Are Japanese people sensitive to alcohol?

It is certain that Japanese people are weak against alcohol.

It is not only the Japanese. The so-called Asian race, or Mongoloid, is genetically weak in alcohol. Why is this?

Alcohol from alcoholic beverages is decomposed in the liver by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) to render it harmless.

Of these two enzymes, acetaldehyde dehydrogenase has "ALDH1" which works when the concentration of acetaldehyde in the blood is high, and "ALDH2" which works mainly when the concentration of acetaldehyde is low. The function of "ALDH2" is weak to begin with, or some people do not have it at all.

The percentage varies depending on the statistics, but it is roughly half. In other words, half of the mongoloid population is weak in alcohol or cannot drink at all.

On the other hand, the percentage of Africans and Europeans who have weak or no ALDH2 is 0%. All of them are strong drinkers. In the English-speaking world, when a person's face turns red after drinking alcohol, it is called an Asian flush, but I guess it is a rare phenomenon in the West.

It is said that the current human race originated in Africa and then migrated to the rest of the world.

Looking at the process of human evolution, it is natural to think that humans left Africa and scattered around the world, and that mutations occurred in the process of the birth of Asian ancestors, resulting in the birth of people who are sensitive to alcohol.

If you are a weak drinker, you may feel pain when you are invited to a party, but there is nothing you can do about it. It is said that alcohol is the best of all medicines, but if you drink too much, it will destroy your body. If you have a weakness for alcohol, try to think as positively as possible that God has taken care of you so that you don't have to destroy your body with alcohol.