Did anybody see the Panaroma about binge drinking last night?

[Orangelight23]

Real eye opener for me. Women in their 30s being diagnosed with liver disease. I must admit I have myself been drawn into wine culture and drinking wine to relax.

It's made me have a real think about my alcohol intake to be honest.

But it's 9 or 10 units. So over a weekend probably a glass or 2 a night. For 3 days.

I think it depends on your version of normal too. Once upon a time I lived with someone who could easily drink 2 bottles a night. Not normal.
1 bottle a week- fairly normal.

He's still alive though, in his late 50s now, which never ceases to surprise me.

This has been completely disproved about 10 years ago. The healthiest amount to drink is nothing.

Sorry it swallowed the quote- basically the French parodox, drinking in moderation being beneficial

I just know I feel awful after half a bottle of wine, let alone an entire bottle, lol. Drinking that much on any kind of regular basis, let alone weekly, is crazy to me.

Meant to quote this.

Most people think it's the liver that'll go first.
It most often isn't.
Pancreatitus, wet brain (Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome), nervous system, heart, etc., are often amongst the first before signs of liver damage.
Most of these can be silent until it's too late.

What I don't understand is how people manage to obtain this mythical state of perfect health, perfect weight, excellent diet, only vice a couple of glasses of wine at night, especially over 50. I'm 55 and unless I keep my calories down I would not be a healthy weight. My requirement is about 1600 a day. Now it's pretty hard to keep to that and eat enough for good nutrition and energy as it is. If I had to factor 600 calories for wine, I'd either be going short of something else my body needed, or I'd soon be over weight. Genuinely interested in how older women manage it. Are people burning off 600 calories of wine through excercise?

This 100% is me! Couldn't really give a monkeys about alcohol with the exception of a lovely full bodied red wine (especially in the winter)

Once heard someone say abstinence 1 night a week, 1 week a month, I month a year is a good thing.

made sense.

Yeah, Adrian Chiles did a good one too.

@rainbowprincesschapell

i don't think people realise that someone can drink 2-3 bottles of wine a day and function totally fine

No one who is drinking 2-3 bottles of wine a day is “functioning totally fine”. That’s roughly 30 units of alcohol a day, more than twice the safe limit for a week.

Anyone drinking that much will have a serious physical dependency and will be doing major damage to their organs.

The Adrian Chiles one is called drinkers like me. Worth watching- he was a very heavy drinker and reduced a lot.
I drink regularly but take more breaks now, and also if I know I have a busy week of work events etc where I may have a couple, I won't drink at the weekend for example.
Younger millennials don't really drink anywhere near as much, and my children that are old enough don't really. Cannabis is taking up some of the slack here as it's cheaper and has less perceived health impact.

@5128gap

Genuinely interested in how older women manage it. Are people burning off 600 calories of wine through excercise

I don’t particularly struggle with weight but I can’t metabolise alcohol at all these days (I’m 52). More than a couple of units and I will feel awful the following day: it makes me sluggish and stupid and demotivated and mildly depressed. On the very rare occasions when I binge drink (maybe twice a year) I can’t function for a day afterwards. Since the onset of peri menopause my tolerance has gone through the floor.

I don’t understand how older women manage to be alcoholics. I think it would kill me.

I think I got confused with the Travis Point post.

I am 48 and a member of the 5 O clock club to paraphrase Kate Moss "nothing drunk the night before feels as relaxing as morning yoga". I hardly drink and I do that by concentrating on how good I will feel in rhe morning.

What were the alcohol related cancer?

Same. It was almost like I developed an allergy to it. One glass and I'd be burning hot and the headache would start almost immediately. I persevered for a while (mainly under pressure from the 'don't be boring' brigade) then just decided to give it up altogether.
My MiL is in her late 70s and a big wine drinker. She isn't overweight but she eats like a bird, a slice of toast all day, then a child sized portion of dinner. I worry about her as she can't be properly nourished.

Reading back on all these posts and people’s reactions highlights just how much this programme on panorama has been a bitter wake up call to many who are in denial. I am sure we can all agree that everything in moderation is fine whether that be food or drink. However for those who drink up to 1 bottle of wine a night and say this is acceptable, this equates to 10 units, so 70 units per week!! Let that sink in.
Even half a bottle a night is 35 units a week. This is excessive drinking. Anyone intelligent enough who looks after their body by eating well and daily exercises should be intelligent enough to know that excessive drinking can cause harm to your body long term. As much as it’s hard to hear, hopefully panorama has given lots of people a much needed wake up call.

Yes, some parents have no idea.

They're not talking about DURING pregnancy, they're saying women should NEVER drink because they might get pregnant.

I was drinking three bottles of wine a night and was in pretty good shape to all appearances. I did gym and/or swimming every day after work, walked miles and went running some mornings. Ate well and took supplements.

I'm lucky that it doesn't seem to have done any lasting harm, and that might have been helped by my baseline health - but it was a right slog!

How did you have time to get through 3 bottles on top of work and exercise?

Oh, come on. It might not be normal in your circles; it is for many. It's two small glasses of wine on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Nine or ten units: very moderate by most standards, and well within the recommended limit.

No kids.

Lots of posters here are focusing solely on the impact of alcohol on the liver, which is fair enough considering that that was the focus of the Panorama documentary and the OP.

But if you want to look more at the whole body impact The Huberman Lab do a really interesting podcast called "What alcohol does to your body, brain and health".