Drinking wine each evening

I have a glass the odd night it's relaxes me after entertaining my 3 month old daughter

Have you watched the ‘Blue Zones’ documentary on Netflix? I thought it would be very anti wine/alcohol in terms of longevity. Obviously loads of factors come in to play. But there was a definite consensus that in many of the ‘blue zones’ they were having a socia few glasses of wine quite a few times a week. Especially in the Greek zone. This was in a sociable setting which arguably contributes to the longevity. (The socialising).

Sooo is it more healthy to be a teetotal at home alone with no social connections. Or enjoy wine sociably a few times a week with friends? I know you can socialise without wine but still..

My argument is it’s very nuanced. I think we are going down the ‘all
alcohol is bad even a few glasses in a social setting’ route. When the evidence to that differs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_consumption_recommendations

Recommendation by country.

I drink about the same. I never ever exceed it even if it's a wedding or Christmas. I have the odd night off if I have to drive somewhere. I'm 60 and in excellent health and have been doing this for years. I haven't been drunk or had a hangover in 25 years.

We too have wine every evening with our meal. We are now well into our 70s and fit and healthy. You do you.

This.

It's because the government(s) has(ve) worked out what it thinks should be an acceptable risk, then come up with a consumption consistent with that.

As someone else has said, it is a sliding scale, not a cliff edge. The risk increases as consumption increases. the only way to get zero risk is to have zero consumption.

A more interesting question is, how many people actually know what the "acceptable consumption in units" actually relates to in terms of risk ?

My guess is very few.

What stuff like this does is discourage people to actually think about what they are doing. Which is the exact opposite of what people need to do.

There’s plenty of medical evidence on the effects of alcohol. People on here seem to be stating things they read years ago as if it never changes due to more recent evidence. You asked, we told you that a weekly habit of 25+ units may be harmful. Now you’re saying you may as well use heroin? Well if you have a nightly long term habit of heroin use, it won’t end well.
it’s good you’re cutting back as like I said, the long term effects of steady drinking show up in the poor health outcomes of older adults. Look at epidemiological studies-not the randoms talking about their nan who lived to 95. Hopefully, we would all be that nan, but realistically, to assume that would be foolish. Cheers!

No it’s the other way round. Men and women have the same recommendations here (used to be 21 units now 14 for men same as women). The chief medical officer changed it a few years ago - haven’t seen the scientific reason for doing so. Spain men can drink more - 35 units.

What is this "Shrubbery" you drink? 😕

I always think the litmus test with alcohol is, do you want it or do you have to have it? If a doctor told you to stop drinking for 6 weeks could you? It doesn’t sound to me like op as a problem. She has not increased her drinking and is not binge drinking. Ultimately we all know ourselves if we have an issue, the key is to be brutally honest with yourself. My mum used to swear blind she had one small whiskey a night when in reality she actually had about the equivalent of 6 pub measures of whiskey.

I think we only have different recommendations for men and women here because of the different average size between the two. Men and women in Spain are all more slim and alike so have similar tolerance.

I wouldn’t listen to anyone pretending to be perfect. We all have our different vices (unfortunately mine is sugar atm). The point was you asked about alcohol and you’ve got your answer.

I do find the “point and look over there” type of arguments quite silly. “Yes drinking wine is bad but look at all those other people eating lots of chocolate and takeaways”.

It’s like if you dare to mention the impact of anyone’s behaviour on the planet you are not allowed to do so unless you yourself live in a hedge with no car or children. It’s quite a childish mindset.

There’s also the issue that you have to make it doable. For a population that relies heavily on alcohol, no one will reduce it they think they have to reduce too much.

I guess you’ve got to look at the health of people in those countries particularly in relation to alcoholism and general poor health.

I agree it’s not as simple as 13-15. It’s a habit which is an issue.

There is no other country in the world that has the same drinking guidelines as the UK..why the lack of consensus on this?

Men in Spain are recommended 35 units..no other country has men and women at the same level. (Or only a handful do - has the rest of the world got this wrong??)

I’m playing Devils advocate slightly but this blind clinging to the 14 units is annoying. 13 units good? 15 bad? Unless you’re a man in Spain then double that is ok…

I think it’s too much, how would you feel if you missed a night.

Google it

Torn on this one. I used to drink wine a LOT. To the point I stopped drinking all together for over 2 years due to alcohol induced fatty liver. I was so bloody miserable during those 2 years. For the last year I have had 2 glasses on a Friday and 2 on a Saturday. Wouldn’t ever increase that as agree is slippery slope, however completely agree that it does make you happier!

14 units may be an arbitrary guideline but it gives an indication, since the fact is any alcohol has a negative effect and less is better than more. Men used to have a higher guideline - 21 units I think - and that has been lowered to 14, presumably based on evidence of some sort. All this had been made clear repeatedly so I don't see the point in continuing to mentioni it is 'arbitrary' and making it sound like it's a random number with no basis in fact at all.

Assuming 2.5 bottles a week equates to 25 units, and OP is cutting out 2 days of drinking, this would mean she drinks 3.57 units a day on average, which would be 17.86 units over 5 days, which is still over the guideline. I guess she wants to keep drinking beyond the recommended guideline, hence the need to keep making it sound like 14 is plucked out of the air.

Also arguing that everyone else must also be unhealthy in some other way as a justification for drinking too much is not only fallacious but irrelevant. This thread is discussing the merits, or lack of , relating to alcohol only.

As it happens I barely ever drink coffee, never smoke anything, drink fizzy drinks only occasionally, am a healthy weight, regulate my diet as I wish to stay healthy and take exercise several times a week. However I do drink wine fairly regularly, so not a total paragon of virtue!

Backup thread, someone mentioned the size of wine glasses, and that reminded me that my glass a night is in a small glass - mine also came from a charity shop. I get 5-6 glasses out of a bottle.

Day 5 of Dry January, and I've not noticed any difference in the way I feel or how I'm sleeping. In the evenings, I do think, ooh a glass of wine would be nice, so it's definitely a habit. But I'm not bothered that I can't have one.

Do I feel that I am poisoning myself? No. Every now and again, I'll catch sight of something telling me that I'm killing myself drinking coffee, or about the toxins in vegetables, dairy produce or tap water. I know that pollution, stress and lack of exercise are bad for me, but that's my life sometimes. I do feel overweight, but my BMI is in the normal range, I don't eat meat, I don't smoke and I'm rarely ill. I'll take my chances with a glass of wine every evening (from Feb), so long as I can get to and keep to my target weight.

I think the main scientific consensus is probably that it's safer not to drink any alcohol at all, but most national governments would probably balk at telling their citizens to stop drinking altogether.

I say this as someone who probably drinks a similar amount to the OP so I'm certainly not anti-alcohol but if alcohol was invented tomorrow and studied would it be legal? I don't think so. The health issues, drink driving and anti social behaviour linked to it makes me think it wouldn't be, but thats a hypothetical debate...

It’s fascinating that the recommendations vary so much around the world. It’s almost as though there’s no scientific consensus..