Alcoholic drinks & you

[shootingstar]

shootingstar, sounds like you have the same metabolic problem that I have. Your body doesn't break down the alcohol properly .This is genetic and extremely common in Asian people, I am 100% Italian (of all things) but i have it too!
Drinking alcohol never made me feel good, it just made me feel bad. So at a certain point I just quit drinking. There was no point to it, and I certainly wasn't going to drink to make OTHERS feel good.

My whole family (that's 7 other people) seems to be similar to me, with only slight variations where another person or 2 might be able to drink 1-2 whole glasses of wine, before feeling the effects.

I've been told supposedly there's some sort of enzyme that doesn't break down the alcolhol as fast in certain people.

I actually drink abit "more" compared to 20 yrs. ago..which was about..once annually. But "more" is such a relative term.

[mimitabby]

Alcohol Dehydrogenase activity varies between men and women, and between different races. For example, women are unable to process alcohol at the same rate as men because they do not express the Alcohol Dehydrogenase as highly. The level of activity may not only be dependent on level of expression but due to allelic diversity among the population. These allelic differences have been linked to region of origin. For example Europeans have been found to express an allele for the alcohol dehydrogenase gene that makes it much more active than those found in Asians or Indians.

not supposedly, it's fact.

[Andrea]

Alcohol Dehydrogenase activity varies between men and women, and between different races. For example, women are unable to process alcohol at the same rate as men because they do not express the Alcohol Dehydrogenase as highly. The level of activity may not only be dependent on level of expression but due to allelic diversity among the population. These allelic differences have been linked to region of origin. For example Europeans have been found to express an allele for the alcohol dehydrogenase gene that makes it much more active than those found in Asians or Indians.

not supposedly, it's fact.

Thank you! Yay for science!!!

[smilingcat]

My body is very thrifty when it comes to alcohol. As mimitabby pointed out, the gene thing isn't there for me (Japanese). My body just recycle what little alcohol is in my body over and over and over. quarter of a glass of wine is more than enough for me.

Besides, its like playing Russian Roulett: sometimes I have a horrible alergic reaction and at other times none whatso ever. I break out in hives and its not from the sufites because bacon never did me in like a glass of wine, beer, hard liquor. It doesn't matter what kind of drink it is. And it is just plain miserable. Never did acquire taste for beer or hard liquor.

[Crankin]

I can have one glass of wine or a beer with no ill effects. Sometimes I'll have 2, but unless it's over a long period of time, the second one makes me drunk. Even one glass will make me wake up dehydrated and that affects my cycling a lot.
I love wine and have 1-3 glasses a week. I would have a glass every night if it didn't affect me so much. For awhile the sulfites did me in, but once I got my asthma under control, that went away. I didn't drink at all until I was out of college (too busy with other controlled substances), so I can't really compare how my reaction to alcohol has changed. I don't drink hard liquor, but I used to when I was younger.
Jewish people also (supposedly) have the gene that makes you not able to drink as much. I don't think I have it, I'm just small and it doesn't take much for me to feel the effects. But, one of my sons definitely has the "silly" gene from drinking. The other one (the marine) drinks way too much beer and shows no ill effects...

[Dogmama]

I quit almost 19 years ago because it was becoming a problem. Alcoholism runs in my family. I tend towards depression and I was a crying drunk. Not fun. People would pray that I'd pass out - and I usually did.

I took up cycling soon after I quit drinking. I think I made a good trade!

[Jen-Jen]

Oh, boy, I...uummm, pretty much can party till the cows come home. So, could my DH. We (I say we like it was me, really was my DH) got into a lot of trouble a few years back. Hence, my DH will be sober 5 years on Aug. 13, 2008!

I gave it up to support him. Best thing to do in our case. I wasn't to far behind him. He can now finally stand up and say, "Hi, I'm Patrick and I can't just have one."

We are not lightweights, we are heavyweights and I wish that we were a little more like you, Shootingstar.

[Jolt]

I definitely feel the effects after one drink (more relaxed, more talkative) but no adverse physical effects. Two drinks are a bit much--I get a little goofy (not to the point of acting a total fool, but certainly not my usual self) and then my stomach ends up not feeling so good later, at least if I have to ride the train etc. home. I'm only 108 lbs, so I think that explains it.

[shootingstar]

I definitely feel the effects after one drink (more relaxed, more talkative) but no adverse physical effects. Two drinks are a bit much--I get a little goofy (not to the point of acting a total fool, but certainly not my usual self) and then my stomach ends up not feeling so good later, at least if I have to ride the train etc. home. I'm only 108 lbs, so I think that explains it.

One thing for certain, for the max. amount I can drink which is what I described at start of thread, just doesn't allow my body to relax to sleep quickly. My heartbeat is fast when I go to bed...and my bladder well..

[tc1]

Well, now that I am old, I usually have two stiff drinks and call it a night. Since I weigh 250, it takes two so I can really feel it. I used to drink everyone under the table, I think due to the combination of Welsh/English/Scottish genes, large body size, lots of muscle from bodybuilding. But now I get hangovers so I have reformed.