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Ethanol -> Acetaldehyde -> vinegar.
Aug. 25th, 2018 12:35 pmSo, everyone has seen this:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)31310-2/fulltext
fetchingly titled "Alcohol use and burden for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016"
And I have been sceptical because I date from the era when girls were told, when they started menstruating, that cramps were imaginary and proof that a girl was prone to hysteria (there aren't any nerves in the uterus[4], you see - no seriously - I no longer have the booklet, but this was a genuine, written-in-an-official-pamphlet-handed-out-by-doctors thing). This sort of gaslighting undermines one's trust in both the knowledge base of the individual medical practitioners, and the good faith of the whole medical ediface.
So, aside from getting wiped out by a drunk behind the wheel[1], and cirrosis for people who consume excessively steadily, I wondered whether there was any evidence that alcohol causes, say: cancer. And there is, sorta, probably.
So, here's the UK's info:
https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/alcohol-and-cancer/how-alcohol-causes-cancer
and they say "In our bodies, alcohol (ethanol) is converted into a toxic chemical called acetaldehyde." which is true, but only part of the story.
Full story is: many humans have a two step process:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetaldehyde_dehydrogenase
which goes on to turn the acetaldehyde into vinegar[2]. Some people don't, and they get "flushing" - and increased risk of some cancers, but also reduced rates of alcoholism.
And our ability to usefully metabolize ethanol predates humans:
http://www.pnas.org/content/112/2/458
"Hominids adapted to metabolize ethanol long before human-directed fermentation."
Now, you know (Bob), that anything undertaken by something called the Global Burden of Disease Study is not going to find sparkly unicorns and fluffy bunnies, and the biggest risk is apparently for people in their 50s and older. But you know what? *Every*thing is more risky for those over 50. Falls do more damage; hearts pack it in; madness takes its toll.
Evolution allows adaptions which don't kill us before reproduction to be retained. My family's heart weakness doesn't interfere with our function before we've had children, so they get our charming blue eyes and a bug that is not a feature. It's entirely possible that metabolizing alcohol is one more tool which has helped us as a species generally live long enough that "over 50" can become delicate territory.[3]
Okay. Mad wallowing in booze isn't any good, but I don't think they've proved their case that everyone all the time in all circumstances should never ever ever kiss lips that touch wine.
~
[1] - this is absolutely an alcohol-caused death, but your abstinence won't help you.
[2] - or rather Acetic Acid. Which, "....when bound to coenzyme A, it is central to the metabolism of carbohydrates and fats." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetic_acid
[3] - wasn't it the middle ages in Europe where beer, including "small" beer for children, was cleaner than the water? Yes; yes it was.
[4] - considering the pain was in the small of the back and down the front of the legs and made everything taste *lousy*, I never understood the focus on solely the uterus. But then - it wasn't about facts.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)31310-2/fulltext
fetchingly titled "Alcohol use and burden for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016"
And I have been sceptical because I date from the era when girls were told, when they started menstruating, that cramps were imaginary and proof that a girl was prone to hysteria (there aren't any nerves in the uterus[4], you see - no seriously - I no longer have the booklet, but this was a genuine, written-in-an-official-pamphlet-handed-out-by-doctors thing). This sort of gaslighting undermines one's trust in both the knowledge base of the individual medical practitioners, and the good faith of the whole medical ediface.
So, aside from getting wiped out by a drunk behind the wheel[1], and cirrosis for people who consume excessively steadily, I wondered whether there was any evidence that alcohol causes, say: cancer. And there is, sorta, probably.
So, here's the UK's info:
https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/alcohol-and-cancer/how-alcohol-causes-cancer
and they say "In our bodies, alcohol (ethanol) is converted into a toxic chemical called acetaldehyde." which is true, but only part of the story.
Full story is: many humans have a two step process:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetaldehyde_dehydrogenase
which goes on to turn the acetaldehyde into vinegar[2]. Some people don't, and they get "flushing" - and increased risk of some cancers, but also reduced rates of alcoholism.
And our ability to usefully metabolize ethanol predates humans:
http://www.pnas.org/content/112/2/458
"Hominids adapted to metabolize ethanol long before human-directed fermentation."
Now, you know (Bob), that anything undertaken by something called the Global Burden of Disease Study is not going to find sparkly unicorns and fluffy bunnies, and the biggest risk is apparently for people in their 50s and older. But you know what? *Every*thing is more risky for those over 50. Falls do more damage; hearts pack it in; madness takes its toll.
Evolution allows adaptions which don't kill us before reproduction to be retained. My family's heart weakness doesn't interfere with our function before we've had children, so they get our charming blue eyes and a bug that is not a feature. It's entirely possible that metabolizing alcohol is one more tool which has helped us as a species generally live long enough that "over 50" can become delicate territory.[3]
Okay. Mad wallowing in booze isn't any good, but I don't think they've proved their case that everyone all the time in all circumstances should never ever ever kiss lips that touch wine.
~
[1] - this is absolutely an alcohol-caused death, but your abstinence won't help you.
[2] - or rather Acetic Acid. Which, "....when bound to coenzyme A, it is central to the metabolism of carbohydrates and fats." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetic_acid
[3] - wasn't it the middle ages in Europe where beer, including "small" beer for children, was cleaner than the water? Yes; yes it was.
[4] - considering the pain was in the small of the back and down the front of the legs and made everything taste *lousy*, I never understood the focus on solely the uterus. But then - it wasn't about facts.
