10 ms·

One drink a day is quite a bit of drinking compared to what I consider normal, and the difference between 914/100,000 and 918/100,000 is small. I'd say the adv

One drink a day is quite a bit of drinking compared to what I consider normal, and the difference between 914/100,000 and 918/100,000 is small. I'd say the advice that you can drink in light or moderate amounts without any significant risk is still sound. But if you're not inclined to drink for other reasons, you shouldn't start doing so for your health.

P_I_Staker 7y ago
I don't know what circumstances you live under where that's the case. Most people don't limit to one, but also don't drink every day. In much of the US 5-8 beers, or similar mixed drinks is a totally normal, not even a heavy drinking night. This is repeated 2-5 nights a week, though some nights might be more like 1-3 drinks. I'm talking about standard alcohol units here.
- david-cako 7y ago
  My theory/rule is that drinking 3-4+ in one session is what causes liver damage, and your body is otherwise able to recover from 1-2 drinks (and also not build tolerance). I have no data for this however it is consistent with my preference for moderation. What you described sounds like a lot, and it doesn’t sound like it allows for recovery.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- anyfoo 7y ago
  Even with fond remembrance and sometimes not-so-remembrance of my University days in Bavaria, where beer is a big part of the culture, that sounds excessive to me. Unless you mean that those weeks are spread out sparsely over a longer time?
  - P_I_Staker 7y ago
    Not really. Keep in mind that I'm talking standard units, while users are drinking 1.5-2 units per drink. They'd drink 3 at the bar (4-6) without thinking anything of it, with pre-games / nightcaps possible. This could be easily repeated 3 times every week, possibly more.
    - anyfoo 7y ago
      I still don't get it. What demographic are we talking about here? Who goes to a bar 2-5 times a week? Again, even as a student, where we actually would have had the time (not all the time, but definitely stretches of), going out in such close succession would only happen occasionally, at best, even for the more, um, "ambitious" people I knew. Now after university, I can't even imagine going to a bar after work more than once in a few months (and even then, keep the alcohol intake at a minimum). And here you are talking about 5-8 beers on a single evening, which definitely qualifies as "getting drunk", with loss of control (not necessarily unexpectedly or with grave consequences), hangover, and everything, and then repeating that multiple times per week? Maybe US beer is less strong than German beer, but that's not really my experience here in San Francisco. At a sustained rate, I think even amongst university students in drink-happy countries that qualifies as alcoholic.
      - P_I_Staker 7y ago
        > I still don't get it. What demographic are we talking about here? Who goes to a bar 2-5 times a week? Plenty of people. I don't understand what you're so confused by. 5x per week @ 5-8 is the high end, and I'm not talking about actual cups. They aren't ordering 5 separate beers, everything is 16-24 ounces. > And here you are talking about 5-8 beers on a single evening, which definitely qualifies as "getting drunk" There's a lot of people that wouldn't count 5 beers as "getting drunk", especially if spaced out. Buzzed sure, but not approaching drunk. > Maybe US beer is less strong than German beer, but that's not really my experience here in San Francisco. In this day and age, it's much stronger, and I'm accounting for that. > At a sustained rate, I think even amongst university students in drink-happy countries that qualifies as alcoholic. I think you'd be wrong, university was mental. People would drink that much before they even went out. I'm not the first person to point out the normalized drinking culture. Most people don't map out their drinking and fully consider the health implications. They tend to underestimate and report. There was a (UK) film about this called Drinkers like me. The guy said he didn't think he had a drinking problem, his friends would laugh at the idea, but he was clocking over 100 units per week (note that 1 unit != 1 drink). As long as you're "social", not obsessed, or fixating on it, people think nothing of it.
- dpark 7y ago
  5-8 beers, 2-5 nights a week is a ton. This is not typical for most drinkers. That's up to 40 beers a week. 5+ drinks in a row is the definition of binge drinking. https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/binge-drinking.htm https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/binge-drinking.htm "One in six US adults binge drinks about four times a month" Your "normal" is as many nights per week as the CDC claims per month, and the CDC claims this for only 17% of the population. Put another way, your "normal" is 4x as often and at least 3x more common than reality. If you're hanging out with people drinking this much all the time, then you may have normalized it, but it's absolutely not normal for "much of the US".
  - abstractbarista 7y ago
    Simply put, what the government describes as normal (or ideal) is far different than what the alcohol-consuming populace considers normal. (Side thought: Some of the risks in that article are suspect. STDs and domestic violence? Those are reflections of the individuals using the drug, not the drug itself.)
    - dpark 7y ago
      This isn’t the case of the CDC describing what should be normal. I quoted a statistic about actual consumption to contrast the anecdotal claim that binge drinking up to 5 times/week is “typical”. Now, if you don’t like the standard definition of “binge drinking” that’s fine. 40 beers/week is still very, very far from typical. Edit: I don't find the risks to be particularly suspect. Drinking lowers inhibitions and reduces ability to engage in critical thinking. Drunk people regularly do stuff they regret later, ranging from saying embarrassing things to driving intoxicated to getting into physical fights with strangers, friends, and partners. Certainly the person having unprotected sex or assaulting their partner is responsible for their actions, but alcohol also makes those actions more likely.
      - abstractbarista 7y ago
        Certainly agree that 5x a week isn't normal or generally healthy. Risk-takers and mean people are more commonly heavy consumers of alcohol. They like the feeling as it eggs them on and self-justifies their actions. But this does not mean that heavy consumers of alcohol are uncontrollably pushed to emulate the former. Basically, the bad folks always ruin it for the docile rest of us.
- jawilson2 7y ago
  I probably drink 2-5 beers per year. A glass of wine once every few months. What you describe sounds excessive and a great way to get future health problems.

P_I_Staker 7y ago

I don't know what circumstances you live under where that's the case. Most people don't limit to one, but also don't drink every day. In much of the US 5-8 beers, or similar mixed drinks is a totally normal, not even a heavy drinking night. This is repeated 2-5 nights a week, though some nights might be more like 1-3 drinks. I'm talking about standard alcohol units here.

david-cako 7y ago
My theory/rule is that drinking 3-4+ in one session is what causes liver damage, and your body is otherwise able to recover from 1-2 drinks (and also not build tolerance). I have no data for this however it is consistent with my preference for moderation. What you described sounds like a lot, and it doesn’t sound like it allows for recovery.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
anyfoo 7y ago
Even with fond remembrance and sometimes not-so-remembrance of my University days in Bavaria, where beer is a big part of the culture, that sounds excessive to me. Unless you mean that those weeks are spread out sparsely over a longer time?
- P_I_Staker 7y ago
  Not really. Keep in mind that I'm talking standard units, while users are drinking 1.5-2 units per drink. They'd drink 3 at the bar (4-6) without thinking anything of it, with pre-games / nightcaps possible. This could be easily repeated 3 times every week, possibly more.
  - anyfoo 7y ago
    I still don't get it. What demographic are we talking about here? Who goes to a bar 2-5 times a week? Again, even as a student, where we actually would have had the time (not all the time, but definitely stretches of), going out in such close succession would only happen occasionally, at best, even for the more, um, "ambitious" people I knew. Now after university, I can't even imagine going to a bar after work more than once in a few months (and even then, keep the alcohol intake at a minimum). And here you are talking about 5-8 beers on a single evening, which definitely qualifies as "getting drunk", with loss of control (not necessarily unexpectedly or with grave consequences), hangover, and everything, and then repeating that multiple times per week? Maybe US beer is less strong than German beer, but that's not really my experience here in San Francisco. At a sustained rate, I think even amongst university students in drink-happy countries that qualifies as alcoholic.
    - P_I_Staker 7y ago
      > I still don't get it. What demographic are we talking about here? Who goes to a bar 2-5 times a week? Plenty of people. I don't understand what you're so confused by. 5x per week @ 5-8 is the high end, and I'm not talking about actual cups. They aren't ordering 5 separate beers, everything is 16-24 ounces. > And here you are talking about 5-8 beers on a single evening, which definitely qualifies as "getting drunk" There's a lot of people that wouldn't count 5 beers as "getting drunk", especially if spaced out. Buzzed sure, but not approaching drunk. > Maybe US beer is less strong than German beer, but that's not really my experience here in San Francisco. In this day and age, it's much stronger, and I'm accounting for that. > At a sustained rate, I think even amongst university students in drink-happy countries that qualifies as alcoholic. I think you'd be wrong, university was mental. People would drink that much before they even went out. I'm not the first person to point out the normalized drinking culture. Most people don't map out their drinking and fully consider the health implications. They tend to underestimate and report. There was a (UK) film about this called Drinkers like me. The guy said he didn't think he had a drinking problem, his friends would laugh at the idea, but he was clocking over 100 units per week (note that 1 unit != 1 drink). As long as you're "social", not obsessed, or fixating on it, people think nothing of it.
dpark 7y ago
5-8 beers, 2-5 nights a week is a ton. This is not typical for most drinkers. That's up to 40 beers a week. 5+ drinks in a row is the definition of binge drinking. https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/binge-drinking.htm https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/binge-drinking.htm "One in six US adults binge drinks about four times a month" Your "normal" is as many nights per week as the CDC claims per month, and the CDC claims this for only 17% of the population. Put another way, your "normal" is 4x as often and at least 3x more common than reality. If you're hanging out with people drinking this much all the time, then you may have normalized it, but it's absolutely not normal for "much of the US".
- abstractbarista 7y ago
  Simply put, what the government describes as normal (or ideal) is far different than what the alcohol-consuming populace considers normal. (Side thought: Some of the risks in that article are suspect. STDs and domestic violence? Those are reflections of the individuals using the drug, not the drug itself.)
  - dpark 7y ago
    This isn’t the case of the CDC describing what should be normal. I quoted a statistic about actual consumption to contrast the anecdotal claim that binge drinking up to 5 times/week is “typical”. Now, if you don’t like the standard definition of “binge drinking” that’s fine. 40 beers/week is still very, very far from typical. Edit: I don't find the risks to be particularly suspect. Drinking lowers inhibitions and reduces ability to engage in critical thinking. Drunk people regularly do stuff they regret later, ranging from saying embarrassing things to driving intoxicated to getting into physical fights with strangers, friends, and partners. Certainly the person having unprotected sex or assaulting their partner is responsible for their actions, but alcohol also makes those actions more likely.
    - abstractbarista 7y ago
      Certainly agree that 5x a week isn't normal or generally healthy. Risk-takers and mean people are more commonly heavy consumers of alcohol. They like the feeling as it eggs them on and self-justifies their actions. But this does not mean that heavy consumers of alcohol are uncontrollably pushed to emulate the former. Basically, the bad folks always ruin it for the docile rest of us.
jawilson2 7y ago
I probably drink 2-5 beers per year. A glass of wine once every few months. What you describe sounds excessive and a great way to get future health problems.