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What alcohol does to your body, brain and health [video]

hubermanlab.com

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Re: What alcohol does to your body, brain and health [video]

#61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The science has been in a long time that no amount of alcohol is healthy I don't think any study really proved that a glass of beer a month would do anything to your life expectancy no?

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6... For populations between 15–39 years old, the theoretical minimum risk capped at 0.603 standard drinks per day. So a "safe" amount of alcohol for the majority drinking population is less than one standard drink per day For populations over 40 years old, the theoretical minimum risk is capped at 1.87 drinks per day

For those of us using the metric system, a standard drink is 14 grams of alcohol. Which is for instance one small beer with 4% alcohol volume: 330mL * 0.04 = 13.2 grams of alcohol.

Good luck with these calculations if you’re using imperial units. And you’re tipsy. But for metric countries it’s not too hard a calculation.

Re: What alcohol does to your body, brain and health [video]

#62
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We've been drinking alcohol for 8000 years now so I wish you the best of luck on your crusade to show that it's "something wrong with humanity".

Ever study human history? Something is definitely wrong with humanity.

This is it. It would almost drive ye to drink.

"Alcohol - the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems."

Re: What alcohol does to your body, brain and health [video]

#63

The science has been in a long time that no amount of alcohol is healthy. Despite overwhelming experimental, historical and anecdotal evidence, 60% of Americans drink ~4 drinks per week - which luckily is on the decline. Something is seriously wrong with humanity if poisoning ourselves regularly to dissociate with reality remains this popular as a core social component. People will point to all of the supposed "socia…

I bet even with literally perfect lives humans would still drink alcohol and consume other drugs. It's a chemical you can ingest that gives you different experiences than you normally could or would. That will NEVER not be attractive to the human brain, even if you think that's irrational. Humans are curious creatures, and that curiosity includes the desire to understand dangerous or weird things.

Fully concur!

However what you describe - effectively novelty seeking, which is very human - is a far cry from the chronic alcohol culture that permeates society.

The former is healthy exploration, what we have however is chronic dissociation.

Re: What alcohol does to your body, brain and health [video]

#64
I had been drinking more or less since I was a teenager (or pre-teen?), and I live in a drinking culture (i.e., Wisconsin), but I decided to quit drinking entirely 2 years ago when the pandemic got bad. I do understand why a lot of people went in the opposite direction, drinking more during the pandemic, because it's a natural coping mechanism, so I don't criticize that. I just personally felt it was important to keep my body as healthy as possible, especially before we had vaccines. It also helped the pocketbook in economically uncertain times to not spend any money on alcohol. Now, I don't even miss drinking anymore. (I definitely did miss it for a while afterward.) I think I used alcohol too much as a crutch, in order to "have fun". I'm rewiring my brain to stop thinking I need chemical supplements in order to have fun.

I'm not trying to preach, other than to say that it is possible to break from a habit of drinking and leave it behind, if you've considered that. To be sure, I wasn't ever technically an "alcoholic", just a... normal Wisconsinite LOL. (For a laugh, here's Lewis Black on drinking in Wisconsin https://youtu.be/9m-cQin1qKE )

Re: What alcohol does to your body, brain and health [video]

#65

The science has been in a long time that no amount of alcohol is healthy. Despite overwhelming experimental, historical and anecdotal evidence, 60% of Americans drink ~4 drinks per week - which luckily is on the decline. Something is seriously wrong with humanity if poisoning ourselves regularly to dissociate with reality remains this popular as a core social component. People will point to all of the supposed "socia…

let us know if you find a solution to social anxiety and especially existential dread

Alcohol doesn't help social anxiety except by social convention.

Society believes alcohol changes personality, and that drunk people are less themselves. Thus, they judge drunk people less harshly (including themselves).

But alcohol doesn't actually change personality. It only makes your brain work slower. It doesn't make it go anywhere it otherwise wouldn't, you just get there later.

What we've developed is a way to split up when we're accountable. I promise you that split is zero-sum: the more leniently they judge your social behaviour when drunk, the more harshly they judge it when you're sober.

Re: What alcohol does to your body, brain and health [video]

#66
post #53

The science has been in a long time that no amount of alcohol is healthy. Despite overwhelming experimental, historical and anecdotal evidence, 60% of Americans drink ~4 drinks per week - which luckily is on the decline. Something is seriously wrong with humanity if poisoning ourselves regularly to dissociate with reality remains this popular as a core social component. People will point to all of the supposed "socia…

Is having a drink or two a week really measurably self-destructive? How does it measure compared to sitting at a desk all day, or putting mayo in your sandwiches?

Sedentary lifestyle is a known carcinogen in the state of California. /s

edit: for the non-Californians, this is a reference to proposition 65. https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/06/07/opinion-californias-j...

Re: What alcohol does to your body, brain and health [video]

#67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

DHM is the answer. It's a cheat code for hangovers in a way that feels like it could be dangerous to society if it ever became more well-known.

Any recommended brand/dose?

I use Double Wood for most of my simple supplements (Magnesium Threonate, Apigenin, etc). They (claim to) do a lot of quality testing and have great customer support.

Re: What alcohol does to your body, brain and health [video]

#68
post #2

Anyone have their own cure for a hangover the following day after drinking heavily? My usual go-to is a 'Full English Breakfast' that has all the trimmings and it replaces lost electrolytes in my system and 'cures' me although it's only a band-aid solution. There's nothing you can really do except wait a bad hangover out and let your body repair itself after essentially ingesting poison. Lucozade is another thing we…

Besides what others have said, drink plenty of water while you drink alcohol. I go for a 1:1 ratio (makes you pee a lot though) but it’s what keeps the dehydration from alcohol and ensuing headache under control.

Or you could also drink less.

Re: What alcohol does to your body, brain and health [video]

#69

The science has been in a long time that no amount of alcohol is healthy. Despite overwhelming experimental, historical and anecdotal evidence, 60% of Americans drink ~4 drinks per week - which luckily is on the decline. Something is seriously wrong with humanity if poisoning ourselves regularly to dissociate with reality remains this popular as a core social component. People will point to all of the supposed "socia…

> I say this as a former Beer and Whiskey nerd by the way. That is really interesting. So, what do you do now instead of Beer and Whiskey? Edit: Don't tell me it's karma.

I've really gotten into upscale herbal teas and mocktails.

I was recently at a very small but upscale restaurant and they had a no-alcohol dinner flight pairing that was fantastic.

There is so much variety and no downsides!

Re: What alcohol does to your body, brain and health [video]

#70

Alcohol is the most harmful drug out there[1] - worse than heroin, crack cocaine, and all the rest. It boggles my mind how common it is, while genuinely useful drugs like psilocybin are still Schedule I and relegated to the shadows. [1]: https://sci-hub.se/10.1016/s0140-6736(10)61462-6 https://i.imgur.com/DQDJMGt.png

What a nonsense.. there are millions of people drinking alcohol sporadically and are doing fine. I don't think there are that many people sporadically consuming crack and are doing fine. Now I guess you can define harmful in many ways and I didn't read the study and probably won't.
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