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America has a drinking problem

theatlantic.com

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Re: America has a drinking problem

#231

Post by meheleventyone »

matwood wrote: post #180
paulgb wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've replaced the beer in my fridge with Athletic Brewing's non-alcoholic beer.

How do you like it? I like the taste of beer, and often want something more than water at night. But, I don't typically have alcohol except on the weekends (my wife and I joke about 2 beers and things are getting crazy lol). So during the week I often drink milk or a sugar free sports drink. Tea is also ok, but I try to avoid all caffeine late in the day.

There’s a couple of really good non-alcoholic beers here in Iceland. For want of a better explanation the flavour is really there but it lacks the edge or bite of real beer. I don’t know if it’s flavour or feel but it’s noticeable. That said due to recent medical stuff I’ve been drinking it and think I could stick with it long term.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#232

Post by misiti3780 »

blhack wrote: post #116

Some of my most cherished memories are those where I was out drinking wine and having really good food with my wife and friends. When people were telling stories about Jesus, the central figure of their religion, one of the miracles they told of was him turning water into wine. This is held up as one of the most important stories in their entire moral system. When the pyramids were being built, the builders were paid…

I agree, these articles are ridiculous. If you have alcoholism in your family -- dont drink. If you're overweight because drinking causes you to eat shitty food and not exercise -- stop drinking. If you have anxiety because of drinking -- stop drinking. If drinking makes you an asshole and is causing relationship problems (I know a lot of people in this category) -- stop drinking.

If you like to go out on the weeks and drink 8 beers with your friends, all the more power to you. People have been drinking since time immemorial, it's part of who we are as human.

Life is too short to "dot every i and cross every t".

You might be dead tomorrow.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#233

Post by lotsofpulp »

flatline wrote: post #126
namdnay wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think having children limits serious partying, but what do you drink when you’re eating your evening meals? Only water? Maybe it’s a southern European thing, but I can’t imagine eating a heavy meal without the acidity of a red wine, for example.

I often drink flavored fizzy water - they are a great alternative to soda: no caffeine, no sugar, but some flavor and carbonation. Other times I drink water, or juice because it's there for the kids. Sometimes alcohol too, it really depends on the circumstances.

All the pediatricians and dentists I meet say juice is basically as bad as soda due to sugar content. I never imagined juice falling victim to new knowledge about health, but it makes sense considering sugar (and carbs) are basically public enemy number 1 for almost everyone in the world.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#234

Post by panzagl »

czbond wrote: post #216
panzagl wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We simply choose healthier behaviors. Hmm, I wonder where your desire to choose healthier behaviors came from...

Mine came from feeling like junk even after 1 beer/wine/cocktail the next day. I experimented with thinking it was an allergy to grains, allergy to hops, wine quality - but I think it's just alcohol.

Could be, but in general Americans obsess more about health than other nations, which also can be traced back to our Puritanical heritage.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#235

Post by wbobeirne »

watertom wrote: post #227

I stopped drinking at 25, that was 30 years ago. I just decided that there weren't any benefits but a lot of negatives, so I stopped. When I tell people I stopped drinking they assume I had a problem. I laugh and say "No." Then I tell them I just did a pro's and con's evaluation and realized there were zero pro's and a whole lot of con's. I know 6 people that quit drinking after having a the pro's and con's discussio…

I've gone through phases of drinking more and less, and I'd that say at least in my personal experience I notice a lot of my relationships suffer when I'm staying completely sober. Not because my friends who drink don't want to hang out with a non-drinker, but many activities lose their appeal, I often end up leaving before the night gets "interesting", and I don't have the same shared experiences or increased sense of vulnerability that forms bonds.

Some days the cons still outweigh the pros, but for me "all the positives are imagined" just doesn't ring true at all.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#236

Post by rriepe »

patorjk wrote: post #143

One of my older brothers was a heavy drinker. He died recently at the age of 50. He had an enlarged heart and liver, which they believe were the cause of his death. It's not really clear to me if he saw it coming. He was fine one day, and then the next he was found dead by his housekeeper. I often hear about how alcohol in moderation can possibly cause you to live longer, but I don't hear much about how too much can…

How much do you hear about hereditary hemochromatosis and iron overload? It disproportionately affects people named Pat, and the family of people with mysterious liver and heart issues. Get your ferritin checked if you haven't. It's the most common genetic disorder in the United States, and commonly dismissed as alcoholism after death (it does complicate it and produce some of the same symptoms). Sorry for your loss.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#237

Post by crazcarl »

paulgb wrote: post #148
leifg wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Genuine question: what do you drink instead? Do you stick to water or do you order any kind of soda/lemonade (or something I’m not thinking about)

I've replaced the beer in my fridge with Athletic Brewing's non-alcoholic beer.

Hoplark Hoptea (sparkling hoppy tea) is another good alternative I have found, and is lower in calories and comes in varieties that are caffeinated or not. I'll note that I tried Athletic's hoppy sparkling water and Lagunita's and neither was nearly as good. Though I will say overall, all of them seem too expensive to be buying on a regular basis unless they can really cut out more expensive beer for you.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#239

Post by tolbish »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #64
rrrrrrrrrrrryan wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, as someone who has 2-3 drinks per day, I've always been more surprised by the amount of people who basically don't drink at all. In that chart it's over half of Americans. Travel a bit, any you'll quickly discover that a couple drinks in the evening is basically normal in much of the world. I'm not arguing that it's healthy (it's not), but the median American really doesn't drink much - our Puritan values r…

> but the median American really doesn't drink much - our Puritan values run deep. For many of us, it's not about Puritanical values. We simply choose healthier behaviors. It's true that the median alcohol drinkers in America doesn't drink much at all. The vast majority of alcohol is consumed by 10% of the population. Drinkers tend to cluster with other drinkers, and non-drinkers tend to become less interested with a…

How recent is your data? As of 2015, 18% of Americans are binge drinkers:

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/americans-are-dri...

Re: America has a drinking problem

#240

Post by tolbish »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #153

It's hard to reduce the US to a single culture. Alcohol consumption habits vary greatly from region to region, or even city to city depending on where you live. I've noticed that heavy drinkers tend to cluster with other heavy drinkers. The more you see your friends and coworkers binge drinking regularly, the more you feel it's an acceptable and even common behavior. Likewise, non-drinkers tend to cluster with each o…

And yet one year later we learn that 18% of Americans are binge drinkers:

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/americans-are-dri...

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