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I think one key difference between tobacco and alcohol is that tobacco doesn't really have a 'safe' level of usage: every cigarette is bad for you. However (fr

by cwkoss 4y ago

I think one key difference between tobacco and alcohol is that tobacco doesn't really have a 'safe' level of usage: every cigarette is bad for you. However (from my understanding, could be wrong) alcohol isn't bad for you until your BAC exceeds a certain concentration, so 1-2 drinks is benign, but the 3rd one starts doing damage and damage increases in a dose dependent manner. Most fruit juices and breads contain small amounts of ethanol - and I don't think there is any suggestion that those quantities could have significant deleterious effects. I think it makes sense to have a different regulatory regime and societal perception for drugs that can have theoretically 'safe' recreational usage. Would love if there were biomarkers of alcohol doing damage that could be measured with a urine test strip or something like that at home: would acetaldehyde in urine be a good proxy of how much damage alcohol has done to the body? Regardless, warning labels make a lot of sense - the way many people use alcohol is carcinogenic, and drinkers should be aware of that risk.

chimineycricket 4y ago
You think one drink of alcohol doesn't have a negative effect on your liver?
- cwkoss 4y ago
  From my (albeit limited understanding) the damage from alcohol primarily lies in the 'backup' metabolic pathways getting used when the liver is saturated and cannot keep up with the primary pathway. The backup metabolic pathways produce acutely toxic byproducts - acetaldehyde most significantly - which are significantly more harmful than ethanol itself. Some people may generate significant amounts of acetaldehyde from a single drink, but I don't think that's the case for the majority of healthy people.
  - ender341341 4y ago
    My also limited understanding is that research seems to be converging on any amount isn't good for you and that a lot of the "one glass of wine is healthy" seem to be more finding out that people who are good at self moderation tend to be healthier because they self moderate on other things too.

by cwkoss 4y ago

chimineycricket 4y ago

You think one drink of alcohol doesn't have a negative effect on your liver?

cwkoss 4y ago
From my (albeit limited understanding) the damage from alcohol primarily lies in the 'backup' metabolic pathways getting used when the liver is saturated and cannot keep up with the primary pathway. The backup metabolic pathways produce acutely toxic byproducts - acetaldehyde most significantly - which are significantly more harmful than ethanol itself. Some people may generate significant amounts of acetaldehyde from a single drink, but I don't think that's the case for the majority of healthy people.
- ender341341 4y ago
  My also limited understanding is that research seems to be converging on any amount isn't good for you and that a lot of the "one glass of wine is healthy" seem to be more finding out that people who are good at self moderation tend to be healthier because they self moderate on other things too.