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.

@SuziQuatrosFatNan

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

Until the morning after.

I recently measured our standard wine pours in our glasses (counting calories now) and was thrilled to discover we are only pouring around 100mls per glass! So now I’m joyfully drinking an extra glass here and there

What is this recommended 14 units based on though? Seems pretty arbitrary to me. I expect a large part of it is to keep obesity down so if you're a healthy weight then I think less of a problem

The morning after a night on the booze isn't a lot of fun either though.

I was more backing up your point about it being a drug really, rather than a foodstuff. It's a drug with an assortment of flavours. And yeah ofc it's enjoyable; drugs are.

@TheKeatingFive

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.

This thread is about alcohol consumption. Hence why I mentioned it.

And for the record it's mentioned as the second cause of obesity on the NHS website, after eating large amounts of processed and fast food.

It's intrinsically linked for some people though and easy to get into that spiral. Feel rubbish so I drink too much wine, hungover, eat processed food, feel rubbish so I drink too much wine, hungover, eat processed food. Rinse and repeat. Especially for people who drink a lot at home and don't think they drink that much. Again, directly relevant to the thread.

There seems to be confusion about what's normal, what's your opinion and what is fact . Everyone is entitled to drink as many units as they like without judgement . However alcohol consumption rates your risk of getting a number of different cancers ( breast, colon, oral ) . The risk increases with the number of units consumed. This is a fact. So along with other lifestyle factors that also raise your cancer risk , you make your choices.

@TomorrowIsAnotherDae

It’s a difficult one OP. I don’t drink alcohol now because I don’t have an “off” switch. Being sober I’m acutely aware of other peoples alcohol consumption and how normalised drinking is.

That said, not everyone is at risk of addiction, some people can drink alcohol “normally” and won’t be at any more risk health wise than someone who eats too much junk food.

I don’t think 3 bottles a week is too much for someone who can handle alcohol and stop after 2 glasses. The risk is that it can creep up to 3 glasses, then 4, etc.

It's not really to do with how well you tolerate it or whether you have an addictive tendency though. It's to do with all the other aspects of physical health related to alcohol consumption (liver disease, pancreatitis, heartburn/acid reflux, certain cancers). Food is not directly toxic like alcohol.

@pooonastick

There seems to be confusion about what's normal, what's your opinion and what is fact . Everyone is entitled to drink as many units as they like without judgement . However alcohol consumption rates your risk of getting a number of different cancers ( breast, colon, oral ) . The risk increases with the number of units consumed. This is a fact. So along with other lifestyle factors that also raise your cancer risk , you make your choices.

Quite, and before you get to the level of cancer there are lot of other health, wellbeing and social effects. Not sleeping properly, getting every cold and cough under the sun, adding to stress, making you more grumpy and angry, unfit because you don't have energy to be active, gaining weight and don't have the energy to be active. People get used to it as well, it's easy to get used to being less well overall and blame it on age or other things.

People are often overweight because they drink a lot

I didn’t lose a single 1lb through giving up drinking, and I drank up to 10 bottles a week.

Mind you that’s probably because I’m now addicted to sugar and carbs 🤷‍♀️

I'm odd to score some calorie free cocaine.

Unfortunately the science increasingly says alcohol is bad for you full stop. So 2 is better than 3, 1 is better than 2, and 0 is better than 1.

Yes I never lost weight when I stopped drinking completely either-- I think I just replaced the calories with something else. But I recognise that drinking more than moderately had an adverse affect on my health including weight. To keep my weight down I have to moderate alcohol consumption as well as food.

@Meruem

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.

If you drink and eat healthily you are much more likely to reach 80+ than you if you don't.

I’m not seeing the berating, finger-wagging, moralising, proselytising, etc., that some posters have mentioned on here. Stating that the amount op mentions is above guidelines is none of those things - interesting the strong reaction some posters have had.

How much your friends drink or what people on TV or in another country do has no bearing at all on whether this is a safe amount or not.

I don’t have a view myself as I don’t feel I know enough about the subject, but surely anyone can see the arguments above are rubbish?

@HarebrightCedarmoon

Yes I never lost weight when I stopped drinking completely either-- I think I just replaced the calories with something else. But I recognise that drinking more than moderately had an adverse affect on my health including weight. To keep my weight down I have to moderate alcohol consumption as well as food.

Me, neither. Or when I quit smoking, either.

I havent put any weight on and am a normal weight , I love wine, Purple Daisies can harp on all she likes but there are many many other things that are bad for you, no one lives their lives totally by the guidelines, or do you Purple Daisies? What's your weakness?

No one knows how long they will live for so enjoy life now, and if that means i enjoy a glass of wine and a good drama on tv every night , so be it, i am happy, stress kills more people.

Blooody hell@Coldwine75 you are not only a full blown alcoholic , you enjoy sitting watching TV.

Slippery slope that you know. Be chips, chocolate and size 10 before you can say Pinot.

Ha ha yep I'm descending into the depths of despair..............

@Coldwine75

No one knows how long they will live for so enjoy life now, and if that means i enjoy a glass of wine and a good drama on tv every night , so be it, i am happy, stress kills more people.

Do you have a source for that?

I drink more wine than that. Maybe it's the Italian genes but I love it. No hangovers if I just stick to wine. BMI of 22.5, vegetarian low-carb diet, Zumba three times a week and BodyPump two-three times. Fit, slim and healthy. I'll take the 'risk', thank you.

It’s a bit sad that stating accurately what the NHS alcohol guidelines say is “harping on”. This thread asked whether drinking a particular amount was too much. It is clearly an appropriate answer to that question.

If people want to drink above those low risk levels, it’s totally up to them but I’m really finding the personal attacks depressing for even daring to point out that the nhs considers drinking above a certain level to be increasing your risk of harm.

I have never said one glass of wine a night makes anyone an alcoholic.

@PaperbackRider

They are fourteen units per week aren't they - which is two small glasses per day (although guidance is to have some alcohol free days)

No, a 175ml glass of 13% wine is 2.3 units. So less than one glass per day.

A standard 175ml glass of the 13% ABV wine would equal 2.3 units of alcohol using the formula 13 (%) x 175 (ml) ÷ 1,000 = 2.3 units. A small glass (125ml) is 1.6 units, a large (250ml) is 3.3 units and a 750ml bottle of 13% wine is equal to 9.75 units of alcohol.

Ah, thank you.

I guess two small glasses on five days would be pretty close then, in terms of overall amount and having some alcohol free days.

I don't ever count as drink very very rarely!

@Coldwine75 I will pray 4 u

@PurpleDaisies

It’s a bit sad that stating accurately what the NHS alcohol guidelines say is “harping on”. This thread asked whether drinking a particular amount was too much. It is clearly an appropriate answer to that question.

If people want to drink above those low risk levels, it’s totally up to them but I’m really finding the personal attacks depressing for even daring to point out that the nhs considers drinking above a certain level to be increasing your risk of harm.

I have never said one glass of wine a night makes anyone an alcoholic.

You are though, and you made out one glass of wine is shock, horror over the limits and will kill me in a slow painful death.............