Ever gotten a scarlet, hot face after drinking alcohol or know someone who has? Many people felt it as they celebrate the holidays with loved ones, sipping mulled wine, cocktails or champagne. That's because this condition, commonly called "Asian flush" or "Asian glow," affects an estimated half a billion people, who can't break down aldehyde toxins that build up in their bodies. But what if there's a benefit to having Asian glow? <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/author/katherine-j-wu/"target="_blank" >Katie Wu</a>, a staff writer for The Atlantic, has looked into the research as to why the condition might have been a powerful tool for some of our ancestors to survive disease. (encore episode) Questions about other potential tradeoffs for our genetics? Email us at shortwave@npr.org. We've love to hear from you and we might cover it in a future episode!<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2023/10/alcohol-flush-asian-genetic-mutation-cause/675759/"target="_blank" >Read Katie's article</a> to learn more.Questions about other potential tradeoffs for our genetics? Email us at <a href="mailto:shortwave@npr.org"target="_blank" >shortwave@npr.org</a>. We've love to hear from you and we might cover it in a future episode!Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at <a href="http://plus.npr.org/shortwave"target="_blank" >plus.npr.org/shortwave</a>.This episode was produced by Rebecca Ramirez, edited by Berly McCoy and fact-checked by Brit Hanson. Gilly Moon was the audio engineer. Learn more about sponsor message choices: <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a> <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

Podurama

Home

Trending

Personal

Your Podcasts

New Episodes

My Files

Favourite Episodes

Tags (Folders)

Recently Played

Bookmarks

Followed Playlists

Drinking Turns Some Red With Asian Glow—And May Fight Tuberculosis

Short Wave

AI Chapters

AI Insights

Reviews