A 7000-10000-year-old ADH1B gene variant protects against alcoholism by inducing flushing

Evidence

Between 7000 to 10,000 years ago, the DNA on one of these ADH genes (ADH1B ) on chromosome 4 flipped a bit, causing it to code for the amino acid histidine instead of arginine. The evidence seems to suggest that this new version of the ADH1B gene metabolizes alcohol much more efficiently in the liver. Perhaps, more important, the rapid breakdown of alcohol produces high levels of acetaldehyde, which causes dizziness, increased heart rate, nausea, weakness, overheating, and a flushing of the skin. The unpleasantness of this flushing reaction reduces people’s susceptibility to alcoholism and parallels the effects created by drugs used to treat alcoholism. Estimates vary, but possessing the booze-inhibiting variant ADH1B reduces the likelihood of alcohol dependence by a factor of between two to nine times, and both heavy and excessive drinking by a factor of about five. — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success, 286

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the book’s earlier culture-gene coevolution machinery: recent selection on drinking behavior mirrors how self-domestication and agricultural dairying shifts reshaped the genome. — connects to: The onset date of rice agriculture predicts half the ADH1B gene variation — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 288; Rice wine production selected for genes that make drinking unpleasant — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 290
• QUESTION: Flushing-rate differences by ancestry raise the standard ‘who flushes’ pattern reading — worth verifying whether the variant’s geographic distribution tracks historical brewing/fermentation practices as the book’s framework predicts.

Broader Connections

• Rice wine production selected for genes that make drinking unpleasant #expands (0.92) — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success, 290
• The onset date of rice agriculture predicts half the ADH1B gene variation #expands (0.90) — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success, 288