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That's true of course. But I also think for practical arguments like this, we don't need exact science. There's a good theory why moderate drinking is still un

That's true of course. But I also think for practical arguments like this, we don't need exact science. There's a good theory why moderate drinking is still unhealthy (self-exclusion of non-drinkers). There's no proven theory as to why moderate drinking should somehow increase health. So while it's not perfect science, for the practical purpose of making life decisions, that's enough for me.

dmurray 1y ago
There's a pretty clear theory of alcohol as social lubricant, and people with more active social lives having better mental health and slower cognitive decline in old age. There's also a surprisingly strong link between alcohol use and exercise, that persists even when you look at "heavy drinking levels" [0]. In fact, given the fact that alcohol use has such a high effect on certain medical conditions, but such a low impact on all-cause mortality, you can be certain that alcohol use has some strong positive health effects. And it's down to individual circumstances whether the positives are likely to outweigh the negatives. [0] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2747097/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2747097/
- FinnLobsien 1y ago
  > There's a pretty clear theory of alcohol as social lubricant, and people with more active social lives having better mental health and slower cognitive decline in old age. Sure, but you can have an active social life without consuming alcohol and have the benefits of not drinking AND having an active social life. > There's also a surprisingly strong link between alcohol use and exercise, that persists even when you look at "heavy drinking levels" [0]. Couldn't this be the same fallacy? i.e. the people who don't drink self-exclude from drinking AND exercise because they're sick or injured or whatever? Or could it be that people who are more active in general just do both things more?

dmurray 1y ago

There's a pretty clear theory of alcohol as social lubricant, and people with more active social lives having better mental health and slower cognitive decline in old age. There's also a surprisingly strong link between alcohol use and exercise, that persists even when you look at "heavy drinking levels" [0]. In fact, given the fact that alcohol use has such a high effect on certain medical conditions, but such a low impact on all-cause mortality, you can be certain that alcohol use has some strong positive health effects. And it's down to individual circumstances whether the positives are likely to outweigh the negatives. [0] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2747097/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2747097/

FinnLobsien 1y ago
> There's a pretty clear theory of alcohol as social lubricant, and people with more active social lives having better mental health and slower cognitive decline in old age. Sure, but you can have an active social life without consuming alcohol and have the benefits of not drinking AND having an active social life. > There's also a surprisingly strong link between alcohol use and exercise, that persists even when you look at "heavy drinking levels" [0]. Couldn't this be the same fallacy? i.e. the people who don't drink self-exclude from drinking AND exercise because they're sick or injured or whatever? Or could it be that people who are more active in general just do both things more?