Drinking wine each evening

I'm was even convinced that the food I ate over Christmas was actually worse for me than all the booze I drink.

At the same time, a large percentage of the population is overweight and I would think a lot of people don't follow all the other NHS recommendations about diet and exercise. Do people actually eat 5 a day? No point vilifying drinkers when being overweight is equally bad.

But the OP asked about her drinking. If someone started a post saying ‘I have a BMI of 40 and I eat junk food every day, AIBU?’ most posters would point out that obesity is dangerous to health and that the OP is directly damaging their health with their diet. You’d get a few posters saying ‘nah, this is fine, crack on’ and these would be the ones who were also in denial about their diet/health.

I don't think most people do think drinking excessive amounts (like the OP drinks) is fine. They think drinking small amounts is fine. That's what I think, although willing to consider that I might be wrong.

At the same time, a large percentage of the population is overweight and I would think a lot of people don't follow all the other NHS recommendations about diet and exercise. Do people actually eat 5 a day? No point vilifying drinkers when being overweight is equally bad. I'm not saying it's fine but everyone lecturing the OP here should check if there are virtuous in all other areas. Eating a lot of meat and processed food increases the risk of bowel cancer massively. We should be lecturing people to stop eating meat for health, ethical and environmental reasons.

Well it's made me rethink my drinking a bit, although I do really enjoy it. I always had the idea that a bit of red wine was good for you. Michael Mosley has been quite positive about a small glass with dinner it as well.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5vdhZ0K2YJFkL6SmlFWb6lz/cheers-how-choosing-red-wine-could-help-keep-your-heart-healthy

Of course we all do things that are bad for us. However, most of us probably know that drugs and smoking, being overweight, failing to exercise etc are bad for us. Why is it that people feel the need to pretend that drinking excessive amounts of alcohol is fine?

People do a lot, lot worse to their bodies. The fact that you have asked the question would suggest you are a bit concerned...

A bottle of wine per week isn't so much.

But a bottle of wine all in one go is. I think if most people drank an entire bottle of wine in one go they would feel pretty crap the next day. Red wine/dark beer makes me feel particularly awful because of the various stuff it has in it as well as alcohol.

It's harder for your body to process it all in one go, and probably damages you a lot more than spread out over time.

Yep. How to say "I've got a drinking problem" without actually saying that you've got a drinking problem.

I don't think it's that bad. There are always a load of people out there who don't drink who will make out that it is the worst thing ever though, probably to make them feel good about themselves because they don't do it.

There are loads of things we do that are bad for us. Not getting any exercise. Eating a poor diet. Drinking too much coffee. Lying in the sun too much. Drugs and smoking. Being overweight.

You could run a marathon every day and eat lettuce for your entire life, but it's not that much fun. The key to me is to strike a balance between doing stuff you like, while not doing so much of it that it becomes a major issue.

With many things the problem is the consumption can creep up over time. So having a hard limit like you have (2.5 bottles a week) is a good idea.

Ultimately how long you live will be dictated more by your genes than anything else. Some people have really bad responses to alcohol/bad things. Others seem virtually indestructable. Look at someone like Jeanne Clemant, who lived to be 122 years old and smoked one cigarette a day until she had to quit at 116 because she could no longer see to light them. I think she also ate a pile of chocolate a week.

It is too much. My mum has been an evening drinker for the past 20 years (more than 2 glasses though I must say) and now she’s in her 60s has many health issues relating and unfortunately looks even older than my 80 year grandmother (dad’s mother). Alcohol definitely ages you

I posted on here about drinking 1 bottle of wine every Saturday night and got absolutely slaughter and told it was over the recommendation and that basically I was a alcoholic (which I thought was nonsense tbh)

I have however for other health reasons stopped drinking and I now have a glass of nozecco every now and then and I feel so much better in myself for it

I honestly don't understand why anyone would think "oh well if it only affects the liver I won't worry about it

I agree but I think part of this is that people think liver damage will always show up on blood tests so they think they can carry on with excessive drinking as long as they occasionally have their liver function checked. If that was the case, we’d have a lot fewer people dying from alcohol-related liver diseases because a proportion of them would have changed their habits when blood tests began to show problems.

@Jeffsmeffsmiff

Oh no, I completely appreciate that. I think it's just sometimes people think that liver disease only affects the 'down and out alcoholics'; they are more likely to know people affected by heart disease, dementia and cancer. And because there is less of a concrete link between alcohol and those diseases, are less likely to be aware of alcohol being a contributory factor.

Stop worrying and enjoy it op. On here anything beyond a thimble of sherry at Christmas means you're a raging alcoholic.
They also like to throw data sheets and sources around to prove their expertise.

You can tell which posters likely have a problem with alcohol because they always bang on about the supposed MN ‘thimbleful of sherry at Christmas’. If nothing else, it is far beyond a cliche at this point.

I also find it quit worrying when people are so ready to dismiss ‘data sheets and sources’. Do you not believe in science or something?

And so many people also think that it only affects the liver. Alcohol affects so many organs and is a massive risk factor for so many diseases: heart disease, strokes, dementia, cancers, to name a few.
This is very true but I honestly don't understand why anyone would think "oh well if it only affects the liver I won't worry about it"
That's actually insane. You CANNOT live without your liver. You might as well say "it only affects the brain" which by the way WILL be affected if your liver stops working anyway.
And death by liver disease is a fucking awful way to go. You get muscle wasting, dementia, ascites which is fluid build up in your abdomen, uncontrolled bleeding, horrendous itchy yellow skin, yellow eyes. It's absolutely brutal. And you wouldn't know your liver was damaged until it's too late.
There is no dialysis or anything like that for liver failure either. Your liver fails then your only outcomes are transplant - if you're lucky enough to find a donor, and considered "healthy" enough to survive the op, and can prove medically that you have been abstinent for 6 months, or death. That's it.

A myth.

If you want antioxidants, eat these:

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods-high-in-antioxidants#TOC_TITLE_HDR_9

To me it wouldn't be the amount necessarily although obviously within the guidelines would be advisable it is more the question of could you not have it which would be my concern. It is a slippery slope.

Or, tomatoes or blueberries or strawberries or anything else that is high in antioxidants plus all the other health benefits 😉

This.

Not good

2.5 bottles is 22.5 units a week. Not masses but over the 14 unit safer drinking recommendation.

former heavy/problem drinker now over 2 years sober

Daft post. Eating kebabs/drinking energy drinks every day is also a bad idea.

Honestly, some of the posts here are ridiculous. Some are obliged to tell the OP that it’s all fine and normal, not because they have read any scientific/medical evidence but because they know that they themselves drink too much and they have to try and make themselves feel better about it.

*The NHS drinking advice is 14 units (for women and men now) but is not a “safe”level. There is no such thing as a safe level of alcohol only a “lower risk” level. They are just trying to minimise impact knowing most will not stop drinking alcohol.

Just because we normalise it in our society doesn’t make it okay. It’s personal choice of course as to what risk you take but we should stop normalising and even congratulating high alcohol consumption.*

This. Thanks @smileyface123

So many people still think, or kid themselves, that a glass of wine a day is actually good for them, when it's nothing but a toxin.

And so many people also think that it only affects the liver. Alcohol affects so many organs and is a massive risk factor for so many diseases: heart disease, strokes, dementia, cancers, to name a few.

(My own mother managed to tick all of those off!)

And so many people just think it is something that affects other people, the 'unhealthy' ones.

If this thread gets just one person to rethink their relationship with alcohol, than it's done some good.

The amount and frequency of your drinking is unsafe, far exceeds the medical maximum advised limits and of course increases your risk of cancer.
Not something I would do especially as I have 2 young children but as can be seen by this thread plenty of people see it as acceptable.

I wouldn't drink wine very night personally, and I do love a glass of wine. I tend to buy a bottle at the weekend and have one glass a night until its gone (3-4 nights. Then I don't drink anything until the next weekend when I buy another bottle. I am super cautious though, because drink problems and alcoholism run in my family.