5 ms·
Pretty weird that "go drink yourself to death instead" is the top comment on HN. Stinkin Thinking is what my grandmother used to say about people making decisio
by hobs 1y ago
Pretty weird that "go drink yourself to death instead" is the top comment on HN. Stinkin Thinking is what my grandmother used to say about people making decisions on booze, its not some magic defense against neurodegenerative stuff. Nobody should be defending some dumb stoners, but the idea that you can protect your mental health by hard drinking is deeply unsupported by science.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7488355/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7488355/
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) has been associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Prolonged excessive alcohol intake contributes to increased production of reactive oxygen species that triggers neuroimmune response and cellular apoptosis and necrosis via lipid peroxidation, mitochondrial, protein or DNA damage. Long term binge alcohol consumption also upregulates glutamate receptors, glucocorticoids and reduces reuptake of glutamate in the central nervous system, resulting in glutamate excitotoxicity, and eventually mitochondrial injury and cell death. In this review, we delineate the following principles in alcohol-induced neurodegeneration: (1) alcohol-induced oxidative stress, (2) neuroimmune response toward increased oxidants and lipopolysaccharide, (3) glutamate excitotoxicity and cell injury, and (4) interplay between oxidative stress, neuroimmune response and excitotoxicity leading to neurodegeneration and (5) potential chronic alcohol intake-induced development of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
- mrtksn 1y agoYes, alcohol is very bad if you drink it wrong. The core of what I say is that, drink it the right way(don't drink hard regularly, never drink alone) or don't drink it(you don't have to drink but you will be missing out). Don't smoke anything.
- Mistletoe 1y agoThe new science says there is no safe level of alcohol and that it is just a straight up poison for your body. Previous studies were flawed. https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/04-01-2023-no-level-of-alcohol-consumption-is-safe-for-our-health https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/04-01-2023-no-level-of-...
- mrtksn 1y agoSure, if you are gunning for a long and healthy life avoid alcohol. Also, helicopters, motorcycles, loud music, professions and places. You will miss out on stuff but it is definitely the safer path to take.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- Mistletoe 1y agoI'm gunning for a long and healthy life. That's why I sold my motorcycle too.
- bigfudge 1y agoBut this is not comparing apples to apples. Smoking weed in moderation is probably fine too. The trouble is criminalising it means you can essentially only buy the weed equivalent of cask strength moonshine, and nobody knows how to mix a nice cocktail. Decriminalising would make it (more) possible to grow and sell lower THC weed, and weed with different cannabinoid profiles. We still know very little about the differential effects of THC/CBD etc in weed as-smoked. In short, I think your advice is probably premature. Let's try legalising and developing a stoner culture which isn't the equivalent of hardcore alcoholism, then try comparing. Plus, drunk people (> 2 pints) are also seriously boring if you are sober.
- mrtksn 1y agoI have never seen slightly high fun person, in my experience with smoking weed the aim is to get high as possible quick as possible and maintain it as long as possible. The range of effects is small and there's not much to desire on the lower end of the things. The best you can do is to try to balance THC and CBD as they actually have different effects. Maybe I will change my mind about weed once I start observing such situations.
- Teever 1y agoBut how do you know that all the fun people you've been with aren't secretly high?
- ido 1y agoWhere did mrtksn wrote that you should drink yourself to death? They explicitly stated they only mean drinking socially and not in order to "get smashed".
- PedroBatista 1y agoThat’s not what OP said, you know it and were just waiting for an excuse to dump the Rolodex of facts about alcoholism on this conversation. Alcohol is a potent substance and beyond the ocasional use in moderate quantities it’s terrible both physically and psychologically, but it’s a “social lubricant” and has been for thousands of years because it works. The truth is most weed people use it like they are alcoholics and there’s the inevitable group who use it as an identity and they are just unbearable to be around.
- mvdtnz 1y ago>the idea that you can protect your mental health by hard drinking is deeply unsupported by science Whose idea is that? Certainly not the person you're responding to, who said nothing of the sort.