The Truth We Won't Admit: Drinking Is Healthy

[Torie]

Well, I "knew" from the grapevine about having a glass or two of red wine a day with food being asalubrious habit, but here we have something a bit more empirical that imbibing up to a point is not good for the solvency of the social security system - at least if not behind the wheel at the time, I should hasten to add.

[xavier110]

This is all quite a crock of BS -- the conclusions it draws (the U.S. has more diabetes and heart problems because we drink less than Europeans?) are laughable. Yes, talk to any medical professional and that is exactly the answer you'll find :eyeroll:

Really? Drinking, more often than not, is glorified in the U.S. - every advertisement, every song, every piece of pop culture exalts drinking excessively when it's arguably one of the most toxic drugs in existence

[KCDem]

This is all quite a crock of BS -- the conclusions it draws (the U.S. has more diabetes and heart problems because we drink less than Europeans?) are laughable. Yes, talk to any medical professional and that is exactly the answer you'll find :eyeroll:

Really? Drinking, more often than not, is glorified in the U.S. - every advertisement, every song, every piece of pop culture exalts drinking excessively when it's arguably one of the most toxic drugs in existence

You're crazy if you believe this. Go crawl back into your puritanical hole.

[PiMp DaDdy FitzGerald]

This is all quite a crock of BS -- the conclusions it draws (the U.S. has more diabetes and heart problems because we drink less than Europeans?) are laughable. Yes, talk to any medical professional and that is exactly the answer you'll find :eyeroll:

Really? Drinking, more often than not, is glorified in the U.S. - every advertisement, every song, every piece of pop culture exalts drinking excessively when it's arguably one of the most toxic drugs in existence

You're crazy if you believe this. Go crawl back into your puritanical hole.

Admittedly it is not as bad a Heroin, but it does more societal damage than any other drug due to its ubiquity.

[Indy Texas]

Of course getting drunk is bad for you. So is eating too much food. So is spending too much time in the sun. So is doing a specific type of exercise too much in a short period of time.

There's really nothing that isn't bad for you if you do it too much.

[bedstuy]

I wonder how much of health benefit is just the practice of relaxing with a drink.  Stress can really eat away at you and if you find a way to relax with a glass of wine, it's a great thing for your emotional well-being.  I would say the same thing about smoking marijuana too, especially if you can get decent weed.  That can really help you just calm down after a long day. 

In the same vein, I think everyone ought to try psychedelics at least once.

[memphis]

Who won't admit it? Everybody knows a glass or two of wine is good for heart.

[xavier110]

This is all quite a crock of BS -- the conclusions it draws (the U.S. has more diabetes and heart problems because we drink less than Europeans?) are laughable. Yes, talk to any medical professional and that is exactly the answer you'll find :eyeroll:

Really? Drinking, more often than not, is glorified in the U.S. - every advertisement, every song, every piece of pop culture exalts drinking excessively when it's arguably one of the most toxic drugs in existence

You're crazy if you believe this. Go crawl back into your puritanical hole.

Admittedly it is not as bad a Heroin, but it does more societal damage than any other drug due to its ubiquity.

Alcohol has, without a doubt, done more damage to society than any drug in all of history. Period. This is not puritanism; this is a fact. I'm not calling for prohibition - but if people need better drug education, it's regarding how to handle alcohol.

[Torie]

Those with a history of alcoholism in their genetic line should not drink - period. Life is a series of having to make these little judgments - and hopefully it is data based decision-making. But thank heavens, a majority of us are not cursed with that genetic predisposition, so thus, the article.

[KCDem]

This is all quite a crock of BS -- the conclusions it draws (the U.S. has more diabetes and heart problems because we drink less than Europeans?) are laughable. Yes, talk to any medical professional and that is exactly the answer you'll find :eyeroll:

Really? Drinking, more often than not, is glorified in the U.S. - every advertisement, every song, every piece of pop culture exalts drinking excessively when it's arguably one of the most toxic drugs in existence

You're crazy if you believe this. Go crawl back into your puritanical hole.

Admittedly it is not as bad a Heroin, but it does more societal damage than any other drug due to its ubiquity.

Alcohol has, without a doubt, done more damage to society than any drug in all of history. Period. This is not puritanism; this is a fact. I'm not calling for prohibition - but if people need better drug education, it's regarding how to handle alcohol.

To claim this remains ludicrous. One word: tobacco.

[King]

Europeans also don't work as much as Americans and vacation more. I imagine that has more to do with it than the drinking itself.

[GaussLaw]

I wonder how much of health benefit is just the practice of relaxing with a drink.  Stress can really eat away at you and if you find a way to relax with a glass of wine, it's a great thing for your emotional well-being.  I would say the same thing about smoking marijuana too, especially if you can get decent weed.  That can really help you just calm down after a long day. 

In the same vein, I think everyone ought to try psychedelics at least once.

I relax by taking a 3 mile run, so I guess it really depends person-to-person what's best.

I think drinking in moderation is fine, but my opinion is a bit jaded of it due to having several blatantly drunk students come to my class.

[pbrower2a]

A little drinking, at least limited to adults, is benign. If it is good for reducing the risk of stroke and prion diseases -- wonderful.

There are medicines incompatible with alcohol and such conditions as gout that preclude drinking. Without question, pathological drinking -- drinking that gets one drunk or that leads to cirrhosis -- is to be avoided. 

[IceSpear]

I can't wait to see Adam's response.

[bedstuy]

I wonder how much of health benefit is just the practice of relaxing with a drink.  Stress can really eat away at you and if you find a way to relax with a glass of wine, it's a great thing for your emotional well-being.  I would say the same thing about smoking marijuana too, especially if you can get decent weed.  That can really help you just calm down after a long day. 

In the same vein, I think everyone ought to try psychedelics at least once.

I relax by taking a 3 mile run, so I guess it really depends person-to-person what's best.

I think drinking in moderation is fine, but my opinion is a bit jaded of it due to having several blatantly drunk students come to my class.

A post-run beer would work even better though.  

And, I don't see why you need to bring up getting drunk.  That's a whole different kettle of fish.  I drink almost every day and I've been drunk maybe once in the past 2 years.  Some people can't do that, but that's a problem with addictive and immature behavior, not a problem with booze.

And on the other side of the coin, being a teetotaler is a real negative.  It's socially detrimental, you lose out on some fun youthful experiences, you lose out on the fun of experimenting with your brain.  It's really close-minded to go through life without even trying to experiment with altering your consciousness.   

[free my dawg]

This is exactly the mindset I took with me when I went to college.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     I regularly tell myself that my travails in life are going to drive me to drink. They don't, but it makes me feel better about it. I guess that's a health benefit.

[bedstuy]

And on the other side of the coin, being a teetotaler is a real negative.  It's socially detrimental, you lose out on some fun youthful experiences, you lose out on the fun of experimenting with your brain.  It's really close-minded to go through life without even trying to experiment with altering your consciousness.   

Y'know what's also socially detrimental? Losing scholarships or being arrested for underaged drinking. It's is a pretty big deal now with schools and the police ruining lives with this stuff. If I remember correctly, you're in your 20s, right? You should know how this goes.

Anyways, what's so great about altering your mind? It's possible to be a fun and interesting person without needing to get blackout drunk every weekend in a friend's basement.

Well, you ought to be careful drinking in high school.  But, no college student gets arrested for underage drinking.  I've never heard of such a thing.  Everyone drinks in college and nobody gets arrested for underage drinking.  Give me a break.

And again, drinking is not the same as binge drinking or drinking until you're blackout drunk.  It's possible to have fun on a Saturday and drink 4 or 5 beers or whatever. 

[ilikeverin]

Eh, the evidence is much more equivocal than the article suggests, I think.  Every other month, it seems, there's a new study saying yes and saying no.  The truth is, drinkers desperately want there to be evidence that drinking is good, and non-drinkers desperately don't want it.  What probably isn't true is the idea that alcohol in and of itself actively reduces stress... which is almost certainly false.  Rather, we just happen to pair alcohol drinking with activities we generally find pleasurable or at least non-stressful (socializing in a bar setting, sitting around doing nothing), which leads to a good ol' dose of the placebo effect.  There are groups of non-drinkers who do tend to live very long lives... I'm thinking Seventh-Day Adventists (see also Loma Linda), and I bet Mormons.  They have other ways to deal with stress.

[pbrower2a]

And on the other side of the coin, being a teetotaler is a real negative.  It's socially detrimental, you lose out on some fun youthful experiences, you lose out on the fun of experimenting with your brain.  It's really close-minded to go through life without even trying to experiment with altering your consciousness.   

Y'know what's also socially detrimental? Losing scholarships or being arrested for underaged drinking. It's is a pretty big deal now with schools and the police ruining lives with this stuff. If I remember correctly, you're in your 20s, right? You should know how this goes.

Anyways, what's so great about altering your mind? It's possible to be a fun and interesting person without needing to get blackout drunk every weekend in a friend's basement.

Well, you ought to be careful drinking in high school.  But, no college student gets arrested for underage drinking.  I've never heard of such a thing.  Everyone drinks in college and nobody gets arrested for underage drinking.  Give me a break.

And again, drinking is not the same as binge drinking or drinking until you're blackout drunk.  It's possible to have fun on a Saturday and drink 4 or 5 beers or whatever. 

The trick is to separate the drinks by two hours, and to make sure to drink water as well. 

[Mr. Illini]

This is exactly the mindset I took with me when I went to college.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

Eh, the evidence is much more equivocal than the article suggests, I think.  Every other month, it seems, there's a new study saying yes and saying no.  The truth is, drinkers desperately want there to be evidence that drinking is good, and non-drinkers desperately don't want it.  What probably isn't true is the idea that alcohol in and of itself actively reduces stress... which is almost certainly false.  Rather, we just happen to pair alcohol drinking with activities we generally find pleasurable or at least non-stressful (socializing in a bar setting, sitting around doing nothing), which leads to a good ol' dose of the placebo effect.  There are groups of non-drinkers who do tend to live very long lives... I'm thinking Seventh-Day Adventists (see also Loma Linda), and I bet Mormons.  They have other ways to deal with stress.

This is a good post.

[MurrayBannerman]

I'm on my 2nd beer of the day. #college #nothingtodo

[© tweed]

props for quoting a Peele article, Torie,  I'm more or less a disciple of his when it comes to the intersection between drugs and public policy.

[© tweed]

This is all quite a crock of BS -- the conclusions it draws (the U.S. has more diabetes and heart problems because we drink less than Europeans?) are laughable. Yes, talk to any medical professional and that is exactly the answer you'll find :eyeroll:

Really? Drinking, more often than not, is glorified in the U.S. - every advertisement, every song, every piece of pop culture exalts drinking excessively when it's arguably one of the most toxic drugs in existence

You're crazy if you believe this. Go crawl back into your puritanical hole.

well, he's right that it's "toxic" in that the recreational dose can often find its way pretty close to the fatal dose, quite unlike drugs like marijuana and LSD (but similar to certain narcotics).  this is why alcohol leads among recreational drugs in overdose-deaths.

the rest of xavier's post shows a shocking naivete about the ability of the medical-industrial complex to be level-headed in their approach to the drug question.