Mr. Zhang, 49, went to the hospital for unexplained abdominal pain, and after a complete examination, the doctor told Mr. Zhang that he was suffering from primary liver cancer.
The doctor said that the main cause of Mr. Zhang's liver cancer was alcohol consumption, because he not only had liver cancer, but also liver cirrhosis, and it was alcohol consumption that led to all this.
Mr. Zhang was very confused, doctor, you said that I was caused by drinking liver cirrhosis and liver cancer, but the problem is that I only drink a little wine every day, and every time I drink, I never exceed three taels, and I don't drink a lot of alcohol, why do I have such serious liver problems?
The doctor told Mr. Zhang that the harm of alcohol to the body is cumulative, it seems that you only drink three or two drinks a day, but as time goes by, because you drink like this every day, then you drink a lot of alcohol in a year, and alcohol will cause great damage to the liver, which will lead to alcoholic fatty liver disease, and in severe cases, it will cause alcoholic cirrhosis, and even liver cancer.
In July 2021, research published in The Lancet Oncology showed that even small amounts of alcohol can increase the risk of cancer. Studies show that in 2020, 740,000 new cancers worldwide can be attributed to alcohol consumption, including esophageal cancer, liver cancer, colorectal cancer, oral cancer, pharyngeal cancer, laryngeal cancer, etc.
Among them, more than 76% of men suffer from cancer due to alcohol consumption, and female alcohol consumption is most closely related to breast cancer, esophageal cancer and liver cancer. The study also found that Mongolia, China, Moldova and Romania had the highest attribution scores among all new alcohol-related cancer cases.
From this study, we can see that Chinese drink alcohol to cause cancer risk is the highest, the reason for this situation is because Chinese drink blush, many people have such a wrong view, that drinking blush represents a good amount of alcohol, which is very wrong.
Alcohol is broken down into acetaldehyde by the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) in the body. Acetaldehyde is further broken down into acetic acid by the enzyme acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2). In this process, the intermediate product acetaldehyde produced is biotoxic and is a first-order carcinogen. Fortunately, ALDH2 in the body is able to metabolize acetaldehyde and convert it into non-toxic acetic acid, which is eventually broken down into carbon dioxide and water. People who blush when they drink alcohol are ALDH2 deficient, which causes acetaldehyde to build up in the body, causing symptoms of flushing, rapid heartbeat, headaches, and nausea and nausea. People who blush when they drink alcohol may also have redness on their neck, shoulders, and even their whole body, in addition to blushing.
Therefore, many Chinese blush when they drink alcohol because they carry a mutation in the ALDH2 gene, which causes the glutamate at the E504K position on the ALDH2 gene to be replaced by lysine, changing the substrate into the ALDH2 catalytic activity site, reducing the activity of the ALDH2 enzyme and failing to quickly decompose acetaldehyde.
The doctor asked Mr. Zhang if he also blushed after drinking, and Mr. Zhang nodded.
Because Mr. Zhang carries the ALDH2 gene mutation in his body, causing him to be more sensitive to alcohol, even if he drinks a little alcohol, it will also cause serious damage to the body, of which the most harmful is acetaldehyde, a large number of studies have found that acetaldehyde will directly damage DNA, and lead to DNA mutations, so long-term drinking is more likely to induce cancer.
Moreover, there is no safe dose of alcohol, even in small amounts, there are risks, and it is best to avoid the harm of alcohol.
Finally, the question is, many people will say, doctor, I don't drink every day, but occasionally I always have a little social, which can't be shirked, how to reduce the harm caused by alcohol?
1. Be sure not to drink alcohol on an empty stomach, if you don't eat anything, go directly to drink, so that the alcohol will be absorbed more, and the damage to the body will be greater, and the alcohol will directly stimulate the gastric mucosa, thereby causing erosion of the gastric mucosa, and even bleeding.
Therefore, when drinking, everyone must keep in mind that you must eat a little if you can eat, so as to delay the absorption of alcohol and reduce the damage caused by alcohol to the body.
2. Drink as much water as possible
In order to reduce the damage of alcohol to the body, it is necessary to drink more water, because drinking more water can promote the excretion of urine and promote the metabolism of alcohol.
3. Drink slowly
Drinking should not be too urgent, many people at the beginning of the stomach is a few glasses of wine, if it is beer, so it is uncomfortable to drink, if it is liquor, you drink like this, it is easy to get yourself drunk, the speed of drinking should be slower, especially drinking liquor, only by drinking a little slower, in order to promote the metabolism of alcohol, in order to give the body room for relief, but also to reduce the damage caused by alcohol to the body.