No safe level of alcohol for brain health: observational cohort study [pdf]

Post by [deleted] » Thu, May 20, 2021, 8:38 PM UTC

just-ok wrote: post #56

dsr_ wrote: post #19

Median alcohol intake was 13.5 units ( 102g) weekly That was among people who drank at all; for reference, that's just under two standard drinks per day, which is apparently what the UK considers the threshold of "low risk".

> Glasses were converted to UK units as follows: red or white wine = 1.7 units; fortified wine=1.2 units; pint = 2.4 units; spirits = 1 unit; other (e.g. alcopops) = 1.2 units. Amounts were also converted to grams pure ethanol (1 UK unit=8g) to aid international comprehension and comparison. Can someone explain these numbers to me? They claim to measure one “standard drink” (all of which are equal), yet each variant…

Post by simonsarris » Thu, May 20, 2021, 8:47 PM UTC

kstrauser wrote: post #47

Welp, that does it. I'm definitely not getting smarter, and can't afford to lose what little I'm still holding onto. I live in a US state where weed is legal, and I was discussing this with a friend: it's starting to seem like a terrible idea to drink at all if weed is available and has lesser harmful effects. For me personally, it comes down to that I'd hate for my kids to see me using weed, but I acknowledge that's…

Post by brundolf » Thu, May 20, 2021, 9:04 PM UTC

outworlder wrote: post #54

kelnos wrote: post #26

When I was younger, reading about the history of Prohibition in the US, I thought it was completely bonkers. The idea that alcohol was even worth a ban, let alone whether such a ban could be enforced, was silly to me. But the more I read about stuff like this, the more I realize that alcohol isn't special among the various things we call "drugs". It's not good for your physical health, and "everything in moderation"…

> the more I realize that alcohol isn't special among the various things we call "drugs". But it is. Humans are pretty good at metabolizing alcohol. Other species are not as good (carnivores in particular). Why is that? Every day bacteria in your gut produce alcohol. Every day you ingest it. Some percentage of carbs get converted daily. It's conceivable that our bodies are fine with small amounts.

Post by WarOnPrivacy » Thu, May 20, 2021, 9:08 PM UTC

emptysongglass wrote: post #75

thisisbrians wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure why you're being downvoted. Both are extremely safe compared to ethanol — in terms of both self-harm and harm inflicted upon others.

Tons of studies show that weed effects emotional processing, increases risk of of sudden psychosis, and yes, even gray matter loss. [1] This idea that weed is safe due in part to its associations with "Nature" is really a social fabrication. People just fought for another thing they wanted to imbibe that wrecks us in another, not necessarily equivalent, way. Personal experience is it's one of the few recreational dru…

Post by smaryjerry » Thu, May 20, 2021, 9:21 PM UTC

brundolf wrote: post #85

outworlder wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the more I realize that alcohol isn't special among the various things we call "drugs". But it is. Humans are pretty good at metabolizing alcohol. Other species are not as good (carnivores in particular). Why is that? Every day bacteria in your gut produce alcohol. Every day you ingest it. Some percentage of carbs get converted daily. It's conceivable that our bodies are fine with small amounts.

I wonder if the OP accounted for the effects of carbs in general? Could alcohol be just another carb?