How often do you drink? What do you drink?

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Admiral Benbow

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At risk of diabetes
Ok everyone, the title to this post says it all. I know most people are concerned about diabetes, but I just had a nice duck dinner last night with two complimentary glasses of wine which came with my meal.

They were good Chilean wines. A red and white. The red was a Santa Rosa Sauvignon Merlot, and the white was a Luis Felipe Edwards Pupilla Sauvignon Blank. I've always liked wine, Scotch whiskey, -and Heineken beer on a hot day-, and haven't had a drink of alcohol in a number of weeks.

However, I've watched several Dr. Berg and Dr. Eckberg videos on alcohol and know that all alcohol is bad for you, and it takes at least an hour for the body to get rid of even the tallest amount of alcohol in the system.

I want to live a long life until my 90's, but I don't want to become a teetotaller, yet I don't want dementia or fatty liver disease. How often do you guys drink?
 
Admiral Benbow said:
However, I've watched several Dr. Berg and Dr. Eckberg videos on alcohol
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What's your reason for paying attention to these guys more than (say) some guy spouting off in a pub?

Anywy, I hardly drink these days - a glass of wine every now and then. Mainly because I've really always only been a social drinker & people seem to drink less these days, but also I think the research is fairly clear: any level of drinking carries risks, even if they're pretty small risks if it is just a glass of wine every now and then.
 
I try to stay below 14 units a week which was the old (lower) UK guidance, down from 28, and then 21 units.

I also try to ensure a few alcohol-free days per week, and will periodically have a dry, or at least damp, month.

But I’m aware that the current evidence is that there really isn’t a ‘safe’ lower limit, and that limiting consumption is really only reducing the increased risk.

So I drink less than I’d like to, but more than I should.
 
I've never been keen on wine or spirits so I only ever drank beer, always bottled and rarely more than 3, but one pre-diabetes New Year's Eve I was halfway through one when I realised that I wasn't actually enjoying it, so I left it and haven't had a drop since. Been teetotal for almost 5 years now and don't miss it at all.
 
Not brave enough to try alcohol as makes me unwell even less than have a glass of wine makes me sick and suicidal
 
I think my answer would be "it depends".
Last week, I shared a can of beer with my partner and that was all.
The week before, I was away with work and drank on 3 nights including a combination of gin, beer and, very late one night, limoncello.
I always drink "small" beers (half pints in the UK), single spirits and, if drinking wine with dinner, try to limit my intake to half a bottle - I often drink less. So my even on my "boozy" trip away, I probably had about 12 units in total and nothing when I got home.
I drink more when on holiday but still aim for a dry night during the week and never drink so much that it impacts my activities the next day.
 
That old curmudgeon Paul advises Timothy to take a little wine for the good of his stomach and his ailments - rather than only drinking water.
Although I know most of the major wines my favourite wine is Moscato d'Asti, and I can go a month or more without touching a drop of alcohol. This month I drank a tiny amount of vodka when I came home chilled, and the previous week a half pint of Summer Lightening diluted with the same amount of fizzy water, as I was feeling the heat.
Alcohol seems to have been a drink common in many cultures for a long time - it was certainly brewed in some of the oldest dwelling or meeting places ever found to date.
To over indulge is certainly unwise but infrequent small amounts can add to the enjoyment of special occasions, in my experience anyway.
 
One beer, (lager), a day is my motto, part of my 5 a day in my opinion.
 
Alcohol: never (I enter Hypo-land if I drink alcohol, so I quit). Lots of coffee and water.
We're all different. This suits me fine. 🙂
 
WI stick to wine and the odd G&T. When at home we only drink at weekends, and nothing during the week (unless we are watching a programme that was recorded at the weekend !! Then rules sometimes get broken)
 
Approx on 1 occasion a month - very rarely more - but, if I wanted more, I would and could. I've never, ever at any time in my life so far, drunk enough alcohol for it to be any sort of an issue. I used to like a G &T before a nice meal and wine with the food but these days the G&Ts are so huge I have been known to still be drinking the G&T with the meal.
 
I had an aunt who started with a sherry at 11.30am and progressed to a couple of stiff G & T’s before her evening meal, and she lived to be 94! 😱I’m not advocating this, but I guess it depends on your genes.
I drink a glass or two of wine with my evening meal over weekends, but more on holidays and at Christmas.
 
Usually no alcohol except a pint or two when gigging. Need to keep hydrated and water gets a bit boring.
 
I have had to give up. Rum and diet coke was mostly my tipple with the odd glass of wine. Used to love port but resent having to inject for it. Recently I have been really ill the next day (nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea and feeling really really ill) even with very limited amounts, so leaving it alone for at least a month but may end up for life or once in a blue moon as I have a very interesting bottle of spiced rum which was a gift from a friend, that I haven't had a chance to try yet. If it was something common or garden, like Lambs I would give it away, but it looks really nice, just not brave enough to try it at the moment. Doesn't help that I am quite anxious at the moment, so just knowing I have had a drink that might make me ill.... could make me ill rather than the drink itself. Seems like all my comfort foods/drinks are slowly disappearing off my menu! Thank heaven for cheese!!
 
Only ever drink on weekends but occasionally will have one during week if on a break away, in early years was bit of a regular drinker but those days are long past now.
 
The idea that there is no safe level of alcohol is based on WHO guidelines that themselves are based on the 2018 paper by the Global Burden of Disease (GBD), which said that they can't identify the safe level of alcohol. But the GBD re-evaluated the same evidence in 2020 and agreed that the "J-curve" actually exists — the J-curve says that moderate drinkers (two or fewer drinks for men, one drink for women) have overall lower mortality than non-drinkers or heavy drinkers. The J-curve is scientifically robust and has been demonstrated for more than 40 years.

But even in the face of the new GBD evidence, the WHO didn't change their guidelines.

tl;dr., the "no safe level" is not based on current best science, but paternalism. There is no evidence that sticking to truly moderate drinking (two standard drinks for men, and one for women) is bad for your health. But note that "moderate drinking" is about 20g of alcohol a day for men, which is two small glasses of wine.
 
MarinaDE said:
The idea that there is no safe level of alcohol is based on WHO guidelines that themselves are based on the 2018 paper by the Global Burden of Disease (GBD), which said that they can't identify the safe level of alcohol. But the GBD re-evaluated the same evidence in 2020 and agreed that the "J-curve" actually exists — the J-curve says that moderate drinkers (two or fewer drinks for men, one drink for women) have overall lower mortality than non-drinkers or heavy drinkers. The J-curve is scientifically robust and has been demonstrated for more than 40 years.

But even in the face of the new GBD evidence, the WHO didn't change their guidelines.

tl;dr., the "no safe level" is not based on current best science, but paternalism. There is no evidence that sticking to truly moderate drinking (two standard drinks for men, and one for women) is bad for your health. But note that "moderate drinking" is about 20g of alcohol a day for men, which is two small glasses of wine.
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That's interesting, thanks.

This is the re-evaluation: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)00847-9/fulltext

Summary​

Background​

The health risks associated with moderate alcohol consumption continue to be debated. Small amounts of alcohol might lower the risk of some health outcomes but increase the risk of others, suggesting that the overall risk depends, in part, on background disease rates, which vary by region, age, sex, and year.

Methods​

For this analysis, we constructed burden-weighted dose–response relative risk curves across 22 health outcomes to estimate the theoretical minimum risk exposure level (TMREL) and non-drinker equivalence (NDE), the consumption level at which the health risk is equivalent to that of a non-drinker, using disease rates from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2020 for 21 regions, including 204 countries and territories, by 5-year age group, sex, and year for individuals aged 15–95 years and older from 1990 to 2020. Based on the NDE, we quantified the population consuming harmful amounts of alcohol.

Findings​

The burden-weighted relative risk curves for alcohol use varied by region and age. Among individuals aged 15–39 years in 2020, the TMREL varied between 0 (95% uncertainty interval 0–0) and 0·603 (0·400–1·00) standard drinks per day, and the NDE varied between 0·002 (0–0) and 1·75 (0·698–4·30) standard drinks per day. Among individuals aged 40 years and older, the burden-weighted relative risk curve was J-shaped for all regions, with a 2020 TMREL that ranged from 0·114 (0–0·403) to 1·87 (0·500–3·30) standard drinks per day and an NDE that ranged between 0·193 (0–0·900) and 6·94 (3·40–8·30) standard drinks per day. Among individuals consuming harmful amounts of alcohol in 2020, 59·1% (54·3–65·4) were aged 15–39 years and 76·9% (73·0–81·3) were male.

Interpretation​

There is strong evidence to support recommendations on alcohol consumption varying by age and location. Stronger interventions, particularly those tailored towards younger individuals, are needed to reduce the substantial global health loss attributable to alcohol.
 
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