Drinking wine each evening

12 crates of red wine with two complimentary wine glasses.

It might be better if we did. The French tend to drink to enhance the pleasure of their meals but many Brits tend to drink to get drunk.

But do we aspire to drink like the French?
Because a different country does something does not mean it is a good idea to copy.

Happiness from alcohol is very far removed from good for mental health

ooh what did I win!

Bingo. We have a winner.

Excellent! Trust the French! Totally right though!

I think it is too much.

What is it you like about the wine? Is it the taste or how it makes you feel?

If it's he former, can you find another way to get the taste? If it's the later, can you find another way to get the effect?

https://www.livestrong.com/article/515297-the-effects-of-two-glasses-of-wine-a-day/

"Disease Prevention or Cause?

According to an August 2016 article published by Nutrients, chemical components in wine called polyphenols, including resveratrol and quercetin, are natural substances that have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties — which have been shown to help prevent and treat cancer.

However, according to the National Cancer Institute, alcohol consumption of as little as one drink per day has been shown to increase risk of developing some types of cancer, including head and neck, esophageal, liver, breast and colorectal."

Indeed it is. No one's quite sure who originated it though. Some say Louis Pasteur, some say Brillat-Savarin. Whoever it was, it sounds good!

Yes, but if you're talking about just for your own consumption that could be, like, 25 units. Well over the recommended 14 unit limit. It's just not healthy long-term, is it? Drinking 2 units a day causes one extra woman out of every 50 to develop breast cancer.

etc etc blah blah, fingers in ears time. I'm saying this because I know it's bad for me but it's crept up for me over the Christmas holidays too because I like the taste of it with food and have had plenty in over Christmas to crack one open during meal prepping. Result is I've only had one alcohol-free night. Most nights it's a large glass of wine this holiday, maybe into a second one. Every night. I know it's not good for my health. My skin looks dehydrated and my digestion is affected. I find myself going in the kitchen to cook and thinking of getting a glass while I start chopping veg and listening to music. That's purely a habit thing rather than a dependency as such, so I'm just going to break the habit and start having a glass of sparkling water or something like that instead.

Like others say, it's a slippery slope. Don't try to kid yourself that it's alright and that it's good for your mental health. That's just daft.

I agree Serv that it doesn't have to mean a slippery slope. I've seen lots of people cut back as they get older as they can't tolerate alcohol as well, my mum for starters, or because you become more health conscious or your taste for it just goes. Same as smoking. Decades ago people used to say that social smoking would always lead to full on smoking which just isn't the case for everyone

... just to agree with a pp, I also used to drink more and my wine consumption has greatly reduced over the years. I'm far more health conscious these days. My love of a glass of wine only goes so far. It CAN be a slippery slope, but not for everyone.

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.

I have one glass each night, but I don't really exceed the recommended unit intake per week. Recommended weekly allowance is 14 units for women, some bottles of wine are 9/10 units depending on strength. What are the units of each bottle? I'd say 2.5 bottles is a bit too much yes, can you knock it down to say just under 2 bottles a week? So say if you got a bootle of wine that was 8 units, just under 2 bottles would be within range of the 14 units per week.

Alcohol guidelinesIt's recommended to drink no more than 14 units of alcohol a week, spread across 3 days or more. That's around 6 medium (175ml) glasses of wine, or 6 pints of 4% beer.
There's no completely safe level of drinking, but sticking within these guidelines lowers your risk of harming your health. Try using Alcohol Change UK's unit calculator to work out how many units you drink and watch our .

Aren't women meant to stick to 14 units or less a week? Or has that advice changed? Units doesn't mean glasses. I think there are 14 units in a bottle of wine.

And definitely some alcohol free days. Your health can be affected by alcohol without you being obviously addicted/ dependent or noticing any ill effects.

Sounds like too much to me. I drank every day pretty much as a student but that was a long time ago.

DisabledDemon, is that really a saying?

Yes but they don’t drink like brits

Well, the French say that a day without wine is like a day without sunshine.

I’ve gone through stages where I drink wine every night and others where I drink very little. My barometer was always can I stop drinking for a period of time without it bothering me? If I was wondering if it’s ok I’d just have some nights off and see how I feel.

I think ideally having a couple of nights a week alcohol free is ideal, and also medically recommended. I am in my 50s and aim to only drink on weekends now.

I think the question you need to ask is how would you feel if you couldn’t have it - and would you struggle to go without it? If the answer is that you’d find it difficult, then I would advise that it’s too much and you potentially have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol.

As others have said, it’s easy to start with a small amount not very often and for it to creep up and up as your tolerance increases so it might be worth trying to go without for a while and seeing how you feel.

I can absolutely recommend a fabulous book that helped me examine my relationship with alcohol - Alan Carr Easy Way to Control Alcohol. Worth a read with an open mind.

I do too and have done for years. It hasn't crept up, in fact it's actually gone down.

I can and do skip the occasional night without really noticing the lack but there are virtually no soft drinks left now without sweeteners and all the alcohol free wines are pretty rank.

What would happen if you had to go for a while without? If you did not drink for a few weeks would it affect you?

It definitely is a slippery slope and what happens when something bad happens. I really hope it doesn't, but it's reality for many of us. People suffer bereavements, lose jobs, long term illness etc. If something like this were to happen a daily drinking habit can escalate very quickly.

Drinking 2. 5 bottles a week is around 25 units, I believe the recommended amount is 14. So youre not far off double. Additionally, if you're drinking every day your liver never gets a chance to recuperate. I'd definitely recommend at least 2 consecutive days off.

Sorry, it IS a slippery slope. Habit leads to addiction.

My mother started off like you, 1 - 2 glasses a night for years and years without increase. Then, it crept up slowly without her even noticing.

Now, she's dependent on two bottles of wine a day, every day. And it's fucking everything up for everyone.