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.

I meant to add. I see a lot of people talking about how they're here for a good time and not a long time, and life is for living - which is great, but if you spend your last decade bed-bound or in agony with liver failure or a heart condition, it's suddenly not that fun anymore.

I also suspect a lot of the people saying that are young and may feel very differently when they're 65 and missing out on retirement or their grandchildren because of their poor health.

On his deathbed all he could talk about was how he wishes he'd done things differently and had taken his health more seriously

That is very sad and something to ponder on. I doubt any of us on our deathbed will wish we'd drunk more alcohol...

This. Goes with the "I'll sleep when I'm dead" lot which I can't understand.. surely it's better to live life in a way that means less pain, discomfort, misery while still having fun.

I'm actually really interested to hear some posters views.

@coffeesaveslives are you teetotal and are your friends?

I'm trying me healthier especially now I'm peri l but this isn't just to do with alcohol. I'm determined to stay a healthier BMI, up my swimming and eat healthy.

Though saying that, I'm saying it as someone who isn't addicted to these things.. all the people I know who smoke and drink really enjoy smoking and drinking, they get so much pleasure. My drinker friend says he could get sober but it would make his life not worth living, he would rather enjoy the good way he feels while he's drunk.
All the smokers I know have puffed away still while they're weeks away from death from lung related diseases

Yeah my Dad was like this. Smoked his whole life, loved going down the pub and enjoying himself. Lung cancer took him at 62, didn't even see his Grandchildren born.

My Mum on the other hand is 72 never smoked. Walks everywhere, eats a pretty good diet, odd drink. Fit as a fiddle and part of a walking group with some friends, has the grandchildren regularly. On zero medication and is enjoying retirement with 3 holidays a year. That's really made me think about how I live now. I know there's no guarantees but the women in my family to tend to live long lives and I'd love a retirement like my Mum has!

All the smokers I know, hate that they smoke and are desperate to give up.
They are all very anxious people
Tbh most heavy smokers and drinkers are.
I only had the odd glass of wine , now don't drink at all but when I stopped I realised that it made me horribly gloomy and anxious the next day plus ruined my sleep
I think it's self perpetuating
Drink/ smoke, the come down makes you anxious/ irritates the brain, you drink/ smoke to feel better
There is nothing that alcohol could add to my life in any way at all.
I can still have lovely times without it.
Looking forward to the weekend, cooking a nice dinner tonight, exercise, sleeeeeep, coffee, seeing family, hair appt over the weekend, Strictly

Drinking alcohol would not improve that in any way whatsoever.

Alcohol is indeed totally avoidable but so are cakes biscuits and upfs, which also cause so much harm. I am curious though why some peoples livers manage to detoxify better than others. i wonder what the difference is in their bodies.

Some people are definitely more prone to disease than others in my experience. For example I know lots of people say they know people who smoked their whole lives and didn't get cancer. On my dad's side of the family 4 out of 6 siblings died of lung cancer and the other 2 don't smoke.

I'm sure it's the same for liver disease. The problem is it's impossible to know if you'll be the one it effects.

I'm not tee-total but probably have less than ten units a year - the vast majority of my friends and family drink several times a week with the exception of my dad who has been tee-total since about 2004.

@foxandbee it was heartbreaking - by the time he did decide he needed to make changes it was just far too late, the damage was done.

Interestingly his partner also was diagnosed diabetic, did make the changes in time and is now thriving in her eighties.

It definitely brings it closer to home when it's someone you love and care about, that's for sure.

I know a lot of people like that too - they love how it makes them feel and they have no serious health or weight issues, so just don't see the need to stop.

And many of them will probably be absolutely fine and die in old age if something totally unrelated - the problem is that you don't know if you'll be one of the unlucky ones until it's too late.

Or for some, could it be subtle differences in lifestyle, less sedentary, more water etc

drinker friend says he could get sober but it would make his life not worth living, he would rather enjoy the good way he feels while he's drunk

Tbh this sounds like he is masking/ self medicating MH issues
Very sad that you would feel life is not worth living without alcohol

Sorry to say, especially if you do it for ethical reasons, but I wonder whether the vegan part is the problem.

Its a good question. Some things are more difficult for me to get into my diet, iron and calcium for example, protein can also be challenging, and so I need to eat a lot more of alternative foods than people who might eat a little piece of cheese, a small portion of red meat or an egg. On the whole though I find managing my weight easier on a vegan diet. Partly because I can no longer eat many of the things that kept me overweight. Also because veg is very filling for low calories. In truth though, I don't know. I eat this way for health (the ethics are a bonus) and feel it's been overall a positive choice.

Interested to know what age people who previously drank came to the realisation that it was no longer good for them and quit or cut back dramatically?

I think in your twenties you feel invincible and don't stop to consider the dangers of alcohol past hangovers or throwing up. I'm not particularly healthy now at 39 but I still cringe when I think about how I treated my body in my twenties.

If it were just me I probably would continue to take the 'life's too short' mentality because I do love to drink. But dying young scares me more for my dc as if anything happened to me and dh (who is also a big drinker) there would be nobody to look after them.

I will definitely be looking to cut back.

It is not too late! Good for you for being proactive about this. There are many many people in your position. Good luck!

No of course not. But following sensible guidance, avoiding midday sun, using sun cream etc, are all good measures to take surely? It doesn’t have to be about extremes.
Sorry about your friend and the other losses you have had.

I only ask because I’ve read a lot lately about why high-volume/low calorie meals to ‘fill us up’ aren’t great for us. It was written by a woman who was doing everything ‘right’ — calorie deficit, lifting heavy, fasted cardio, loads of veggies, vegan diet etc — and yet she couldn’t lose weight.

When she reintroduced animal protein to stabilise her blood sugar and corrected hormonal imbalance (I mean cortisol etc, not female reproductive hormones) she lost 20lbs in three months.

@fishface44

Interested to know what age people who previously drank came to the realisation that it was no longer good for them and quit or cut back dramatically?

I was a reasonably heavy drinker in my 20s and some of my 30s (heavy binge drinking at weekends and smaller amounts of alcohol most weeknights). I obviously cut down when my daughter was born but still drank probably around the safe weekly limit until I hit my 50s, I'm now not quite teetotal but I only drink at parties or special occasions.

The thing that's really done it for me is the onset of perimenopause. I went from being someone with fairly high tolerance who would deliberately have some alcohol free days a week to being someone who really didn't want to drink outside of special occasions. I actively avoid just going to the pub for the sake of it and if I go to the theatre/cinema/to see friends I'll have soft drinks.

I find even fairly small amounts of alcohol make me sluggish, impact my mental capacity, make me feel slightly blue and less able to cope with things which I take in my stride if I haven't had a drink. I get less work done, I procrastinate, I can't exercise, I eat less healthily. I have a shorter temper and feel less optimistic and I'm more likely to argue with my partner and DD.

I don't know if this is purely hormonal or if its just that because I'm sober far more than drinking I notice the upside a lot more. It just stopped making sense for me when I hit late 40s/early 50s.

My kids are at university and they and their friends don’t seem to comply with this trend of young people not drinking. My son especially loves a big night out drinking with friends. He certainly doesn’t do it every day, but it does not seem dissimilar to when I was at university.

I’m hoping my son will be more sensible once he graduates. I think he’s reasonably sensible. He noticed that he was not getting drunk at all after five pints and realised that he was probably developing tolerance. He then cut down.

For me it was late 40s. I didn't drink a huge amount but would usually have a glass with dinner and not many nights off. I realised my attitude to drinking was different to DH's - he can totally take or leave it whereas it occupied a little too much brain space for me.

Stopped completely during the November lockdown and now have the odd drink on Christmas/holidays etc. I feel so much better even though I wasn't drinking that much and consider it one of the best things I've ever done for myself.

That's interesting. I don't think I have that imbalance personally though as I don't struggle to lose weight. My BMI is 21 and if I gain weight can drop it using CI/CO. I'm pretty much the poster child for the eat less move more theory, being consistently the weight id expect based on what i eat and how much excercise i do.
My problem is mainly I'm too sedentary so don't burn enough calories to eat much. In lockdown I excercised a lot and struggled to keep my weight on, despite eating more. Trouble is, I don't have the willpower to force myself these days.
It's an interesting angle though, because you could be describing my friend there, so clearly we are all different.

Thank you.

Yes, I agree about being sensible in the sun. I wasn't when I was younger. I have olive skin and tan very easily. My fiend is a redhead with pale skin and freckles. We are at that age that when we younger skin care in the sun wasn't worried about so much. As I've got older I'm more aware and have always made sure my DC used sun cream etc.