Pepcid AC stops the Asian Flush? Time to put it to the test...

As a follow up to Morris's post about the Asian flush, I wanted to mention a remedy that my sister swears by. It's to take a Pepcid AC before drinking.

Usually before I believe these things, I need: 1. Some sort of scientific rationale and 2. Empirical evidence (i.e. it works on me, or some sort of data).

A fellow Asian friend provided me with #1... she said Pepcid AC has enzymes in it as an active to neutralize stomach acid, and the same enzymes help neutralize something (maybe it's acetaldehyde, if I apply what I learned from that article). OK, sounds rational.

As for empirical evidence, I figured what they hey, I'll try it myself. So one night I took a Pepcid and went out for a couple of beers.

So what happened? Well I must say I didn't feel as flushed, nor the increased heart rate that I typically get. However, as I had my beers, I started to feel the other effects... i.e. a headache. That night, in addition to the headache, I felt overall a little crappy. I wonder if this is what a hangover feels like? I've never had one, because I couldn't drink enough before I got sick.

So I wonder if Pepcid AC does take away some of the symptoms of the Asian flush, but leaves all the other underlying issues of not being able to metabolize alcohol right? Maybe I should do a little more research...

NYTimes.com: Drinkers’ Red Face May Signal Cancer Risk

NYTimes.com: Drinkers’ Red Face May Signal Cancer Risk

People whose faces turn red when they drink alcohol may be facing more than embarrassment. The flushing may indicate an increased risk for a deadly throat cancer, researchers report.

The flushing response, which may be accompanied by nausea and a rapid heartbeat, is caused mainly by an inherited deficiency in an enzyme called ALDH2, a trait shared by more than a third of people of East Asian ancestry — Japanese, Chinese or Koreans. As little as half a bottle of beer can trigger the reaction.

The deficiency results in problems in metabolizing alcohol, leading to an accumulation in the body of a toxin called acetaldehyde. People with two copies of the gene responsible have such unpleasant reactions that they are unable to consume large amounts of alcohol. This aversion actually protects them against the increased risk for cancer.
...
Reducing drinking can significantly reduce the incidence of this cancer among Asian adults. The researchers calculate that if moderate- or heavy-drinking ALDH2-deficient Japanese men reduced their consumption to under 16 drinks a week, 53 percent of esophageal squamous cell cancers in that group could be prevented.

I'm one of those who turns red when drinking. So, I guess it's important for me to cut back to under 16 drinks a week.

Happy Jin Tao Wow to you!

CNN's Lou Dobbs is a little nuts these days, but what is this ethnic holiday rant about? I guess he doesn't really consider Independence Day to be an American Holiday.

Would you buy this product?

If you're Asian would you buy this product?

The Tag line on their website

Chinese girl meets Jewish boy... and Soy Vay! All natural, kosher sauces, marinades and dressings since 1982.

It just seems a little wrong to me.

Which team would I play for?

The World Baseball Classic is like the World Cup to soccer. I absolutely love the competition and the patriotism in this tournament.

The last time the WBC was played was in 2006, when Alex Rodriguez was involved in a controversy as to which team to play for: the Domincan Republic or the US? I absolutely disagree with Ozzie Guillen's quote in the article... that guy isn't in touch with life as a XXXXX-American.

Since then I've wondered which team I would be asked to play for if I were a baseball player, and which team I'd pick. So I looked up eligibility:

Q: Who is eligible to play in the World Baseball Classic?
A: A player is eligible to participate on a World Baseball Classic team if:

• The player is a citizen of the nation the team represents. (Additionally, if a player is qualified for citizenship or to hold a passport under the laws of a nation represented by a team, but has not been granted citizenship or been issued a passport, then the player may be made eligible by WBCI upon petition by the player or team.)
• The player is a permanent legal resident of the nation or territory the team represents.
• The player was born in the nation or territory the team represents.
• The player has one parent who is, or if deceased was, a citizen of the nation the team represents.
• The player has one parent who was born in the nation or territory the team represents.

Note: In the event a player appropriately appears on more than one provisional roster, he may select the team for which he wishes to play.

So with this, that means that I would be eligible to play for the US obviously, and also I would be eligible to play for China because my parents were born in China. But I wouldn't be eligible to play for Chinese Taipei (the laughable politically correct name for "Taiwan"... can you imagine being called "American Washington DC"?) even though my parents grew up there... unless of course they have dual citizenship, which I don't think they have but I don't know.

So assuming I had a choice, who would I play for? Who would YOU play for?

Pronunciation of Chinese last names

Since we're on the subject of last names and romanization/anglicization...

My last name is Tsai, which is a common Taiwanese romanization of the Chinese Character 蔡. I pronounce it in the Mandarin Chinese way with the strong "ts" sound. This sound is often difficult for non-Chinese speakers to say. The Taiwanese pronunciation is different still, and I don't use that unless I'm speaking to a native Taiwanese person.

Growing up in Cincinnati when I was younger, I'd intentionally mispronounce it "sigh" to make it easier for people to say. Most likely it was the first time they had ever seen a name like that.

But, that changed when I went to college. It was refreshing when people there would pronounce my name correctly more often than not. I decided from then on, that I would forsake convenience and say my name the way I wanted to sound when asked. Now the process of when I'm asked my last name is to say it slowly and then spell it for them. Sometimes they'll try to repeat it back to me and I'll spend the time to try to teach them to say it correctly.

Here's a little guide on how to pronounce Chinese names.

Guess the ethnicity- Gary Locke

Barack Obama has appointed Gary Locke to be the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. Gary Locke, former governor of Washington, the first Chinese-American Governor.

This brings to mind the burning question: If you're really, really Chinese, would you seriously name your kid Gary? 

That's a joke- about Gary.  Though, I actually don't know an Asian people named Gary either.

The last name Locke, however,  is a very unusual Anglicization of a Chinese name.  Most Chinese names when Anglicized still maintain some distinctive Chinese look.  Anglicizing of last names is pretty common for Europeans coming to the United States, but it's just a little strange to see a Chinese name Anglicized to the point where it's no longer recognizably Chinese.

From Wikipedia, Gary Locke's given name is: 駱家輝 (Lok Gaa-Fai)