Core tip: the new study, completed by scientists at Chung Nam National University in South Korea, studied the incidence of hypertension in 1763 Korean male participants. Among the participants, 527 people like to blush after drinking, 948 people don't blush after drinking, and 288 people don't drink at all. The results showed that compared with the nondrinkers, the risk of hypertension in the blush group doubled when they drank four cups a week
The new study, conducted by scientists at Chung Nam National University in South Korea, looked at the incidence of hypertension in 1763 Korean male participants. Among the participants, 527 people like to blush after drinking, 948 people don't blush after drinking, and 288 people don't drink at all. The results showed that compared with the nondrinkers, the risk of hypertension doubled in the blush group when they drank 4 cups a week; the risk of hypertension increased only when they drank more than 8 cups a week in the nonblush group. That is to say, even a small amount of alcohol can increase the risk of high blood pressure.
Jin Zhongcheng, director of the Department of family medicine at Chungnan National University and the leader of the study, said the results were still valid after the researchers excluded factors such as age, body mass index, eating habits, exercise, and smoking status.
For a long time, flushing after drinking has been considered a symptom of alcohol sensitivity or intolerance. Mr. Kim said the flush reaction was common in people whose bodies were unable to break down acetaldehyde (the first step in alcohol metabolism), especially in women in East Asia. Acetaldehyde can cause subcutaneous and peripheral blood vessel dilation, reducing the blood flow of the body's main internal organs. To make up for this deficiency, the body produces certain hormones that cause blood pressure to rise. Scientists suggest that people who drink and blush should control the amount of alcohol they drink to prevent high blood pressure.
As we all know, alcohol damages the liver. Drinking too much will increase the burden on the liver. Before that, it was widely spread on Weibo that people who drink on their faces increase the risk of esophageal cancer. Although this statement has not been confirmed by experts, experts remind us that "face-up" is a signal to stop drinking. When drinking face up, you may as well drink honey water, which can promote the decomposition and absorption of alcohol, relieve headache symptoms, and drink juice or sugar water in time, which can play a protective role in the liver.
