Drinking wine each evening

[Mamabear2424]

Is it ok to drink wine every eve?? I have a glass , sometimes 2 every evening and I love it, it makes me happy. Dh says mental health more important so if it makes me happy I should just do it. I am a healthy 40 something with a professional career. I just love wine.

It doesn't sound like the end of the world but it's probably not ideal. Alcohol is a poison at the end of the day (and yes, I enjoy a drink too!). The NHS recommended weekly intake works out to just over a litre of wine a week, or 1 and 1/3 bottles, and to have 2 consecutive days without drinking each week. This gives your liver a bit of recovery time.

I suppose the way I would see it is, why not drink less, given drinking isn't great for us. And if you can't imagine drinking less, then by definition, you have a problematic habit.

‘Dh says mental health more important so if it makes me happy I should just do it.’

This is the concerning bit for the OP I think. That she needs alcohol for her ‘mental health’ and that her husband encourages it. This goes beyond just liking the taste and feeling associated with a couple of drinks, which many people do.

The more OP posts, with the denial, the defensiveness and whataboutery, and saying it would be dangerous for her to give up in Jan, the more a slightly different picture may be emerging.

Is low or non alcoholic wine not the same taste? I heard they improved over recent years

Ops statement 'i just love wine' suggests it's not simply the alcohol that she loves.

OP if you never drink more than 2 and a half bottles in a week, but always buy 3, an obvious thing to do if you’re a bit concerned would be to just buy 2. It’s not going to feel like much less but you’re putting the brakes on.

After she gave up her glass of whisky she became increasingly depressed and frail, and shortly afterwards she died. I am not saying that the whisky kept her alive nor that it killed her but it definitely improved her happiness and quality of life.

Probably not doing your liver any good- liver damage creeps up on you as it’s a silent killer I believe.
my friend drinks two med glasses a every night- doesn’t sleep well.. told to go docs for MOT, came back that she has non-alcoholic liver disease 🤦‍♀️so that’s ok not the alcohol then! That was before covid, well she’s carried right on drinking more than ever😳

There are plenty of other things in life that can bring happiness though- it's not like alcohol is the only thing that can do that and in fact, alcohol is a depressant so is correlated with low mood over time. The effects of alcohol on mental health are widely documented. Maybe your mum drank because she was depressed already

My granda has a whisky most afternoons at age 94, I think it's what keeps him going 😂

Mumsnet is very judgemental on female drinkers. I remember asking for advice two years ago and being told my DH should leave me. That effected my mental health. I found a long running thread and it saved me.
I think if you feel the wine is your 'right' you need to cut down or stop. Female consumers are the fastest growing catorgory of alcohol consumers. Think a certain whisky ad and the gin one. Big alcohol is there to trap you.
I have been AF for two years. I drank five out of seven days. My liver returned to normal levels in six weeks.
I drank through grief, loneliness, bullying at work, the list goes on. It's just a sticking plaster and mouldy fruit in water.
I collected wine, bored the arse of people with my knowledge and drank it.
Today I buy fewer alcohol free drinks and stick to milk and tea.
I believe in thirty days AF. It changes your skin and your waistline.
Very few people admit to alcoholism but dependancy creeps up on you.

So... nearly half a bottle a night?

Of course, you do you. I know plenty of people who drink that much.

I personally would say it was too much though.

I don't drink tea. I wish I did but I just don't like the taste. The Queen Mother’s love of alcoholic beverages did not stop her from reaching the age of 101 in 2001. Queen Elizabeth’s mother reportedly enjoyed a gin at midday and pink champagne with dinner.

There is recent research to show there really is no safe amount.

www.who.int/europe/news/item/04-01-2023-no-level-of-alcohol-consumption-is-safe-for-our-health

My eyes were opened by this podcast open.spotify.com/episode/4yDo6y9RqwJklvRnuNY9Bm?si=1ftyS6qOSMG9qb8oqIKemg

As a pp mentioned, no/low sparkling wines have improved a LOT, and can be fairly pleasant. However, every red wine lover knows that so far, no one has invented a no/low red wine that tastes anything like red wine.

I imagine that there is a race to do so. As soon as a red wine with no/low alcohol tastes like red wine should is produced, they'll be able to name their price.

I absolutely love a glass of wine, but I'm not keen on feeling affected by alcohol, and stick with no higher than 12/13% as a rule, and not too much of it. It's all about the wonderful flavour for me.

The thing with threads like this is that there will be those who enjoy a glass of wine a night and continue to only drink one glass, have no health issues and live to 101 like the Queen mother. There'll be others who drink a bit more, will be affected but not realise or are kidding themselves.

When my mum was in her 40s she only drank alcohol on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and was never visibly drunk. Then a couple of life events happened in quick succession and it increased almost overnight. She is now 70, has Korsakoffs and needs home care.

My advice would be that if you feel you need alcohol or if it's your go to when you feel stressed or unhappy then be very careful as it doesn't take much to take hold of you if you're already regularly drinking.

Try 2 consecutive days a week without otherwise you’re fine if it’s no more than 2. Even would be fine if 2 days off 1/2 other days and wee bit more at weekend.

This idea that alcohol is good for you is falacy. And regarding Italian people they dont drink much at all. My FIL who is nearly 90 drinks a very small glass with his meals. Probably 100ml/150 ml a day.
Most middle aged people I know there will only drink on special meals. Family Sunday lunch, when eating out with friends.
It is a very diferent relationship with alcohol than here in the UK.
I think you have an issue. Not the amount per se but you clear reluctance to stop.
I don't drink much these days but when I was on my 20 I was drinking loads and to test my self I'd take a month break to see if I would cope OK.
You are drinking at home alone. So not a social thing. I'd be taking a month break to see how youd cope if I were you

As a nurse, if you were to be admitted onto my ward, I would be very concerned that you drink 2.5 bottles of wine a week. It sounds like your addicted to it, which would mean that if you suddenly stopped drinking, you would have withdrawal symptoms. My advice would be to cut down to every other day.

As a nurse, if you were to be admitted onto my ward, I would be very concerned that you drink 2.5 bottles of wine a week

😂 Fkn hell.

This is only true if drinking at very high levels.

A month of abstinence would do most of us good.

I did used to do this but I gained so much weight. I have had to stop drinking wine almost entirely now as it gets me very drunk on one glass and I do sleep terribly.

I just drink a couple of low cal G&T’s a couple of times a week.

most people I know I think do drink at home frequently yes. Our local shop is always full of people buying wine any weeknight

A friend of mine nearly died recently due to consistent (but I wouldn’t have said particularly heavy) alcohol use. She has a lot of ongoing health issues including needing to be tube fed and is going blind.

She held down a professional job and you’d never had said that she was a drinker as she was never drunk but it was rare to see her without a glass of wine in hindsight.

Our cousin also died through alcohol related issues in her thirties. She was a binge drinker.

So my feeling is that it’s not a good idea and if this is the only way you can feel happy and relaxed, maybe you need help.

Before anyone starts I’m not saying that you should never drink.

This is true, as I said in my earlier post that liver damage is a silent killer until it’s too late to do anything! I gave up drinking 17 yrs ago but still have a fatty liver, probably because I eat salted peanuts most evenings 🤦‍♀️ but I wonder how doctors tell the difference between alcoholic or non alcoholic liver disease? Or are they going off the info we tell them?

Yes to counter all the “my granny lived until 90 and drank daily” a local friend died at 52 from it

My grandad drank like a fish and lived until 92. It still doesn’t mean it’s a good thing to do. Hence why I quit in my 40s

There's always the exception that proves the rule.