About

My name is Julie and fun fact about me, I spent much of my career working in the wine industry. Plot twist – I can’t enjoy wine without getting the “Asian Glow”. 

I’ve been consuming alcohol since I was 18, with the occasional sip of beer and wine in my mid-teens. The novelty of drinking was so cool that I never gave much thought to why it turned me bright red. At first, I assumed it was because I wasn’t used to drinking and that I needed to build up my tolerance. But I realized my mom also turned bright red after drinking her preferred whisky, and she’s been drinking for years. Regardless, it didn’t bother me and I naturally associated my side effects with drinking. I also went unbothered throughout my time at the University of Miami as a Marketing major… (We’ll leave it at that.) 

A brief description of the “Asian Glow”: Glassy eyes, bright red flush (all over your face and body, like when you’re tanning and forgot to flip), cold sweats, and shivers – regardless of the actual temperature. My heart rate would also increase dramatically and if my body perceived all these changes as a sign of distress, would proceed to reject the foreign substance…sometimes as a projectile. All this… from some alcohol. 

Things shifted as I kicked off my career in the tech industry. My partying college days were replaced with afterwork happy hours, networking events, weekend brunches, and dinner dates. With my red glow, instead of blending into a college party scene, I now stood out like a red beacon, so to speak. What once was a non-issue in my social circle, became a concern for my new associates. One sip of beer at the office, and I’d be red faced like I’ve been pregaming for hours. A small sample of wine at a social event…wham! beet red like I’m walking out of a club at 4am. 

This was when I started to resent my Asian glow. As a young woman trying to navigate her career; social events, networking and connections all hinge on first impressions. Constantly looking like I couldn’t control my alcohol consumption did me no favors.

You would assume that over the years, I would have built up some tolerance, but…nope. And to make matters worse, my tolerance would further decrease once I entered the next stage of my life… motherhood. After becoming pregnant, I took a complete hiatus from alcohol for the next 4 years (all while working part-time starting my new career working in the wine industry… more on that later). As I breastfeed both my children, this mama wasn’t allowed to indulge. Of course, this didn’t stop my husband from enjoying an Old Fashioned or two at my expense.

My first drink back was a bit hazy. What I do remember is immediately realizing I had become very lightweight. My tolerance for alcohol had decreased sharply, with the effects of the “Asian Glow” coming on faster than before. The excitement of returning to social and networking events was overshadowed by the challenge of mitigating the glow.

Some Google and non-official recommendations helped me find some workarounds, specifically Pepcid – to slow down the digestion and breakdown of the alcohol. I also learned that wine was better than hard liquor because there is less alcohol (ABV) per serving. Finally, I’ve learned to pace my drinking with a glass of sparkling water or soda between each alcoholic drink. A glass of bubbly water looks identical to a vodka soda. 

While these helped, the biggest change didn’t come from workarounds. It was the result of learning the scientific “why” behind my Asian glow, and how alcohol for many people, most notably Asians, acts as a poison to the body. In short, I do not have the capability to break down alcohol completely. It’s not a superficial ailment or lack of tolerance, but an actual multi-level biological and chemical response to a perceived poison entering my system. 

This information was life-changing, to say the least. The thought of willfully poisoning myself to have an alcoholic beverage was not something I could ignore. This was the catalyst for me to dive into potential alternatives that would allow me to consume the drinks I’ve grown to enjoy while protecting my body against the dangerous and very serious side effects of alcohol.

This is where my journey into No/low alcoholic beverages began. With today’s technology and knowledge of altering alcohol chemistry, the options for no-alcohol wines, liquors, and spirits are increasing by the day. I know I’m not the only one out there who suffers from this. Whether you have the glow yourself, or some simply choose not to consume alcohol, the Social Unbuzz was created to help discover new drink alternatives while having a lot of fun! In today’s world, everyone should be able to enjoy a drink, toast or celebration worry free 🙂

I hope you’ll join me on my journey! 

xx, Julie