Empirical studies conducted have revealed the correlation that tends to exist between alcohol consumption and specific cancers in human beings. However, it is known for the vital role the liver and other parts usually plays in the human body, and their damage tends to affect the multiple functions of the human body. Studies conducted have shown how the negative impact of excessive alcohol in the bodies of human beings. Exposure to liquor and its compounds tends to hurt the chromosomes which are usually found in the blood stem cells. Stem cells are essential in the human body as it often replaces cells that are lost during the lifespan (Pultaroza, 2018). However, when the stem cells are damaged, they tend to cause damage to other parts of the human body. Studies indicate that excessive alcohol consumption usually destroys the body cells which may lead to an individual being anemic.
When an individual consumes excessive alcohol, the human body usually processes the alcohol which in turn the body converts the alcohol into a toxin which is highly toxic in the body known as acetaldehyde (Pultaroza, 2018). Acetaldehyde is defined as the colorless liquid which is formed after ethanol has been oxidized. The poisonous substance acetaldehyde has been proved through studies conducted to damage the DNA structure. However, the studies done have indicated that two critical mechanisms play an essential role in protecting the human body from acetaldehyde. The first mechanism usually involves an enzyme that eliminates and detoxifies the acetaldehyde substance.
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Excessive consumption of alcohol may lead to the skin of an individual to be red, and in other cases, skin irritation as the excessive alcohol consumed by the body usually damages the blood capillaries on the skin surface of the human being. Furthermore, the damage of blood capillaries caused by the excess consumed alcohol leads to the eyes of an individual to have an unhealthy bloodshot appearance. However, Pepcid might be extremely helpful in treating the case of the red eye as it repairs the damaged blood capillaries. Pepcid may not be safe for an individual to use as it may have side-effects such as a headache, dry mouth, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and muscle cramps.
Through performing chromosome evaluation and DNA sequencing, studies were unable to reflect the extent of genetic damage which is caused as result of consumption ethanol. However, studies that were performed indicated that the chemical contained in ethanol usually causes permanent mutations in the DNA sequence which may cause multiple types of cancer (Pultaroza, 2018). Other empirical studies suggest that damage to stem cells can as well cause cancer. Furthermore, studies indicate that these types of cancer can be avoided by abstaining from alcohol.
Alcohol damages the DNA in the stem cells, and it has been discovered that those people experiencing Asian flash are exposed to more DNA destroyed when taking alcohol as compared to those who do not. It is termed as the Asian glow or flash because it is mostly experienced by the Asian people. This condition results in increased heart rate, nausea, and headache. It is because the people whose skin turns red upon drinking alcohol lack activity of the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) (Varela-Rey, Woodhoo, Martinez-Chantar, Mato, & Lu, 2013). By now, we have understood that alcohol is metabolized into acetaldehyde that is later broken down by ALDH2. However, for people who suffer Asian glow, there is a genetic variation in the enzyme, which allow for quick and efficient metabolization of alcohol but the slow and less efficient breakdown of acetaldehyde the resulting component. This cause an accumulation of the component in the body, the result of which are headaches, nausea, and vomiting. It makes a person get drunk quickly.
For those people with the issue of Asian Flush, they tend to take an antihistamine such as Pepcid to reduce the effect. However, when this is taken just before alcohol consumption, it tends to be more of a risk factor as opposed to its intended purpose. The use of histamine-2-blockers reduces Asian flush but can escalate the alcohol intake while increasing the risk of squamous cell carcinoma, esophageal cancer, and stomach cancers. The Pepcid, in this case, slows down the breakdown of alcohol into acetaldehyde in their blood system. This lead to an increased rate of consumption (Yuen, Chan, Liu, Given, Schluep, Hamilton, & Gish, 2016). The person can consume alcohol excessively. This increases their chances of contracting cancers.
In this case, the DNA methylation has a significant role that it plays in the control of gene activity. It is the methylation, which acts exclusively and entails the addition of a methyl group to the carbon 5of cytosine nucleotides with the specification to that cytosine which precedes guanines (Borowa-Mazgaj, de Conti, Seneshaw, Mirshahi, Beland, Sanyal, & Pogribny, 2018). Evidence shows that alcohol may induce an epigenetic alteration in specific aberrant DNA methylation patterns, which could be a significant contributing factor to the carcinogenesis, which is induced by alcohol. For instance, the excessive consumption of alcohol is linked to the increase in colon cancer that is characterized by DNA hypomethylation along with hypermethylation of particular genes (Das, Kundu, Laskar, Choudhury, & Ghosh, 2018. Some mechanisms have been described to be the cause of the DNA methylation variation in cancer.
In conclusion, numerous studies have shown that alcohol use is linked to the aberrant DNA methylation pattern that happens in some cancers. However, it is only linked to excessive consumption of alcohol, which causes damage to the DNA. People with Asian flash cannot consume too much alcohol, but the use of antihistamine helps increase their alcohol intake thus exposing them to even much risk.
References
Das, R., Kundu, S., Laskar, S., Choudhury, Y., & Ghosh, S. K. (2018). Assessment of DNA repair susceptibility genes identified by whole exam sequencing in head and neck cancer. DNA repair , 66 , 50-63.
Borowa-Mazgaj, B., de Conti, A., Seneshaw, M., Mirshahi, F., Beland, F. A., Sanyal, A. J., & Pogribny, I. P. (2018). Gene-specific DNA methylation alterations in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)-derived hepatocellular carcinoma in mice.
Pultarova Tereza, (2018). Here's How Alcohol Can Damage DNA and Increase Cancer Risk. Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/61348-alcohol-damages-dna.html
Varela-Rey, M., Woodhoo, A., Martinez-Chantar, M. L., Mato, J. M., & Lu, S. C. (2013). Alcohol, DNA methylation, and cancer. Alcohol research: current reviews , 35 (1), 25.
Yuen, R. M. F., Chan, H. L. Y., Liu, S. H. K., Given, B. D., Schluep, T., Hamilton, J., ... & Gish, R. G. (2016). Effective inhibition of cccDNA derived mRNA/viral antigens and tolerability with ARC-520. Hepatology International .
