Acetaldehyde is a highly reactive, toxic metabolite produced during alcohol breakdown. As soon as we drink ethanol, the liver begins detoxification. The enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) first converts ethanol into acetaldehyde. This intermediate is far more toxic than alcohol itself and is considered the main culprit behind many acute and long-term damages.
Under normal conditions, acetaldehyde is quickly processed further. A second enzyme, aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), converts it into acetic acid, which is harmless and either used in energy metabolism or excreted via the kidneys. Problems arise when ALDH is overwhelmed or genetically less active. Acetaldehyde levels then rise in the body, causing nausea, racing heart, headaches, sleep disturbances, and the classic hangover feeling. At the same time, acetaldehyde attacks proteins, DNA, and cell membranes — promoting cancer, heart muscle damage, and nerve damage in the long term.
In the chemical industry, acetaldehyde is a key raw material for plastics, perfumes, solvents, dyes, and even explosives.
Acetaldehyde is not just a waste product of alcohol metabolism. In the chemical industry, it is a major starting material for plastics, perfumes, solvents, dyes, and explosives. In other words: The stuff we involuntarily produce when drinking alcohol is otherwise found in paints and industrial chemicals — definitely not something you want inside your body.
Bernd Guzek, MD, PhD #
Physician, author & co-founder of Bye-Bye-Booze
Specialized in biochemical mechanisms of addiction and brain metabolism.
