[quote=Blogstar]
Prescription drugs prohibit drinking and eating grapefruit.[/quote]

That was very funny… but very true.

I do however thing that patients do mix drugs and alcohol. They just lie about it.

Have to admit I’m surprised by these numbers. Maybe people are lying about their drinking habits?

[quote=CA renter]Have to admit I’m surprised by these numbers. Maybe people are lying about their drinking habits?[/quote]

This was my suspicion.

When I have friends over for dinner and offer them a glass of wine – they pretty much all take a glass. Some may stop after one glass… some don’t.

Maybe I just hang out with drunks, lol… But I only have a few friends that don’t drink. One for religious reasons (Hindu), one because he gets alcohol flush – so it’s not pleasant to have even half a beer. To me it’s just something to plan for when I have these friends over – like accommodating a vegetarian or vegan… make sure to have a fun non-alcoholic beverage for the social time before the meal. (And the one religious one is also vegetarian – so I definitely have to plan ahead for dinner invites for him.)

drank very very rarely before age 32, who can blame me.. the only thing I knew back then was Miller and Corona!

Then suddenly started up when someone introduced me to good beer – all the delicious Belgian and German brews! Slowly discovered others as well reds, ambers, doubles, triples etc. and the marvelous craft breweries right here in California. Suddenly I understood how people could love this stuff so much 🙂

These days I will drink 2 beers a weekday, 4 a day Fri-Sun. I don’t find this too excessive although a doctor may disagree.

I know some that drink 6-12 beers a day, that is clearly excessive.

Drinking is fun, it relaxes stress and loosens you up. Stress is a killer as well so it’s got to wash out somehow. The one problem with alcohol is that it increases appetite which means potential weight gain.

I am super physically active though so no weight gain for me, I hike 12-16 miles every weekend and go to the gym thrice a week doing 1+ hour intense workouts…

I wonder about the stress vs drinking aspect. Of course I do think that people should find other outlets too, but I’m referring to the person that comes home from work and has a beer or two to loosen up from the day.

Say you had two people that were very similar. One of them has a beer or two every day when they get home on the porch as a little stress reliever and the other one does not.

Who would live longer if everything else stays the same?

I really think that as long as it does not lead to Jack Daniels the one that has a beer or two might have a bit more longevity. Let me know if you know of anyone like the second guy. I’ll be test subject #1.

[quote=sdsurfer]I wonder about the stress vs drinking aspect. Of course I do think that people should find other outlets too, but I’m referring to the person that comes home from work and has a beer or two to loosen up from the day.

Say you had two people that were very similar. One of them has a beer or two every day when they get home on the porch as a little stress reliever and the other one does not.

Who would live longer if everything else stays the same?

I really think that as long as it does not lead to Jack Daniels the one that has a beer or two might have a bit more longevity. Let me know if you know of anyone like the second guy. I’ll be test subject #1.[/quote]

Problem is that the body’s response to alcohol (depressant) is to produce its own stimulants. Which causes me to wake up at 3:00 am if I’ve had a couple drinks the night before. So long term, is there any net gain in stress relief, or is there just a redistribution? Hard to say.