Wedding Blog
As you can tell, whenever I have few sips of alcohol, I turn RED. According to GoAskAlice, the health service at Columbia University:
As many as 50 percent of people of Asian descent experience a flushed complexion after drinking alcohol. Alcohol flush reaction, the more technical name, describes the body’s inability to break down ingested alcohol completely. You and others like you have an inactive enzyme, aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2), which is normally responsible for breaking down acetaldehyde, a byproduct of the metabolism of alcohol. Acetaldehyde is a toxin and if your body can’t break it down, it accumulates and causes flushing. Other symptoms you might experience include dizziness, nausea, headaches, and an increased pulse.
I am opting not to have alcohol until probably the last hour of the wedding and until then, I’m settling with nice sips of Sparkling Apple Cider — YUMMY!
(photo from Carlson Orchards of Harvard, Massachusetts)
Is anyone having no alcohol for the same or different reason? I’ve been to a number of non-alcoholic weddings. What are you doing instead?
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i’ve heard of that before however, that enzyme that asians lack can be replaced by Pepcid AC before you drink. i usually take one 30-60 mins before I drink and I can drink about 3-5 drinks before I start to turn red.
pepcid ac def does work. i don’t turn red, but i have friends that use it for that purpose. 
Actually, to be technical, the Pepcid AC only delays the breakdown of the alcohol and doesn’t actually delay the flushing reaction as it is not an enzyme replacement; therefore, depending on your gut transit, you might not even get 30 minutes before you start turning red.
LOL. It’s Asian Glow! I heard of the Pepcid AC thing, too, but honestly, I think it’s all in the user’s head. I mean really, how can an antacid replace and enzyme that processes alcohol? It’s just not metabolically possible. Maybe if it just lowers the acidity in your stomach so that the alcohol can sit longer before being processed at all? I don’t know. It just doesn’t make sense.
Heehee, I didn’t see HLee’s response before I posted.
I can vouch for Pepcid AC! It works every time, but I have to take it at least 1 hour before I start drinking. Then I’m good for the rest of the night. I have no idea why it works, but it definitely does.
joyjoy, you made me laugh with “asian glow”! i think that sounds like a wonderful name for blush.
i didn’t think about this until now, but i will definitely hold off on the drinks until late in the evening!
wow - had no idea about the pepcid ac…very interesting~
We aren’t having alcohol at our wedding, not because we turn red (even though I do, and I’m not of Asian decent), but because my FI doesn’t believe in drinking, and personally, we don’t want to be responsible for drunk people (members of both of our families would get rip roaring drunk, and it’s not nice).
yup, i do as does FI, but we still indulge within moderation. i can do 1-2 drinks. we’ll still be serving alcohol at our wedding as i know a lot of our guests will appreciate it, asian glow or not.
Yes, I’ve heard of Pepcid AC too. Luckily, I’m part of the other 50% that doesn’t turn red. My brother and cousins all turn red though.
Jamie, not to put you on the spot, but will you be serving any interesting non-alcoholic drinks? I see nothing wrong with that…like I’ve said, I’ve been a number of non-alcoholic weddings and enjoyed those punches My entire family doesn’t drink, but Mr. Orange’s family certainly does LOL
FI and I aren’t serving alcohol for the same reasons as Jamie, though we’ll probably have some interesting punches and/or sparkling grape juice (I love welches!). Besides, neither of us drink at all, and we want all our guests to soberly enjoy the wedding, and in this particular case, if we had alcohol, they’d enjoy it drunk. I’m really excited to find some good punches, though!
PEPCID AC WORKS! i turn red at first drop of alcohol so i’ve been using Pepcid AC for years now. With it, I NEVER get red. I do, however, get HORRIBLY drunk because everyone looks at me and is like SHUT UP SANDY, you are NOT drunk. Next thing you know, I’m being carried out a back door (true story).
Take PEPCID AC!! IT WORKS!! I get really really red, but when I drink it, nothing. Experiment a few times, and wear the make up you’re going to wear for your wedding day, see what happs. Hope that helps.
as a photographer… i would definitely recommend not drinking until the last hour as well… the last thing you want is a red face in all your wedding pictures…
i’m not planning on having alcohol at mine. no one in our families really drink so it’d be a waste. i think we’d just go for a champagne toast and have sparkling cider which i love. besides, i don’t really feel comfortable drinking in front of my parents. i’d save the alcohol for the after-party with friends.
Miss Orange, for the toasts, we will be serving sparkling white grape juice, because it has that champagne look. The juice will be served in champagne glasses also. As for other drinks, I believe we will be serving some fancy fruity punches, my favorite being apple/pear chiller. It’s apple juice and pear juice mixed together with ice and it’s very delicious. Also, there will be lemonade, iced tea, and sodas.
Another main reason that we didn’t want alcohol at our wedding is that we (especially me) have memories of being children and attending weddings where the only beverages were water and alcohol. We wanted a little more variety.
We had an open bar, but we didn’t get tanked ourselves. The hub and I drank fake versions of our signature drinks all night. We arranged this with our caterer and coordinator beforehand. Neither of us wanted to get sloshed, but we also didn’t want people pestering us about not drinking. The fake drinks were awesome.
This forum has good information for explaning why we have asian flush and why H2 blockers (zantac, tangamet, Pepsid AC) potentially stop flushing.
It works for me. But I’m not drinking at my wedding until all the pictures are over with. That or pay a lot for touch ups!
We’re having alcohol, but we’re not having a champagne toast. Neither FI or I like it that much, and some of our respective families don’t drink, so we’re planning on serving sparkllng apple cider for the toast.
oh that asian glow..
I’m the other 50% that doesn’t have the asian glow, but I dont’ really like alchohol anyways.
It works! ive tried it before.. and one of my friends husband tried it on his wedding day because he gets really red and it worked for him too!!
OMG.. I was so excited to see this article. I too suffer from this. In fact, when my skin gets flushed its more of a purple color, than red. My friends have even nicknamed me Purple Lushy…haha. Anyways - I nave to go and try pepcid ac now !!
And to answer your question… our wedding is still gonna be abundant w/ alcohol. I wouldnt want to deprive everyone else cuz I turn purple.
you know. there will be a lot of alcohol. but since i personaly don’t drink… i like the apple cider option and didn’t think of prepping for that! thanks for the idea!
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Mrs. Orange, New York
Age and Occupation in 06: 29, Librarian
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Academic
Engagement Date: January 25, 2006
Wedding Date: March 2007
Venue: Nassau County, Long Island
About Me: Mr. Orange and I met thanks to my college friend and Mr. Orange's dad in Feb. 05. I love to eat, cook, watch Dog the Bounty Hunter, Without a Trace, L&O, and MTV Hits as well as chill with my cat Illie, work on little DIY projects for the wedding, do extensive wedding related searches on Google using my "skills." Ha-ha. We are having a 150+ ppl wedding incorporating his Jewish background and my Japanese heritage.
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