I will chime in on this. I have multiple kegs on tap in my home and usually I pair them with dinner unless its been a long day or weekend but during the week, Im a one drink Sally. My taps are usually 7 % and above. I used to toss down a couple coronas a night but that was over 10 years ago.

I would say I have been on a beer a day since college but as I matured in age, so did my beer selections and my intake reduced. Im not sure if it does anything other than make me sleepy.

I’m pretty sure alcohol does to the liver what smoking does to the lungs. Since the liver can regenerate the damage is somewhat hidden, but still damage none the less. Now that being said i do toss a couple down about 4-5 days a week. Why I’m not really sure, I don’t get a buzz, but I think I do sleep a little better – I know the experts say it disturbs sleep patterns. I wish I could see my liver, then maybe I would stop drinking.

[quote=moneymaker]I’m pretty sure alcohol does to the liver what smoking does to the lungs.[/quote]

I have a glass of wine with dinner or a beer/two fairly regularly. As far as liver/lungs, not really. The liver can regenerate to a point — as long as you’re not killing cells faster than you can regenerate them, you’re OK.

Smoking pollutes the lungs and the nasties (including polonium/radium, since tobacco takes up radioactives from the soil and concentrates them) stay in you for life.

My mom had issues with drinking so I constantly monitor myself. That said – I like a cocktail or glass and wine here and there.

Because of my issues with my mom, we set household policies: We don’t drink every night – every other is ok. 2 glasses of wine or 1 martini is ok, more than that is not.

Exceptions can be made for special occasions – but that’s our normal policy.

This works for us. May seem kind of arbitrary… but it relieves my anxiety that I’ll end up drinking too much, yet still allows me to have a glass or two of wine a few days a week.

I’ve been a teetotaler for most of my life, but drank more during certain times like my final semester of college (happy it was finally going to be over), or when we’re very busy socially. I also have alcoholism in the family, so am very careful about drinking and keep everything very much in check. I drink at least one glass of water/tea for every alcoholic beverage when I do drink, which helps a lot.

Most years, I only drink ~3X year, but have started to drink a bit more lately because, as scaredy noted, social drinkers tend to live longer than non-drinkers. My guess is the anti-anxiety/stress effects, but who knows? I just know that I feel less anxious and sleep better when I drink. Wish it weren’t so, but it’s true.

My DH tends to drink whenever he’s not working, and (IMO) he drinks too much. He’s a large man and has a high tolerance, but still. So far, no negative health problems related to drinking, his cholesterol and blood pressure levels are exceptional, but I’ve noticed his memory slipping a bit, lately. Not sure if it’s drinking related, but I have a feeling that it is.

Either way, I think it’s okay to drink in moderation, but it’s probably a good idea to always be honest with yourself about it, and try to keep things well under control. If the thought of going without a drink for a few days stresses you out, there might be a problem. With all of the alcoholics I’ve known, there is a definite pattern where the drinking happens more often, then the volume increases, then they move on to the hard stuff. Things tend to spiral downward rather quickly from there. Denial is always thick.

And Svelte is right about the breast cancer/drinking risk. Supposedly, one drink per day (even less than that) can dramatically increase one’s breast cancer risk, especially for those who are susceptible to the disease.