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.

And yet the government do feel it is.

Other countries have more relaxed guidelines. Why is the UK right?

Some other countries have stricter guidelines too.

BeenAsFarAsMercyAndGrand
You hit the nail on the head when it comes to defensiveness.

Discussions about alcohol tend to have that effect though. Most discussions with smokers come down to "yes I smoke, it's not good for me, but I do it anyway". Discussions about alcohol consumption always have a heavy dose of defensiveness about why consuming more than the recommended amounts is OK, why it doesn't affect people, why it's not a problem, why almost daily drinking is fine as long as it's the right kind and you don't binge drink, and then there's inevitably some claim that people on Mumsnet think nobody should ever have have glass of wine ever. It's peculiar. If people discussing that drinking more than guidelines suggest prompts such a defensive reaction, the issue isn't people discussing the guidelines.

How on earth do people square this finger wagging and pontificating with the amount many people are knocking back day in day out? We are urged by our noble leader to go to the pub.Every TV show is full of middle class people necking wine Wine o'clock,prosecco time.
People are under pressure and reach for the stuff.

@sadperson16

How on earth do people square this finger wagging and pontificating with the amount many people are knocking back day in day out? We are urged by our noble leader to go to the pub.Every TV show is full of middle class people necking wine Wine o'clock,prosecco time. People are under pressure and reach for the stuff.

Again confusing what is normal drinking now with what’s healthy.

I'm not confused. I know what 14 units like.
I also know I drink too much because I feel like shit. I suspect others may do the same.

I am also getting some help with this.

Thanks.

When's the baby due OP? I'd say most new parents cut down because you value sleep more than drinking time, you can't sleep it off and a hangover with a baby screeching is 100x worse. Lots of men also cut down or stop as the due date approaches in case they need to drive to the hospital.

I'd say 2-3 bottles is definitely too much if it's every week. On a week with several events I might get through that much, but it's once in a blue moon.

This is MN so more than a thimble of wine once a year is too much

Someone always posts something like this on alcohol threads - it’s both unhelpful and untrue.

Interesting about different countries recommending different amounts - is there a correlation with which have a NHS (or equivalent)?

Life is meant to be enjoyed. I dont want to spend 70+ years being perfectly healthy just to die anyway.

Totally agree with this. But I want to enjoy a long & healthy old-age, and - having seen a lot of death in my job (I work for a care agency) - dying of liver disease is a particularly unpleasant end.

Nobody’s saying you have to be 100% healthy in every aspect of your life. But 3 bottles of wine every week in your adult life is massively increasing your chances of an end of life which is both premature & awful.

Guidelines are quite often simply a vague mid-point between what they should be for health and what peope in that society would want to do.

UK has a pretty heavy drinking culture, our guidelines have to accomodate that propensity. You can't set guidelines no one will follow. The recommended amounts are dropping both as we have more evidence and more societal awareness.

Our 5-a-day fruit and veg is too low, but behaviouralists said we would struggle to get people to even try to achieve what was really the right level (IIRC healthwise it sould be nine?) and half way was better than nothing.

Guidelines are policy choices.

I think a big part of the issue are ‘guidelines’.

Alcohol guidelines are strongly communicated and people know the numbers (without getting into a debate about what constitutes a unit).

The guidelines for other unhealthy food groups also exist, but people can’t tell you off the top of their head what the recommended amount of sugar, processed meat, transfats are per week. Many of us are over at least some of those all the time without realising. And if people are healthy, fit, normal weight, I doubt anyone much cares.

I don’t think anyone is saying that say 20 units a week is the optimally healthy amount, just that we aren’t all optimally healthy in all aspects of life, so it’s the overall picture that matters more. And most of us are happy to sacrifice a degree of optimal health for things we enjoy.

But 3 bottles of wine every week in your adult life is massively increasing your chances of an end of life which is both premature & awful.

Have you actual evidence for that?

Given that up until a few years ago the recommended weekly units for men was set at 28, I don't think it's that bad, but not ideal. The real problem is that it is all too easy for three bottles to become four etc etc.

@sadperson16

I'm not confused. I know what 14 units like. I also know I drink too much because I feel like shit. I suspect others may do the same.

I am also getting some help with this.

Thanks.

Is this aimed at me? I don’t know how you got that from my post.

People can’t judge what healthy drinking looks like by watching tv, listening to Boris Johnson or even looking at their friends. It’s the same for healthy diets and other habits like smoking. That’s the point I was trying to make.

I hope you’re getting good support with cutting down and that it goes well for you.

But 3 bottles of wine every week in your adult life is massively increasing your chances of an end of life which is both premature & awful

I would like to see evidence of this too!

If your DH lived in Italy or Spain, he would be fine!

www.decanter.com/wine-news/drinking-limits-around-the-world-graphic-287238/

It's probably too much from a health standpoint, yes.

The point I was trying to make is a waste of time.
I will try anyway.
Humans are complex creatures,we have just had our world rocked and it continues to rock.
Most people I think,know about units.They may choose to put their fingers in their ears because they are self medicating with a toxic substance that is marketed very,very well.

@TheKeatingFive

And yet the government do feel it is.

Other countries have more relaxed guidelines. Why is the UK right?

Maybe the other countries are wrong.

Maybe it's the way we drink - we're known for drinking games and binge drinking after all.

it doesn't seem too bad, depending how does he drink it and how does he feel afterwards.

@BeenAsFarAsMercyAndGrand

Some other countries have stricter guidelines too.

Saudi being one!

@sadperson16

How on earth do people square this finger wagging and pontificating with the amount many people are knocking back day in day out? We are urged by our noble leader to go to the pub.Every TV show is full of middle class people necking wine Wine o'clock,prosecco time. People are under pressure and reach for the stuff.

Drinking never helps problems go away.

The government won't ban it because duty rolls in instantly, and licensing money is pretty instant too.

If alcohol was banned, it would take 10-30 years to see the fiscal benefit. No government is going to take that on.

@TheKeatingFive

But 3 bottles of wine every week in your adult life is massively increasing your chances of an end of life which is both premature & awful.

Have you actual evidence for that?

Have a look at liver disease stats!!! Ffs.

Have a look at cardiovascular disease stats.

Have a look at liver disease stats!!! Ffs.

Erm that’s not evidence for the claim made.

However, the link above about differing limits according to country is interesting.

Do we see much worse liver/heart disease in countries like France, Spain, Italy that have higher limits than the U.K?

I doubt it. Life expectancy is pretty high in all those countries I believe.

The UK guidelines actually work out to less than a small glass of wine per day. They're bullshit and I think most people know that, and they also know that they have little to do with health.

Yes of course it is too much and bad for your health. It's a bad decision drinkers just own it ffs. And if you get ill please don't pretend you didn't know. You are putting your short term fun ahead of your long term benefit. Up to you but don't come crying...