What harm can acetaldehyde do to the body?
February 17, 2021
What harm can acetaldehyde do to the body?
The fact that acetaldehyde is a toxic substance has been previously explained in “What is the Toxic Substance Acetaldehyde?”.
So, how exactly does acetaldehyde adversely affect the body?
First of all, in the short term, the acetaldehyde causes symptoms of intoxication.
Headaches, nausea, heart palpitations, and a red face after drinking alcohol are due to the vasodilating effect of acetaldehyde.
If the acetaldehyde is not broken down properly by the end of the day and these symptoms remain in the body, it will result in a hangover.
Carcinogenicity of Acetaldehyde
A pretty painful hangover. There is a more horrible effect of acetaldehyde on the body than this.
Acetaldehyde is carcinogenic.
If a person with a constitution that does not break down acetaldehyde drinks a lot of alcohol and is exposed to acetaldehyde, he or she is more likely to develop cancers such as esophageal cancer, breast cancer, liver cancer, stomach cancer, and colon cancer.
Based on the initial assessment of environmental risks of chemical substances published by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (FY 1997 to 2000), the risk is considered particularly high for the development of esophageal cancer.
As explained in aother article on alcohol metabolism, a person with a weak constitution for drinking alcohol means that he or she is incapable of breaking down alcohol and acetaldehyde. If you force yourself to continue drinking, you will not only feel sick, but you will also increase your risk of cancer.
Acetaldehyde and oxidative stress
Furthermore, acetaldehyde produces hydrogen peroxide in the body.
That’s right. Hydrogen peroxide is one of the major causes of oxidative stress.
Acetaldehyde acts on the cells of the liver to produce reactive oxygen species.
The active oxygen then reacts with certain enzymes to form hydrogen peroxide, which then travels throughout the body, damaging and killing cells.
In other words, it makes the body rusty.
Alcohol and Acetaldehyde
Acetaldehyde is a type of organic compound called aldehyde, which is also a member of the same group of aldehydes called formaldehyde, a substance that causes sick building syndrome.
Aldehyde itself is toxic to living things. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) announced the initial assessment of environmental risks of chemical substances (fiscal 1997 to 2000), and observed irritation symptoms, reddening of the skin, and pulmonary edema when acetaldehyde was directly exposed to the eyes and mucous membranes.
Acetaldehyde is produced during the breakdown of alcohol, but the body has the ability to make it harmless. However, if you continue to drink alcohol even though you are unable to break down acetaldehyde, you will continue to be exposed to the risk of carcinogenesis and oxidative stress.
That is, besides the fear of becoming an alcoholic, the negative effects of acetaldehyde on the body should be considered significant.
It is recommended by the government that the appropriate amount of alcohol per day should be no more than one cup of sake or two glasses of wine.