--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2008 International Goan Convention Toronto, Canada
Early Bird Discount Registration closes March 31, 2008 http://2008goanconvention.com/registration.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- Gilbert Lawrence <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >The purpose of writing this article is to bring to >the attention of Goans, the effect of drugs and >alcohol, as the same chain-of-events >can happen to non-hippies. In fact Goans and >Indians, whose liver can less effectively metabolize >alcohol than 'Whites', may be more prone >to this chain of events. > I was suspicious of the above claim when I read it a few days ago. The rest of the rationale also seemed somewhat flawed because it is well known that the inability to metabolize alcohol leads people not to be dependent on it in the first place because of a strong aversive reaction to it. This is true of many Chinese, Japanese and Koreans. They lack a particular type of liver enzyme and have an inactive form of another, both of which are required for the efficient breakdown of ethyl alcohol, and its metabolite acetaldehyde. I ignored the apparent blunder with respect to the hepatic metabolism of alcohol in Goans and Indians because I gave Gilbert the benefit of doubt, thinking that he may be referring to some study that I was not aware of. However, after checking through the medical literature I am unable to find any support for his factual assertion and logical discrepancy. Indians do not have the metabolic deficiency that Gilbert claims they do in comparison with whites. And those who have this deficiency, such as the orientals, are less likely to become addicted to alcohol. Cheers, Santosh