Risks of drinking

[kev374]

I drink a 22-24oz of regular strength beer (occasionally an IPA around 6.5%) everyday after work… recently had a checkup and all normal except my cholesterol was high at 239 (159 LDL), triglycerides were normal at 139, my BP is a bit high sometimes and can vary wildly between 110/75 and 132/90. AST was 33 and ALT was 39 which are liver enzyme readings. A year and a half ago my AST was 25 and 41.

Weekends I have a bit more, perhaps 3 on Fri eve and Sat eve.

I have got mixed info about drinking daily. Some say 2 beers is too much daily, others say it’s actually good.

Any daily drinkers here? How much do you drink and how often, how many years have you been doing it and has it caused you any health issues (directly attributable to drinking daily).

[LAAFTERHOURS]

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.

[scaredyclassic]

2 to 5 drinks every day for my adult life, except if im really sick, or if I’m having more, except for the dry spell a little while ago. i dont feel right really with no alcohol in a day.i beleive drinkers have lower mortality overall than teetotalers, according to most research. but i would still do it if it didn’t massivel increase mortality. i’m pretty sure the way it take s my edge off my monkey brain will outweigh any health risks.

[moneymaker]

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.

[svelte]

I’ve been all over the map on this one. No drinks for a decade straight. Weekend drinker for a few years. Then daily drinker for a few years. Now back to weekends. Always almost exclusively wine.

My body is definitely diff with daily vs weekend drinking.

– I drink a whole lot more water when drinking daily.
– I wake up with my pillow drenched when I drink daily.
– I end up having to take Imodium daily (obvious reason) when I drink daily.

Which got me to thinking – my body must know I’m doing it if it is reacting to it. So I quit drinking daily.

When I drink Fri-Sat evenings only, as I do now, all those things go away.

Also, drinking increases cancer risk – especially breast cancer – a shocking amount. Can’t remember the cutoff, like 5-7 drinks a week or something like that.

As for helping one sleep, that is definitely true for me! But I’ve discovered a good substitute M-F…an hour at the gym. Makes me sleep just as well.

[spdrun]

[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.

[NotCranky]

Overhall health and nutrition profile is more important than the exact number of alcoholic beverages. A depressed inactive person ,surviving on sugar and coffee, who drinks 5 beers a day is more at risk then someone who has won the genetic lottery for being robust, has a pretty good diet and lifestyle. The risk to some people is maybe even pretty insignificant from the beers.

Still ,more than one ,or maybe two a day, is going to be some drain on health and day to day well being of most people, if not sooner, later. What may be o.k. in the 20’s could be too much later in life.

[UCGal]

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.

[scaredyclassic]

family history of alcohol problems is a valid reason for abstention. I think there should be a way to know if it’s doing you good. you feel overall better. drinking. if you feel worse, stop.

I found a really really tasy new diet alcohol drink.

wild turkey 101. it has 25% more alcohol, same calories…

[CA renter]

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.

[afx114]

On my Dad’s side of the family, everyone is a straight-edge Christian and dies young.

My Mom’s side is more of a “lets have wine every night and have a good time” family and they all live to 90-100.

I think my choice is clear. DNA doesn’t lie.

BTW, “1 beer per night” is a useless measurement, especially here in San Diego with our plethora of septupple-IPAs and Bourbon-barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stouts. “1 pint of Speedway Stout per night” is the equivalent of “1 case of Corona per night”

[Author]

Posts