Drinking wine each evening

@Anderson2018 but that will be as a swap for all your other usual drinking and to only have a small glass of red with a meal, and specifically the advice when starting to follow a Mediterranean diet is if you don’t drink already then not to start.

@Kendodd 👍🏼everyone has to make a personal informed decision about the risks they want to take in life. As long as you have the information and weigh it up. Enjoying the occasional glass because you enjoy it is different to making a concerted effort to drink daily.

@Kendodd the type of drinking you describe is absolutely fine if you're going to drink at all. If a heavy drinking period for you is what you have described in a week period then it seriously not a problem. Obviously no drinking at all js optimum but most people decide they would prefer to drink something than nothing.

Sorry to hear that 😕

But yup, my mum drank (just red wine so it's healthy! 🤔), probably not even every night, maybe five days a week, for a couple of decades. She had high blood pressure, early-onset angina (genetic, but the alcohol didn't help!), mini strokes, fatty liver, breast cancer (twice!) and, finally, vascular dementia which killed her at the age of 70.

So yeah, carry on with the 'just in moderation' healthy drinking.

Thank you, I will have a read later.
I've always thought my drinking level was fine, healthy even in a social, wellbeing 360' sense. I reckon it averages out over the year as about one unit a week. As an example, over Christmas (a really heavy drinking period for me) I probably had two glasses of mulled wine on Christmas eve, three glasses of champagne on Christmas day and two glass on NYE. And I really enjoyed them all. Without my planned red wine (which I haven't managed to get off the ground yet) I would probably have a dry January (and February) without even noticing. I'm 50s, never been a big drinker, even in my teens. I'll read your links though and think about my drinking and if it really is for the best. I do actually really enjoy drinking when I do it though, even with known health consequences, not sure I want to give up completely.

what kind of wine? I’ve been looking into the Mediterranean diet which says a glass of red wine with you evening meal is said to have antioxidants that are beneficial to your health. Something I can get on board with 😄

The UK has a particular culture that seems to celebrate 'getting smashed' - something to laugh about/ expect on a night out- Now I must admit I like half a bottle on Friday and Saturday nights but that's about it- and I'm aware even that isn't great for you- but the amount many drink is idiotic - when I want to cut down drastically I tend to go to a long glass of a small gin and slimline tonic followed by a non alcoholic version . Wine is easier somehow to get through a lot very quickly- whereas I will sip a G&T

it's recommended to have at least two consecutive days off alcohol a week. And your total is exceeding the NHS limit. So no, it's not OK. There's loads of things that would make me happy but I don't do them!

That equates to just more than a large glass every day. That's a lot of wine and personally I'd say you have a problem. Try cutting down to 5 nights a week and make it a small glass (so 1 bottle a week) and if you can't then you know you have an issue.

@Kendodd you might want to read this and the links in full

"makes me happy so I should just do it"

What utter BS. Drinking every single night is not okay.

Normalised, yes. But no, that's not healthy or normal.

It might be because I lived in France for many years, but to me having a glass or two of wine in the evening is completely normal.
Is it "ideal" for optimum health? Almost certainly not. But neither is loads of stuff that we do (driving too much, eating bacon, not flossing, drinking several cups of coffee a day, eating sugar, not exercising daily, getting stressed, sitting too much... The list goes on).
Drink your wine, enjoy it.

@kendodd just so you know all the studies showing red wine as being good for your health have been debunked. It is an antioxidant and does have blood pressure benefits for some but it's outweighed by the dangers of the actual alcohol. The problem with the studies is that they were comparing "non drinkers" with "moderate drinkers" without removing those that had had to give up alcohol for health reasons (like liver disease, or cancer etc) and were now non drinkers. So of course moderate drinking is going to show lower mortality than the group which included participants who were "non drinkers" because they had health problems. More recent studies have compared people who have never drunk, against moderate drinkers and the results were the opposite.
If you want the benefits of red wine without the downsides though, what about an alcohol free wine? They taste very different, so if you're going in expecting it to taste the same as the 13% wine we're all used to you'll probably be disappointed (which is why people often say they're awful I think) but as a drink in its own right maybe you might enjoy it?

Going to aim for a bottle a week. I should get through that if my husband has a glass as well.

Not a joke.
I'm a very, very light drinker. I like red wine so planned to have a very small glass with my dinner every night, bit of a new year resolution. I have high cholesterol and think it might help, also, it would be nice to have.

Anyway, you might be pleased to know that so far I've failed and not had any this year. I'll start tonight though 🙂

Idiotic.

WHAT??? Joke right? :)

Yes. Until people realise that problematic drinking is not just about the unkempt homeless man swigging pints outside the train station, the denial and drinking will continue.

You only live once.....until your liver is unable to filter toxins and they go to your brain and give you symptoms like severe dementia. Until your body blows up and holds onto so much fluid they have to drain you like Veruca Salt.

I think you should look up what happens when you die of liver cirrhosis. So many people on the ward who 'Only drank a couple a day'. Its not a disease just for drunks and alcoholics.

2.5 bottles per week = 250 ml/ or a third of a bottle per day. So certainly 2 glasses per day not 1. 25 units per week. Well over the recommended maximum. Not at all healthy imho.

I think different people would respond differently to that amount of booze. For me, I'd feel drunk if I drank 2 glasses a night and my sleep would be shit, and I would feel worse and worse as the week went on, and I'd gain weight.

Different metabolisms handle it differently. Most weeks I drink nothing. Maybe once a month I'll have a glass or two of wine and I enjoy it at the time but it does make me feel sluggish and a bit crap. For me my MH is far better without alcohol than with.

I am slim and fit. But eat too much chocolate and crisps and I am trying to reduce. I am not trying to kid myself that it’s ok to eat what I do.

Thank you @smileyface123

This thread has spurred me on to ditch my 'no reason' at home fizz drinking and only have a glass or two when 'out' which isn't often. And to stop excess drinking at parties (probably happens few times a year).

Thank you @JanglingJack for sharing your story. I know you're not ok but hope you can find more ways to cope.

Sobering posts. Literally.

@smileyface123 thank you for your post. I've recently decided to give up alcohol completely and posts like yours give me a boost, knowing it's the best thing for health. I'm day 22 and I have already noticed a BIG change to my mood for the better. Anxiety levels are so much lower. Im actually shocked at how quickly I've noticed a difference.