How much wine is to much

[beanflicker]

Please help settle a debate with Dh.

I've just put the kids to bed (as always at 8:15) waltzed down the stairs and poured myself a large glass of wine. My Dh has pointed out I go through 4 bottles per week.
Help me out ladies is that to much?

mercurial I don't often drink wine, just saying it doesn't seem that bad. I suppose the odd glass or two in evening soon adds up though

Regardless of how 'normal' some people may think it, 4 bottles a week are surely enough to have a significant impact on your health and well-being. Not only in terms of increasing risks of possible diseases but in terms of actual definite effects on your sleep, liver function, weight etc.
I used to drink loads in my twenties, but I doubt I often topped 4 bottles a week. Doing that every week is not advisable long-term, whether it's common or not.

It’s a brave post OP, particularly as there seems to be so many opinionated experts around! How much we drink or eat, is entirely personal in my opinion, and what suits one, might not another. I would never preach to peole about their intake on anything. All these people making broad brush statements about x amount being bad for you, when they know nothing about you or your health and your wellbeing.
How do you feel in yourself OP? And when was the last time you had a full medical?
If you’re healthy & happy, and your evening tipple doesn’t have any negative effects on your behaviour or day to day well being, then I really wouldn’t worry too much.
For some people, half that amount would be detrimental, but for others, it may not.
My dh has very poor tolerance for the stuff, carries excess weight around his middle, and is generally far less ‘healthy’ and has less energy than I have. Yet I have always enjoyed good wine, and some weeks can notch up more than others. Yet I am very slim, always have been, and generally eat and drink what I like. I’m also very energetic, and am always up for my daily 6am run, no matter what I’ve had the night before. I sleep great, my skin is great...I look young, I feel young! And my last medical was A1 So I certainly have no plans to start counting my units any time soon

Not 'opinionated experts'. People who actually listen when actual experts say that there is no 'safe' level of alcohol, and that the more alcohol you drink the more risk there is you are damaging your body.

A quick google search can bring up a whole load of information from trusted sources. People saying "I drink lots and I'm fine!" is all very well...yes, you are fine, so far. Everyone is fine until they are not, and it's irresponsible to say to someone who is drinking far in excess of any country's recommended limit for women, that it's ok carry on.

It's exactly the same as someone saying they smoke 60 cigarettes a day and they are fine.

I drink about two bottles over Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and I thought that was quite bad. I don’t drink at all during the week to give my liver a chance to recover. I think having a big glass every night is a bit worrying.

Alcohol can impact your health in unusual ways. I have rheumatoid arthritis. My rheumy wanted to put me on stronger meds but they had to check my liver first because the meds are potentially toxic on the liver. My liver was enlarged, despite me not drinking in two years. I had been a big drinker and it had caused damage that meant I couldn't be prescribed these meds that were going to stop my RA getting worse and ending up in a wheelchair.

Luckily I went on a clean eating diet for 3 months and my liver healed and I got my meds.

So just because you feel ok, doesn't mean everything is ok on the inside.

I loved drinking, i still drink occasionally although i'm not supposed to.

Treat alcohol with respect and you can enjoy it for the rest of your life.

We have a big problem with alcohol in this country posters like Mumto2 don't help.

Nobody is telling OP that it is fine, that’s for her to decide. But every body is different, and it’s not just about how many units we do or don’t have, it’s about having a sensible perspective and balance in life. A lot of the advice we have has very little foundation other than the fact they know that at the upper end of the spectrum, is most certainly damaging. But beyond that, there is not much conclusive out there.
Having lost both my teetotal parents and many of their siblings young to cancer, as well as some of our young friends, some of whom were extremely health conscious, I guess my perspective is more ‘life’s too short to not enjoy what I like, when I like’. But that’s not to say I’m sinking litres of the stuff every night, it’s just saying that I feel I have a particular perspective, and it’s one that suits me.

It's interesting because seeing relatives and friends with cancer, cardiovascular disease -and having had a few scares myself -makes me want to do everything I can to minimise my risks. If I do get breast cancer or other alcohol associated diseases I can feel I did what I reasonably could to avoid it.

The only 'side effects' of eating healthily, not drinking, practicing relaxation/meditation, sleeping plenty and exercising are feeling great.

I think working in the NHS also influenced my choices, preventing disease through lifestyle is cheaper, easier and more effective than treating it.

Omg beanflicker just 😂😂😂 at your name!

Mum2two it is categorically better for you to drink no alcohol than any. I agree it's a lottery after that. All I know is that among my friends, the women who have always drunk a lot, the ones who were beautiful and funny and the life and soul.. Now in their 50s they have a continuous string of health problems - liver problems, kidney issues, high cholesterol and bowel problems. It's just not worth the risk.

Mum... had you not lost your parents and friends as a result of cancer but rather as a direct consequence of excessive drinking (liver disease or an accident for example falling down stairs), I suspect you would have a somewhat different perspective on the issue

Example, I seem to come from a long line of people who drink an insane amount of alcohol and suffer very little from it.

DP's ex is on of those people, or at least seems to be. She drinks at least a bottle every week night, sometimes 2, goes out for a boozy lunch that goes on well into the evening every Friday, and gets absolutely ratarsed every Saturday and Sunday. A pub lunch for her will often include 6 pints of cider at 6%.

She has frequent check ups because she had lung cancer a few years ago and her liver function is, apparently, absolutely fine.

A bottle of wine is 10 units and you are having 4 a week. The recommendation is 14units a week. X

I wouldn't be able to function on that much wine. I only drink every few months. But I could post similar to you about chocolate and sugary crap so no judgment here.

@Highhorse1981 she probably would! What a stupid comment
My parents are both mid 70's , always have had a couple of drinks every afternoon since I can remember ... both fighting fit... agree it's a lottery... and maybe they've just been lucky , but it makes them happy.

Cheto

Odd

Sorry, but it does sound like too much. I tend to drink a bottle a week (with some of it usually cooked off in the dinner) and the odd beer here and there.

The last two weeks have been a bit boozier than usual as we've had family around for dinner, who then proceeded to leave 2 bottles of wine we didn't drink behind, so they were polished off the following weekend.

I would love to drink four bottles a week, but sadly I would be a mountain of blubber and broke!

I doubt you're the only one who drinks that much. There are people out there who sink a bottle a night. I don't know how they afford it though.

Regardless of how 'normal' some people may think it, 4 bottles a week are surely enough to have a significant impact on your health and well-being. Not only in terms of increasing risks of possible diseases but in terms of actual definite effects on your sleep, liver function, weight etc

For some, sure. Not everyone. Some people don't get any of those effects and seem to have no impact at all.

Mum2two it is categorically better for you to drink no alcohol than any

not even slightly true. All evidence points to the contrary in fact, that regular moderate amounts of alcohol, particularly soemthing like red wine,is beneficial to health and people who drink like that are healthier. If you look at the blue zones, the areas where people live the longest life spans in the world (like Ikaria or Barbagia) they all drink.

@Highhorse1981 what's odd ?

DH and I thought we were drinking too much when we had three bottles a week between the two of us every week. Four per person a week is an awful lot of wine.

We now drink a bottle a week, open of Friday night and it lasts as long as it lasts.

Four bottles a week probably is a bit much. Not to the extent of liver disease though, get a grip people. Try and cut down by having 1 or 2 alcohol free nights to start and then increase to 3-5. If you can't do that then you may have a problem.

Alcohol has been part of human culture for thousands of years , in moderation it's fine and even beneficial. There seems to have been a rise in puritanical attitudes around here lately.

It's a lot and is likely to affect your health in the longer term.