Are the benefits of moderate drinking a myth? • Hacker News Board

Re: Are the benefits of moderate drinking a myth?

#71

Post by wutbrodo » Fri, May 08, 2015, 11:31 PM UTC

wutbrodo wrote: post #52

mildbow wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you sure it's just a glass? I started like that and atleast in my case, I very much progressed far beyond moderate amounts in the span of 3 years.

For the couple of them that I live with (either now or in the past), yea I'm sure. I have a glass of beer or scotch or wine in the evening ~once a week at work, and it doesn't seem hard to imagine people doing it every day (the reason I limit the days I do it has more to do with the fact that I control my nutrition fairly tightly).

That should say "once a week after work".

Re: Are the benefits of moderate drinking a myth?

#72

Post by uptownJimmy » Sat, May 09, 2015, 9:51 AM UTC

bmm6o wrote: post #37

mildbow wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you sure it's just a glass? I started like that and atleast in my case, I very much progressed far beyond moderate amounts in the span of 3 years.

I don't know anything about your situation, but it really depends on what else is going on in your life. If you work a full day (or a little longer) go to the gym or participate in a hobby after work, drive home, cook and eat dinner, watch some TV (or whatever) and go to bed, there's not really time in there for more than 2 or 3 drinks unless you are really pushing yourself. If your routine involves going to happy ho…

"2 or 3 drinks" is NOT moderation.

Re: Are the benefits of moderate drinking a myth?

#73

Post by kayimbo » Sat, May 09, 2015, 6:29 PM UTC

I didn't really read all the comments, but I think if you really care about the issue its pretty apparent moderate drinking being healthy is totally nonsense.

Baloney manipulation of statistics. There are like 30 different known mechanisms for alcohol being toxic, and as far as I know only a couple for it providing physical benefit. As far as I know, there are no animal studies where moderate alcohol increases lifespan or health. The animal studies all show common sense, alcohol is pretty darn bad for you.

Re: Are the benefits of moderate drinking a myth?

#74

Post by mildbow » Sat, May 09, 2015, 6:30 PM UTC

mhurron wrote: post #21

mildbow wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you sure it's just a glass? I started like that and atleast in my case, I very much progressed far beyond moderate amounts in the span of 3 years.

You're projecting your own lack of self control to everyone else with no evidence to back it up.

I had a problem with self-awareness, not self-control. I thought I would be fine and could control myself so didn't really think about how much I was getting used to drinking. But it's frighteningly slippery slope. So, I was trying to allude to that.

And, self-control isn't binary, it's a continuum: I thought myself as having lots of self-control, but I slipped into drinking way too much by starting with the habit of drinking regularly.

Anyway, once I was aware as to how much really I was drinking, I stopped. Cold turkey. So I think that shows at least some self-control.

If my comment makes anyone else re-examine exactly how much they drink consistently, I'm happy regardless of how much you think I'm projecting.

Re: Are the benefits of moderate drinking a myth?

#75

Post by mildbow » Sat, May 09, 2015, 7:07 PM UTC

bmm6o wrote: post #26

mildbow wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you sure it's just a glass? I started like that and atleast in my case, I very much progressed far beyond moderate amounts in the span of 3 years.

You should have mentioned that you were extrapolating from a sample size of 1.

I did :)

"atleast in my case"

Re: Are the benefits of moderate drinking a myth?

#76

Post by uptownJimmy » Sat, May 09, 2015, 9:24 PM UTC

dpark wrote: post #22

arielweisberg wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My observation is that my drinking habits match my food habits. Both require careful attention although alcohol unlike food has a built-in negative feedback mechanism. I do a dry week without alcohol every once in a while just to make sure I can. I find doing a dry week without alcohol the same difficulty as dry week without diet Coke. Which is to say I like diet Coke a lot and both require effort. You get things lik…

> I find doing a dry week without alcohol the same difficulty as dry week without diet Coke. This is similarly true for me. I can abstain from alcohol, but I miss it when I do. The effort is similar to abstaining from, say, ice cream or cookies. I would eat ice cream every night if it didn't feel so unhealthy. I also find that when abstaining from alcohol, I crave ice cream and other sweets far more. Alcohol and swee…

When I quit drinking, my sweet tooth grew immensely. That's a pretty common story.

Re: Are the benefits of moderate drinking a myth?

#77

Post by bmm6o » Mon, May 11, 2015, 4:43 PM UTC

uptownJimmy wrote: post #72

bmm6o wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know anything about your situation, but it really depends on what else is going on in your life. If you work a full day (or a little longer) go to the gym or participate in a hobby after work, drive home, cook and eat dinner, watch some TV (or whatever) and go to bed, there's not really time in there for more than 2 or 3 drinks unless you are really pushing yourself. If your routine involves going to happy ho…

"2 or 3 drinks" is NOT moderation.

No, but that is at the high end of what is even possible in the scenario I was describing, and is meant to contrast with "far beyond moderate amounts" of parent. Parent seems to think that excessive drinking is the only kind, and I was just pointing out that with reasonable balance in life it's actually difficult for most people to drink to excess.