A bottle of Essential AD2 for ALDH2 deficiency sits on a table
Product Reviews

Essential AD2 Review | Delta Nutrassentials

If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll know that I suffer from Asian Flush, or alcohol flush reaction. So far I’ve reviewed both Sunset Alcohol Flush Support (which I loved) and Redee Patch (which I didn’t like). I found another option called Essential AD2 by Delta Nutrassentials that I wanted to try as well. But did it help my alcohol flushing? Does Essential AD2 work? Check out my Essential AD2 review below!

What Is Essential AD2?

Essential AD2 is an alcohol flush support in tablet form. These tablets are taken by those with an ALDH2 deficiency which means that your body doesn’t break down a toxin properly. It can get really scientific, if you want to get deep into it, and you can read more about it in my Sunset Alcohol Flush review. Essential AD2 also has a lot of information on their website, too.

But I’ll try to cover the basics below:

What is Asian Flush?

For those of us that deal with Asian flush (like me!) our body doesn’t break down alcohol properly like everyone else. The whole process gets messed up and we end up with a high level of toxic acetaldehyde in our system when we drink alcohol. In a normal body, acetaldehyde would be broken down into a harmless chemical and these people won’t experience alcohol flushing.

How wonderful that must be!

However, for those of us dealing with Asian Flush (weather you’re Asian or not) this chemical leaves us with really uncomfortable symptoms. Obviously it varies from person to person, but you may experience red facial flushing, headaches, laboured breathing, increased heart rate and perhaps even red flushing on your shoulders and/or neck.

Thankfully I don’t have extreme symptoms myself, but I usually experience things like red facial flushing, headaches, dizziness and sometimes even flushing on my neck and shoulders. While it might not be the worst compared to others, my symptoms are really obvious. It’s not like I can hide my flushing at a party. Trust me, I’ve tried.

Overall, Asian Flush is super embarrassing and incredibly uncomfortable. Because of this, I’ve basically avoided drinking alcohol. It just wasn’t worth feeling those symptoms.

However, since I started my quest to find a great alcohol flush product, so far Sunset has been a total hero. But I still wanted to give Essential AD2 a chance, in case it’s better. You never know until you try it!

How is Essential AD2 different?

The bottle states that “acetaldehyde enters the body from alcohol, air pollution, cigarette smoke, coffee, tea, fruit, and other foods.” I definitely didn’t know that! That being said, the directions say two tablets should be taken daily (I guess to deal with all forms of daily acetaldehyde?) It also says to take two additional tablets 45 minutes before drinking alcohol to deal with Asian Flush symptoms.

While a bottle does has 70 tablets, you’ll go through quite a few of them if you’re taking two every day. Even quicker if you intend to have alcohol and require more tablets.

You can get 20% off by signing up for a monthly subscription. That’s different! This means you can get automatic deliveries each month without re-ordering.

The one thing I was a bit worried about was that Delta Nutrassentials doesn’t offer refunds on any bottles that have been opened (unlike both Sunset and Redee). So if it doesn’t work for you, oh well! You’ve just lost $45.

Essential AD2 even paid for cute videos to be made up, which is a nice touch!

What’s Essential AD2 Like?

Like I mentioned, Essential AD2 comes in large tablets. And when I say large, I mean large tablets. Sometimes I have a hard time swallowing pills so the sheer size of Essential AD2 was a bit worrying. Also, the smell of the tablets was pretty gross, too.

I didn’t bother taking two tablets daily but did follow the instructions before drinking alcohol.

Did Essential AD2 work? Unfortunately, not really.

A bottle of Essential AD2 for ALDH2 deficiency sits on a table

Essential AD2 definitely worked better than Redee Patches. Perhaps that was due to it being a tablet rather than a patch? Or something different in the ingredients? Even still, Essential AD2 didn’t fully fix my Asian Flush symptoms.

Their website did say that “for maximum benefit, Essential AD2 should first be taken daily for up to 2 weeks” but honestly, that seems a bit much. I’m looking for a solution for when I decide to drink alcohol, not everyday. Plus I can’t afford to be spending $45 on a single bottle. I’m on a budget, you know?

What’s In Essential AD2?

Essential AD2 ingredients: Niacinamide, N-Acetyl Cysteine, Alpha-Lipoic Acid, Thiamine, Pantothenic Acid, Vitamin A, Vitamin C.

There are a few ingredients that I recognise from Sunset and Redee, plus a few different ones as well. I couldn’t find a lot of details on the ingredients exactly on Essential AD2’s website, however.

There was also a big list of “other ingredients” on the bottle that was too difficult to type out! I’m assuming those help create the actual tablets, maybe?

What Does a Essential AD2 Feel Like?
A bottle of Essential AD2 for ALDH2 deficiency

Once I was finally able to swallow the two tablets, I waited the full 45 minutes before drinking alcohol. I did notice that some of my flushing (mainly facial flushing) was reduced. However, it wasn’t a full-fix and I still experienced the rest of my usual symptoms full-force.

One of the really annoying things with Asian Flush is how distracting your symptoms can be. I was at a pub with friends trying to enjoy the conversation, but all I could think about was how uncomfortable I was. The headaches are one of the worst symptoms, too, because it’s so hard to relax and have fun when your head is pounding.

Final Verdict

While Essential AD2 did help some of my red facial flushing, it wasn’t enough. I still felt my usual dizziness and headaches and eventually got flushing on my shoulders. I finally had to excuse myself and explain to my friends that I couldn’t stick around for the night. How embarrassing! Unfortunately it’s not the first time Asian Flush, or alcohol flush reaction, has ruined a night with friends.

Overall, I wouldn’t bother with Essential AD2. It’s a steep price to pay for something you can’t return when it doesn’t work for you. I also didn’t see enough of a reduction in my symptoms. Oh well!

Emma x

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