To wonder if the Government alcohol advice is too strict?

[brasty]

Just that really. I wonder if the government guidelines that no adult should have more than 14 units a week, is too low? 14 units really is not that much. 1 bottle of wine over a week is 14 units.

This was a meta-analysis of 87 studies into the health effects of moderate drinking, including a sample size of almost four million people. It's pretty convincing - but for some reason you're sticking with the old research conclusions that they debunked... Okaay!

No I don't need alcohol to enjoy myself.But Iike the taste of alcohol, Sitting and having yet another drink of orange juice or coke, is boring. I end up just drinking tap water, because I am not that keen on any of the soft drink alternatives.

If it's just the taste you can get some lovely mocktails, you don't need to sick to Coke or juice.

*stick

Mocktails, and most cocktails are just sweet and sickly. Not a fan. But also the kind of places I go don't serve mocktails, or even cocktails.

I do drink no alcohol beer, but lots of places don't have it. There is no substitute for red wine though.

Mocktails taste nothing like cocktails. They are generally just mixes of fruit juice and sugar.

DH and I used to drink a lot of wine. We decided to stop drinking in the week and stick to weekends, instead of 3-4 bottles a week we were buying one. Having a couple of glasses on Friday and Saturday.

We felt better in the mornings, my skin looks better and my baby belly (DS is 2!) has vanished.

I think it's a pretty good guideline, I love a glass of wine but it's just not that good for you in excess.

Interesting story regarding the alcohol health benefits "myth":
health.spectator.co.uk/the-truth-about-moderate-drinking-has-been-muddied-by-anti-alcohol-militants/

The revised safety limits have been arbitrarily lowered. In 1984 "too much" alcohol was defined as 35 units for women and 56 for men.
In 1987 they defined "sensible limits" as 14 & 21, with "too much" as 22 & 36.

www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmsctech/1536/153605.htm

The recent reduction from 21 to 14 units for men seems nonsensical and puts the UK way lower than most other countries.
It's very simplistic to say the health benefits of alcohol have been debunked, far from it.

35 units is a lot.

Also mocktails I see as being great for kids. They get to pretend they are drinking an adult drink, while really just drinking fruit juice, fizzy pop and sugar. But they are not an adult taste at all. My friend who does not like the taste of alcohol, likes them.

These threads always go the same way: you all drink far too much and you will all die from it, I, on the other hand, am a paragon of health, therefore I shall live forever.

If you think they're too strict, then exercise your own moderation over what you eat, drink and do.

Live and let live, because sooner or later, all of us will meet the same ultimate end.

And yy, the guidelines assume everyone is lying, can't count, too stupid to know is an addict in denial, as are GP attitudes. If I told my clients the assumption I had is that they are all liars, they'd quite likely have zero trust in me and probably tell me to fuck off, not a good basis for a relationship. I avoid doctors like the plague whenever possible for this reason.

No. I do think a lot of people are in denial about how much they drink/rely on drink and the fact it's unhealthy though.

I know I drink a bit too much. But drinking over the guidelines does not mean you are drinking too much.

Other countries have much higher guidelines BUT less alcohol related deaths and less problems with binge drinking. We should be asking why.

I'm no paragon of health either. I eat way too much crap, but I don't deny it or justify it. I accept I do it and what potential consequences may come of it.

Thing is though...drink, don't drink; eat healthily, eat crap. Exercise or not....we are all going to die. It's inescapable.

I've seen extremely old age up close and I'm not a fan. Your body slowly wastes away and you are trapped inside it. Not for me, thanks. As soon as my kids are settled and independent I'm upping my drinking, taking up extreme sports and buying a motorbike.

Not to mention the whole world is going to hell in a handbasket. These days, getting drunk seems like the only sane option.

True, Tis. And for many, life hasn't been the greatest. Personally, I have no desire to go on and on, and yes, I do know what I'm talking about, my daughter died nearly 5 years ago, from cancer, she was 9. It's been a tough go, I know from others much farther down the line, this will always be so, I don't have any wish to be here for ages and ages, but I accept it's mostly beyond my control.

Have some lovely friends who are 66 and 70. They are living it up! He homebrews and I'm sure they're over guidelines or units or whatever. They don't care, they're enjoying themselves because they know, that door won't stay open forever, and no matter how 'healthy', people slow down and get old and it's got a lot of unpleasant drawbacks. My dad's been frank about this, himself being nearly 81.

I think what it boils down to is a lot of people want to have control, or a sense of control, over mortality that actually is largely an illusion.

Government health advice is always going to be strict as they pay for your healthcare. If (when) the NHS gets privatized and people pay for there own healthcare I doubt that the government would give advice.