Do we evolve to drink less alcohol?

Many gene mutations have appeared in the human body, causing the ability to drink alcohol gradually decreases within 2,000-3,000 years and reduce the risk of alcoholism.

The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, has found a subtle change in genes involved in two alcohol-converting enzymes, ADH1B and ALDH2 , enzymes that determine the amount of alcohol.

The work was carried out by the Riken Integrated Medical Science Center (Japan) in collaboration with a number of other institutions in the country, detailing the 2,200 Japanese genome and finding out the changes that have occurred. gradually over 100 generations.

Are we evolving to escape alcoholism?- (Artwork from the Internet).

Up to 75% of volunteers who have ADH1B enzymes are poorly active and 25% have similarly weakened ALDH2 enzymes. Worth mentioning, it's not that Japanese people have these genes that are so inactive. The researchers found that in the community there are genetic mutations that weaken these two enzymes. These mutations are transmitted directly to the offspring, which leads to a slight reduction in the ability of alcohol to be reduced after each generation.

The ability to transform poor alcohol leads to the phenomenon of drunkenness when drinking: easy blushing, dizziness, nausea ., it is said that the amount of alcohol in the later generations is less and less. It is these unpleasant feelings that prevent alcohol drinkers from consuming too much.

Many people do not want to be said to be poor alcoholic, Asian-style culture. However, according to the researchers, this brings a healthier generation, reducing the risk of illness, premature death and other consequences of alcoholism. People with poor alcohol intake find it difficult to drink alcohol because they cannot overcome the unpleasant feeling of being drunk.

Many researchers from Europe and the United States, where racial and genetic factors allow people to drink less alcohol, are watching Asian "fast" genes like a golden key. solving alcoholism cases is a major health burden in their country.

Professor Yukinori Okada, an expert in genetic statistics at Osaka University Medical School, a member of the research team, said the change in the ability to drink alcohol is a genetic selection process when humans evolve. . "A similar example is the evolution of a set of genes related to red blood cells in Africans ever found, helping them improve immunity to malaria," he analyzed.

However, scientists emphasize that the project is large-scale with the participation of many institutes and schools, but volunteers only encapsulate in Japanese territory. More research is needed in other races to find out whether in other countries, the evolutionary process helps people less dependent on alcohol.