4 ms·

Most of my male genetic relatives have/had a history of alcohol abuse, so I decided from an early age that the best approach was to not drink any alcohol at all

Most of my male genetic relatives have/had a history of alcohol abuse, so I decided from an early age that the best approach was to not drink any alcohol at all, and I held to that until about nine years ago. Long research has indicated that one cup of red wine per day has measurable health benefits, so I started to drink one cup, like medicine, immediately before bed. After doing that for a few weeks, I came home from work; my wife and son weren't home at the moment. I sat down at my computer and started working on my side project, as usual. I was shocked to see that there was a large plastic container on my desk filled most of the way up with red wine, and I'd been gulping it down. Honest to God, I had absolutely no recollection of getting that container, pouring the wine, and putting it on my desk. That was very chilling, I poured the rest of it out and haven't had a drink since.

TameAntelope 5y ago
Just for clarification, no research (I'm aware of) has indicated that one cup of red wine has measurable health benefits above not drinking at all. The research suggests that if you must drink, then one cup of wine will have some positive impacts in addition to the negative impacts. That said, I dunno if I'd be so strongly swayed either way by any single event without any real negative consequences such as you say here.
- Havoc 5y ago
  > (I'm aware of) has indicated that one cup of red wine has measurable health benefits above not drinking at all. There are various studies floating about. The part that has me sceptical is that they don't seem to account for whether it's in a social setting. i.e. is it the wine or is the being with friends and having a laugh
  - angrais 5y ago
    Rather, they should account for the wine being consumed with food rather than alone, e.g., before bed like OP above. Consuming with food had metabolic side affects and is broken down differently and so could have less negative impact than when drunk alone.
smcl 5y ago
That can definitely happen when you're focussed on something else than what you're drinking (or eating!). It's gonna be even more pronounced if you're drinking, distracted and not particularly experienced with alcohol. If you enjoy what you're drinking you just need to be conscious of when you refill and you'll be fine. If you don't and you're just doing it as a sort of health thing, maybe you made the right choice. As someone who enjoys whisk[e]y, rum, gin, wine and beer, I think it's incredibly enjoyable if you're able to keep on top of it and I feel a little bit sad that there are some who won't enjoy things like making cocktails or tasting wine due to abstinence. I don't want at-risk people to descend into alcoholism against their will, mind.
- Diederich 5y ago
  > If you enjoy what you're drinking ... That's the thing: I hate the taste of wine.
  - smcl 5y ago
    Yep that's why I included that :) If you're not into wine and you don't fancy anything else then fair enough, I hope nobody's pressuring you or making things weird.
gmadsen 5y ago
It was chilling, because you ascertained that some latent genetic alcoholism made you pour a glass of wine subconsciously ? I do this with tea and coffee all the time, so I guess I don't see the connection, but probably better to be safe
- Diederich 5y ago
  > some latent genetic alcoholism That's my thinking. As I said in another comment, I really hate the taste of wine, so I wasn't drinking it for taste enjoyment. > probably better to be safe Yup!

TameAntelope 5y ago

Just for clarification, no research (I'm aware of) has indicated that one cup of red wine has measurable health benefits above not drinking at all. The research suggests that if you must drink, then one cup of wine will have some positive impacts in addition to the negative impacts. That said, I dunno if I'd be so strongly swayed either way by any single event without any real negative consequences such as you say here.

Havoc 5y ago
> (I'm aware of) has indicated that one cup of red wine has measurable health benefits above not drinking at all. There are various studies floating about. The part that has me sceptical is that they don't seem to account for whether it's in a social setting. i.e. is it the wine or is the being with friends and having a laugh
- angrais 5y ago
  Rather, they should account for the wine being consumed with food rather than alone, e.g., before bed like OP above. Consuming with food had metabolic side affects and is broken down differently and so could have less negative impact than when drunk alone.

smcl 5y ago

That can definitely happen when you're focussed on something else than what you're drinking (or eating!). It's gonna be even more pronounced if you're drinking, distracted and not particularly experienced with alcohol. If you enjoy what you're drinking you just need to be conscious of when you refill and you'll be fine. If you don't and you're just doing it as a sort of health thing, maybe you made the right choice. As someone who enjoys whisk[e]y, rum, gin, wine and beer, I think it's incredibly enjoyable if you're able to keep on top of it and I feel a little bit sad that there are some who won't enjoy things like making cocktails or tasting wine due to abstinence. I don't want at-risk people to descend into alcoholism against their will, mind.

Diederich 5y ago
> If you enjoy what you're drinking ... That's the thing: I hate the taste of wine.
- smcl 5y ago
  Yep that's why I included that :) If you're not into wine and you don't fancy anything else then fair enough, I hope nobody's pressuring you or making things weird.

gmadsen 5y ago

It was chilling, because you ascertained that some latent genetic alcoholism made you pour a glass of wine subconsciously ? I do this with tea and coffee all the time, so I guess I don't see the connection, but probably better to be safe

Diederich 5y ago
> some latent genetic alcoholism That's my thinking. As I said in another comment, I really hate the taste of wine, so I wasn't drinking it for taste enjoyment. > probably better to be safe Yup!