about 50% of Asians and 5% of Europeans have mutations in these enzymes that can increase the rate of alcohol metabolism up to 100-fold. This leads to a rapid accumulation of acetaldehyde, which can cause capillaries in the face to dilate -- and the face to turn red. Other unpleasant symptoms can include nausea and headaches.

(Excerpt) Read more at sciencenow.sciencemag.org ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: agriculture; animalhusbandry; china; dietandcuisine; domestication; godsgravesglyphs; helixmakemineadouble; huntergatherers; rice
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1 posted on 02/04/2010 6:31:23 PM PST by SunkenCiv
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To: SunkenCiv

hunh. wow. somehow I just can’t imagine this being asked of certain other peoples of color.


2 posted on 02/04/2010 6:33:30 PM PST by the invisib1e hand (governance is not sovereignty [paraphrasing Bishop Fulton Sheen].)
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To: SunkenCiv

I know of a Chinese researcher here at the University of Chicago who turns BRIGHT red with a few drinks. I mean, it is as bright as a bad sunburn.


3 posted on 02/04/2010 6:35:44 PM PST by aruanan
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To: SunkenCiv
I have this condition in spades. < |:(~
4 posted on 02/04/2010 6:42:53 PM PST by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: SunkenCiv

What is odd to me as a brewer is that we spend an enormous amount of time and effort to remove acetaldehyde when we brew beer, only to have the liver convert it right back.

Ironic.

Cheers,

knewshound


5 posted on 02/04/2010 6:44:33 PM PST by knews_hound (Credo Quia Absurdium--take nothing seriously unless it is absurd. E. Clampus Vitus)
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To: SunkenCiv

I am scottish, but it will happen to me also. It seems to depend on what I’m drinking —some things will make my face beet red and it’s like I can feel the heat just pumpint out of my face.

Some people think it’s some kind of medical emergency —very embarrassing.


6 posted on 02/04/2010 6:45:03 PM PST by TokuMei
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To: SunkenCiv

This has been known FOREVER.


7 posted on 02/04/2010 6:57:52 PM PST by goseminoles
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To: SunkenCiv

Asian flush - does that beat a Royal Flush in Vegas”


8 posted on 02/04/2010 6:57:54 PM PST by GGpaX4DumpedTea (I am a tea party descendant - steeped in the Constitutional legacy handed down by the Founders)
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To: martin_fierro; StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; ...

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9 posted on 02/04/2010 7:00:49 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Happy New Year! Freedom is Priceless.)
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To: GGpaX4DumpedTea
Asian flush - does that beat a Royal Flush in Vegas”

Only in Pai Gow.

10 posted on 02/04/2010 7:24:28 PM PST by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: SunkenCiv

I wonder if this is akin to the B3 or niacin flush. If I take niacin I turn red, really hot, and swell up all over. It last for hours.


11 posted on 02/04/2010 7:32:05 PM PST by Bellflower (If you are left DO NOT take the mark of the beast and be damned forever.)
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To: Bellflower

Niacin does that to anyone — in a high enough dose. I’m taking a 500 mg and any resulting ruddiness is not so noticeable that I’ve, uh, noticed it. :’) If you are taking it as a prescribed supplement, ask the physician or other practitioner if it’s okay to cut the dosage.

Alcohol, btw, is a vasodilator, which is why drinking the demon rum and the like makes one feel warm — the capillaries are near the surface, as are most of our nerves. It also means that we’re losing heat, so you get to feel nice and warm as you freeze to death faster (y’know, in a cold climate).


12 posted on 02/04/2010 7:41:26 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Happy New Year! Freedom is Priceless.)
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To: SunkenCiv

Wimp. I’m taking 2000 mg/day.


13 posted on 02/04/2010 8:07:02 PM PST by null and void (We are now in day 378 of our national holiday from reality. - 0bama really isn't one of US.)
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To: SunkenCiv

It’s associated with increased risk of esophageal cancer.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/24/health/24blush.html?_r=1&ref=science


14 posted on 02/04/2010 8:12:14 PM PST by LibFreeOrDie (Obama promised a gold mine, but will give us the shaft.)
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To: TokuMei
I am scottish, but it will happen to me also.
Do tell! ;') Hey, it's okay to hit my own folks...
15 posted on 02/04/2010 8:13:39 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Happy New Year! Freedom is Priceless.)
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To: TokuMei

Irish here and the same reaction. I get embarassed at weddings (avoiding even toasts) because I turn so red so fast. (Very fair skinned).


16 posted on 02/04/2010 8:30:08 PM PST by PennsylvaniaMom (BOOM! Taste my nightstick! Sarah, making Shatner sound Shakespearean.)
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To: null and void

That reminds me, I forgot to take mine today. And I usually wash mine down with a cocktail of wood alcohol and cyanide.


17 posted on 02/04/2010 8:30:26 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Happy New Year! Freedom is Priceless.)
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To: TokuMei

I’m Welsh descent and it happens to me every once in while. I drink 8oz of 15% alcohol red wine a day and I would say 2 or 3 times a year my face turns near-instantly red. I wonder what it means when it’s only on occasion like that.


18 posted on 02/04/2010 8:45:47 PM PST by Partisan Gunslinger
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To: SunkenCiv

Really? Me too! When I can’t find my formaldehyde, anyway.


19 posted on 02/04/2010 8:51:05 PM PST by null and void (We are now in day 378 of our national holiday from reality. - 0bama really isn't one of US.)
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To: SunkenCiv

I have not seen that among the Vietnamese emigrés here at all and I got to parties where several usually get a little tipsy, at least.


20 posted on 02/05/2010 5:12:29 AM PST by ThanhPhero (di tray hoi den La Vang)
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