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Men should abstain from drinking at least three months prior to conceiving

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Re: Men should abstain from drinking at least three months prior to conceiving

#51

Post by standardUser »

arsome wrote: post #36
reliablereason wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would say that 3-4 beers several times a week is allot of alcohol. It is an amount where I would definitely start to think that ones life would be degraded in certain ways by the amount of alcohol consumed. Where I live the recommendations are that people that drink 10 or more units of alcohol per week should be provided support from the healthcare system to reduce their drinking.

As pointed out by the parent comment, one strong 16 Oz can is already 2 drinks. Having 2 of those in a night or even slightly weaker ones puts you in the 3-4 drink range. I'm sure I'm not the only one with a habit of having 2 of those a few nights a week to tie a long day off.

When I think of "beers" in America, I usually think of Bud Light or similar lightweight lagers that are usually in the 4-5% alcohol range. Drinking 3-4 of those over a few hours with food will not get most people very drunk at all, depending on bodyweight and tolerance.

I prefer IPAs which average closer to 7% and that higher alcohol concentration seems to make a big difference. Drinking 3-4 of those can get a person quite drunk.

Re: Men should abstain from drinking at least three months prior to conceiving

#52

Post by dadadad100 »

lm28469 wrote: post #30
zelos wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. Maybe I’m just a lightweight, but 4 beers is into ‘drunk’ levels for me. Doing that 2 or 3 times a week? Of course that’s going to have health impacts.

It's all about tolerance. Half a pint gets me quite tipsy now because I drink maybe once a month at best, a pint will get me past the sweet spot already. A few years back I could have half a bottle of wine and be in the same perceived state

Is it also age? As I got old (50s) I could feel it hitting more. It’s stronger now (60s)

Re: Men should abstain from drinking at least three months prior to conceiving

#53

Post by vfclists »

hiAndrewQuinn wrote: post #20
whoomp12341 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

in northern culture, the CDC's recommendation is laughable. Excessive drinking is a regular thing where its cold

Maybe for you. Moving to Finland and seeing that a six pack cost as much as a month's worth of breakfast was all the motivation I needed to kick the stuff.

Shame about the war. If not for that you could just cross the border over into Russia and obtain it much cheaper.

Re: Men should abstain from drinking at least three months prior to conceiving

#54

Post by cbsks »

bwhaley wrote: post #9
bell-cot wrote: post #2

> He also noted that it doesn’t take excessive alcohol use ... > “In the models we’re using, even drinking three to four beers after work several days a week can induce [bad stuff for sperm],” Golding said. “You may not feel inebriated, but your body is going through chemical changes.” Vs. the CDC's current upper limit for "moderate" male drinking is 2 drinks/day, and they're very quick to specify that "a" beer is at…

3-4 beers after work several days per week seems like a drinking problem imho.

Before kids I had an active social life that could definitely be construed as a “drinking problem”. I’d argue that the benefits to my social life outweighed the harm to my health. IMHO, “problem” drinking is defined as the inability to stop drinking, i.e. a true addiction.

Re: Men should abstain from drinking at least three months prior to conceiving

#55

Post by AlecSchueler »

lm28469 wrote: post #23
AlecSchueler wrote: post #11

I've got a couple of questions about this. Maybe they were covered in the paper but I couldn't see the link? Let me know if I missed it. 1. What do they mean by "changes in sperm?" What are they actually measuring here? 2. Is there previous evidence that these changes in sperm are linked to FAS, or are we extrapolating from the known effects of motherly drinking? 3. They say 3-4 beers a couple times a week is enough…

> Alcohol can affect fertility by altering sperm count, size, shape, and motility. > Animal studies have provided clear evidence that offspring sired by ethanol-exposed males in the absence of maternal ethanol exposure showed more adverse behavioral development11, including increased risk of anxiety- and depression-like behaviors7,10, increased in activity and sensorimotor integration deficits, as well as decreased b…

Damn. I was hoping the best on the basis that my own father liked a drink, and knowing that at least my own intelligence level was fine. But "anxiety- and depression-like behaviors, increases in activity and sensorimotor integration deficits, as well as decreased balance, coordination, and short-term motor learning" sadly sounds like a pretty good description of my own life's history.

At least if I know this ahead of time I can coach my child with it all in mind and lean harder into self-care solutions for managing anxiety etc. in a way that I might not have done otherwise.

Re: Men should abstain from drinking at least three months prior to conceiving

#56

Post by hef19898 »

aswanson wrote: post #32
bwhaley wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

3-4 beers after work several days per week seems like a drinking problem imho.

It is.

Depends on the beer. Measuring one beer as we donin Bavaria, in at least half litres, and meaning by multiple times a week more than three days, maybe. By measuring beer in 0.3 and 0.2 litres, ans assuming the average US beer, even doing so 5 days a week propably doesn't get into abuse territory by the alcohol amount alone.

Re: Men should abstain from drinking at least three months prior to conceiving

#57

Post by AlecSchueler »

yellow_lead wrote: post #26
AlecSchueler wrote: post #11

I've got a couple of questions about this. Maybe they were covered in the paper but I couldn't see the link? Let me know if I missed it. 1. What do they mean by "changes in sperm?" What are they actually measuring here? 2. Is there previous evidence that these changes in sperm are linked to FAS, or are we extrapolating from the known effects of motherly drinking? 3. They say 3-4 beers a couple times a week is enough…

Here is the link https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/andr.13566 Best of luck

Thank you.

Re: Men should abstain from drinking at least three months prior to conceiving

#58

Post by black6 »

mrkeen wrote: post #28
the_sleaze9 wrote: post #3

Am I missing something - what negative effects are there? > "I need to program the offspring to be able to adapt to that kind of environment" What does this mean?

> Am I missing something - what negative effects are there? Paragraph 1: > Researchers at Texas A&M University have already shown that paternal drinking habits prior to conception can have a negative effect on fetal development — with semen from men who regularly consume alcohol impacting placenta development, fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)-associated brain and facial defects, and even IVF outcomes.

Yes, but what are the impacts?

Re: Men should abstain from drinking at least three months prior to conceiving

#59

Post by biasedestimate »

Perhaps important to note that this result comes from a lab experiment done on mice, with as far as I can tell N=24 mice split in a control and two treatment conditions. I would be very careful concluding anything from that study about what human males should or should not do.

Re: Men should abstain from drinking at least three months prior to conceiving

#60

Post by nkozyra »

giardini wrote: post #43
whoomp12341 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

in northern culture, the CDC's recommendation is laughable. Excessive drinking is a regular thing where its cold

Knew a fellow from Texas sent to manage a business in Russia for 6 months. He was in excellent cardiovascular health when he left. 6 months later he returned with 15 extra pounds of weight. His story: arriving in Moscow he found it brutally cold and began to drink under friends' advice. He later reported back that "you need to drink vodka and eat like crazy to keep warm and keep you body weight up" in that cold clima…

> Anyone else heard this? Does alcohol perhaps keep all the bad stuff(lipids et al) in your blood in solution better in cold weather?

No, but it sounds like a great excuse for alcoholism.

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