Is three bottles of wine a week too much?

[PinkOrchidDream]

My husband, not me. Since I've been pregnant, so abstaining from drink altogether, I've been more aware of his drinking. It's by no means a problem judging by his behaviour but I just wondered if this is (obviously a bit unhealthy) but normal for some. It's spread out over the week so he doesn't binge at weekends.

@TheKeatingFive apologies, I should have been clearer. When I talked about societal effects I was thinking more in terms of immediate harm eg assaults, rapes, violent crimes and so on rather than cost to the NHS. Alcohol is an implication in something like 70% of violent crimes. So yeah other people watch what those around them are drinking because you want to know who to avoid. And that instinct I think carries on into discussions even about much lower amounts.

Ultimately none of us know how and when we will die. My grandad lived to his 80s, barely touched alcohol, never smoked. Had a very long drawn out and painful death due to throat cancer. It broke my heart to see him lying there unable to do a thing for himself. But he’d done nothing “wrong” for it to be blamed on.

My dad was a raging alcoholic. He drank every day for close to 50 years. Smoked 40 cigs a day. He did die a lot younger, in his mid 60s (which given his lifestyle was pretty good going). But he went to the docs with stomach pains, diagnosed with stomach cancer and dead within a couple of weeks. He didn’t suffer at all.

There are no guarantees. You can live your life by statistics but that’s what they are. Doing everything right doesn’t mean you’ll make old age. Nor does it mean you will have no health issues and die free of pain. If you want to do things or not do things, to hopefully better your odds then fair enough. No one can argue that isn’t sensible. But not everyone is going to do the same because it isn’t certain. And that’s their choice.

So there isn’t really an answer to the OP’s question of “normal”. Plenty drink less, plenty drink about the same, plenty drink more. If he’s fulfilling all his responsibilities and it isn’t causing any issues then I don’t see there’s really any argument. He’s a grown man and it’s up to him.

I'd say 3 bottles of wine a week for one person is a huge amount. I'm not t total so not totally against alcohol but that is a huge amount to me.

Scientists, who compared the health and drinking habits of alcohol drinkers in 19 countries, modelled how much life a person could expect to lose if they drank the same way for the rest of their lives from the age of 40.

They found people who drank the equivalent of about five to 10 drinks a week could shorten their lives by up to six months.

The study's authors also found drinking increased the risk of cardiovascular illness, with every 12.5 units of alcohol people drank above the guidelines raising the risk of:

Stroke by 14%
Fatal hypertensive disease by 24%
Heart failure by 9%
Fatal aortic aneurysm by 15%

From www.bbc.com/news/health-43738644
There's a link to the report.
So 6 month life expectancy reduction doesn't sound much although you also have Increased risk to the above and that's per every 12.5 units which the OPs husband is drinking a lot more isn't he?

30 units a week. Certainly too much and detrimental for your health over a long period.

@PaperbackRider

No, it's not. If he were French it wouldn't even be a question.

Bollocks. The French know how to pour a small glass.

@TheKeatingFive

is that there are wider societal effects from alcohol use

We seem to be ignoring the wider societal affects of obesity though. Isn’t diabetes proving an enormous drain on NHS resources?

They two issues are not separate. People are often overweight because they drink a lot.

Bollocks. The French know how to pour a small glass

They know how to drink brandy at breakfast time as well. France has a really serious alcoholism problem.

@TheKeatingFive

is that there are wider societal effects from alcohol use

We seem to be ignoring the wider societal affects of obesity though. Isn’t diabetes proving an enormous drain on NHS resources?

There are headlines about the impact of obesity almost every week. Who exactly do you think is ignoring it?

Agreed. There's loads of noise about obesity, sugar tax etc.

And on Mumsnet! "Omg yoU eAt CAKE whaT abOUt ouR NhS herOEs" etc.

@HarebrightCedarmoon

Bollocks. The French know how to pour a small glass

They know how to drink brandy at breakfast time as well. France has a really serious alcoholism problem.

"The French" is about as useful a descriptor as "The British".

Some British people drink in moderation, some drink to excess, Some French people drink a small glass of wine occasionally, some have brandy for breakfast.

The only useful thing to observe is that, at a population level, the average French person drinks slightly more than the average British person.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_alcohol_consumption_per_capita

For all those people saying that 30 units a week is the norm - the average for the UK was actually 11.4 units per week in 2016. You should bear in mind that your friendship group / family are unlikely to be a representative sample (this isn't personal to you - nobody has a truly representative sample in their friends/family). Just because TV programmes show all the characters cracking open a bottle of wine every night doesn't mean that is the reality for most of the country.

People are often overweight because they drink a lot.

And plenty are overweight because they eat too much.

Who exactly do you think is ignoring it?

I was referring to a specific poster who has since clarified her position.

@TheKeatingFive

People are often overweight because they drink a lot.

And plenty are overweight because they eat too much.

Or because they don't exercise.

But this thread isn't about what people ear, or how much they exercise. It's about alcohol intake.

It's about alcohol intake.

Which, as I keep stressing, is only one if a vast number of lifestyle factors that affect health outcomes. The policing of this one is a lot more fervant than most, which I find very interesting.

@BeenAsFarAsMercyAndGrand agree that comparing with one's immediate circle doesn't give a true picture.

As for the TV dramas, most of the high profile ones feature middle class middle aged characters and this demographic is the one that has an increasing number of heavy drinkers so probably is a true representation!

@TheKeatingFive

It's about alcohol intake.

Which, as I keep stressing, is only one if a vast number of lifestyle factors that affect health outcomes. The policing of this one is a lot more fervant than most, which I find very interesting.

But your point is invalid. People go bananas on here when calories/fat/processed food is mentioned.

Also, the difference between alcohol and food is this: we need food to survive. Alcohol serves absolutely no purpose.

Oh, and how could I forget to mention.

Alcohol is a drug.

People go bananas on here when calories/fat/processed food is mentioned.

Not in the same way. They couldn’t tell you what the guidelines for daily sugar consumption are, for example. Meaning that no one notices or cares if otherwise healthy people exceed them.

Alcohol serves absolutely no purpose.

I certainly don’t see it like that. It adds to the enjoyment of my life. I don’t call that ‘no purpose’.

@TheKeatingFive

People are often overweight because they drink a lot.

And plenty are overweight because they eat too much.

Consumption of large amounts of alcohol often leads to poor food choices. It also has lots of calories in itself.

Some British people drink in moderation, some drink to excess, Some French people drink a small glass of wine occasionally, some have brandy for breakfast

I'm clearly talking about country level statistics. I'm sure there are even people who are teetotal in Russia...

Consumption of large amounts of alcohol often leads to poor food choices. It also has lots of calories in itself.

While that’s true, i don’t see any evidence that alcohol is a more significant factor in obesity than food. Certainly health messaging focuses on food with alcohol as a smaller after thought.

For your liver- yes.

30 units a week is a lot more than the recommended maximum of 14. The maximum recommended amount would be under 1.5 bottles per week with some alcohol free days.

Cocaine also adds to enjoyment of life. And has no calories! 👌

@TheKeatingFive

It's about alcohol intake.

Which, as I keep stressing, is only one if a vast number of lifestyle factors that affect health outcomes. The policing of this one is a lot more fervant than most, which I find very interesting.

Alcohol policing obviously does happen. I would disagree that alcohol policing is the most fervent. If you look at MN, I'd say that threads about obesity are much more frequent. Similar for the media in general - fat people are demonised and shamed pretty frequently.

(I'm a healthy weight so don't really have a horse in this race, but that's my perspective.)