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Moderate Drinking Can Damage the Brain, Claim Researchers (theguardian.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Drinking even moderate amounts of alcohol can damage the brain and impair cognitive function over time, researchers have claimed. Writing in the British Medical Journal, researchers from the University of Oxford and University College London, describe how they followed the alcohol intake and cognitive performance of 550 men and women over 30 years from 1985. At the end of the study the team took MRI scans of the participants' brains. None of the participants were deemed to have an alcohol dependence, but levels of drinking varied. After excluding 23 participants due to gaps in data or other issues, the team looked at participants' alcohol intake as well as their performance on various cognitive tasks, as measured at six points over the 30 year period. The team also looked at the structure of the participants' brains, as shown by the MRI scan, including the structure of the white matter and the state of the hippocampus -- a seahorse-shaped area of the brain associated with memory. After taking into account a host of other factors including age, sex, social activity and education, the team found that those who reported higher levels of drinking were more often found to have a shrunken hippocampus, with the effect greater for the right side of the brain. While 35% of those who didn't drink were found to have shrinkage on the right side of the hippocampus, the figure was 65% for those who drank on average between 14 and 21 units a week, and 77% for those who drank 30 or more units a week.
Did those people do anything else during the 30 years, or did they simply sit still, staring at the wall, waiting for the next test and drinking alcohol?
I get that this kind of study is very hard to perform with reliable results, but humans are very complex. Trying to boil it all down to a single factor is a disservice to everyone, and won't get us closer to the truth.
From the study: 1 unit is 10mL or 8g of alcohol. 14 units (UK guidance per week for men an women) is 4 pints of high strength beer (5.2%) or 5 large glasses of 14% wine. 24.5 units (US guidance for men) is equivalent to 7 pints of beer or 9 glasses of wine.
"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain
I'm in trouble. Now I can tell my wife I have a medical problem. Then I'll tell her she's the reason for my drinking. Then my doctor can write a prescription! ;)
While 35% of those who didn't drink were found to have shrinkage on the right side of the hippocampus, the figure was 65% for those who drank on average between 14 and 21 units a week, and 77% for those who drank 30 or more units a week.
Per the article 14 units = approximately 6 pints of beer. Is that really moderate drinking? That's basically having a drink or more a day. Not alcoholic territory or anything but that's pretty steady consumption. Moderate drinking to my mind would be maybe a pint or two a week at most. Not having a drink with dinner every night. I'm not being critical. If someone enjoys a beer or glass of wine with dinner that's fine as long as they do so responsibly but it isn't what I consider moderate consumption.
Anyway, alcohol isn't good for you. News at 11... I'm pretty sure that anyone drinking a pint a day isn't overly concerned about the health effects, good or bad.
140 to 210mL alcohol a week is not moderate drinking. That's 2-3 beers or glasses of wine a day on average. I'd call that pretty heavy drinking.
are you sure it is not age related? between 20 & 50 is a long time. I know I cant do now what i could do when i was 20
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
isn't it?
*Pops open another cold one, leans back, doesn't give a shit*
Eat the rich.
So consumption of alcohol is simply stupid?
Could it be that a lot of people enjoy alcohol because it tastes good, and that we happen to enjoy a light buzz, without feeling the urge to get totally plastered?
Eat the rich.
,not the other voices, you hear.
i.e. people who have nothing to do can drink alcohol, and its the lack of stimulation on the brain that is the cause.
Whereas people who have something to do (e.g. somewhere to go, a night job, etc.) have more mental stimulation, but less times when they can drink.
That's all consistent with being stupid, so the two explanations are not mutually exclusive.
Yeah, no. I'm a scientist with degrees in math and computers. I suffer from a sensory processing disorder which makes the entire world loud, bright, "scratchy", crazy, and simply overwhelming. While I hate alcohol with a passion (feels terrible IMO), it's the only thing I have access to that dulls the world which is exactly what I need.
At first I just used it in the evening. 2 or 3 drinks and this rest made the next day a tiny bit better. However, after 10 or so years of doing that, something "broke" in my brain and now 2 or 3 drinks turns in to 20. It's really weird because I do not have an addictive personality and in fact get anxiety about "overdoing" anything. So what happened? I have no fucking clue. Alcohol is now a major problem for me and I don't even like it!
Yes, I have been on every medication available to Man. There is nothing that helps with SPD. Maybe opioids but I'm scared that I might actually like them so have never taken one (literally never).
What happened is SPD is not your only issue.
I'm on an anti-seizure medication and it has the same warnings. And its made explicitly treat my condition with minimum damaging affects on my brain. I would imagine something brewed with little to no consideration on the long term implications would have a worse effect, We just have to admit that everything we take into our bodies have both positive and negative effects. We just have to be responsible for what we consume and how much.
You say things that offend me and I can deal with it. Can you?
Just as long as you are aware of the fact that you are poisoning your brain and body for the sake of feeling good. There's no right or wrong, but that is the choice being made here.
They were drinking this over the course of a week. It would be a high amount if consumed in a single day, but not when spread out over 7.
If you are on average consuming one or more pints of beer every day then that is a rather brisk consumption of the product. Just because they aren't typically drinking enough to get plastered doesn't make it moderate unless you are comparing them to alcoholics.
I drink to forget so this is only good news.
High CBD, low THC marijuana or an extract of such would probably work wonders for you. Please try it, as it would be far less damaging than alcoholism.
Fuck yeah. And get rid of refined sugar, candies, and deep fried foods. Those, too, are poisons that are consumed by stupid people to make themselves feel better while destroying their bodies.
Be aware! Overconsumption of water can lead to death. Even moderate consumption, if sustained over time, can poison your brain and body. There's no right or wrong, but that is the choice being made here.
I read that on the Internet, so it must be true.
So these people who ingest 140-210 ml of ethanol per week are considered moderate drinkers?
I think my hippocampus is safe for now.
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
Scientists prove WATER IS WET!
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
This is self reported levels of drinking. While I tend to believe people who self-report "never drinking" I tend to doubt that the 14-21 units of alcohol per week crowd are 100% truthful about "never binging" - occasional weeks might include 21 units of alcohol in a 6 hour period.
Plus, I know it's England, but since when is 3 drinks a day, every day of the week, moderate?
I've had a lot of thoughts in my life and one just entered my head. If a man can't drink while he's living, how the hell can he drink when he's dead.
Well, that explains Brexit. 3-4 decades of drinking a pint of beer with lunch every day caused shrunken brains which led a lot of older people to vote yes.
Enjoy life!
As soon as you're born you're dying.
Red meat is a poison too, but I always see you stuffing a burger in your face.
Fuck yeah. And get rid of refined sugar, candies, and deep fried foods. Those, too, are poisons that are consumed by stupid people to make themselves feel better while destroying their bodies.
Ironically, this behavior is quite evident to be by design when reviewing the ingredients used to create McFood.
Yeast extracts and hydrolyzed proteins are considered excitotoxins, and are added to create that feel-good effect, and also make you crave it again.
Just another day in the land of Greed and Capitalism.
Red meat is a poison too, but I always see you stuffing a burger in your face.
The risk of consuming certain foods is often reduced or eliminated by simply adopting the concept of moderation.
By comparison, there is no amount of alcohol that has been proven to be of benefit, even with moderation. It is quite clearly, a poison.
They turned to drinking to cope with dealing with stupid people at their work and the real cause of the problem is that they lost brain cells from dealing with said stupid people.
We'll make great pets
but only the weak ones.
Did the study state there was a concrete cause-and-effect aspect? Or did they just show their results that show a correlation?
Yes they impled cause-and-effect :
the original BMJ article title is Moderate alcohol consumption as risk factor for adverse brain outcomes and cognitive decline: longitudinal cohort study.
It implies that moderate drinking is a potential factor that contributes to the brain damage.
This is then speculated even further by the press, with titles such as "Can Damage The Brain".
The PHDComics on Science News Cycle applies as usual.
The correct wording would have been " Link found between drinking and brain".
i.e.: we know that they are correlated (we have a link in the numbers), but we haven't yet a model explaining why (not a model which reasonnably explains most of the observed data).
- Is the drinking causing the brain damage ?
(it's plausible, as alcohol is toxic. And other situations have proven that repeated damage, even if each one should be small enough to recover, can cumulate over time and could sometime cause degenerative disease. See the problem with degenrative diseases and contact sports).
- Is having a stupider brain make the person more likely to drink ?
(again it's plausible. people with psychiatric problems are more likely to seek substances, both for the "feel better" kick and as misguided attempts to self medicate (feel functional). See alcoholism and depression, etc.)
- Are both drinking and brain damage just appearing together in people as a consequence of some other factor that the researcher haven't controlled for.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
So it's stupid to enjoy something that tastes good and makes you pleasantly light-headed?
Neo-puritans be crazy.
Eat the rich.
Perhaps it's not that drinking makes you stupid, but rather you have to be stupid in the first place to drink.
In absence of the data in TFA, on what grounds do you base this statement?
...Is an overvalued organ.
The only difference between medicine and poison, is the dosage.
So I guess you also avoid sugar, fat and anything else that is pleasurable in life?
Eat the rich.
are you sure it is not age related? between 20 & 50 is a long time
Age was taken into account. : there's a statistical link between the two.
Still, some people degraded faster than others in this span of time.
And those were significantly more likely to also be drinking.
- Thus the actual conclusion that one real scientist should take home
- Thus also the baseless spin that the press (and even the original BMJ article) are trying to take on it : even light drinking cause brain destruction
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
After excluding 23 participants due to gaps in data or other issues
After taking into account a host of other factors including age, sex, social activity and education,
35% of [control] were found to have shrinkage on the right side of the hippocampus
the figure was 65% for those who drank on average between 14 and 21 units a week, and 77% for those who drank 30 or more units a week.
All this based on 1 MRI scan after 20 years, tweaking some data, and then there's just a bunch of random changes with no real statistical significance?
Lame.
The only reason it is legal today is because addiction demands it should be.
No, it's legal because we're not at the mercy of neo-puritans like you.
Beer tastes good (well, good beer does), wine tastes good, whisky tastes good and so on. I know that's why I enjoy drinking it, in moderation. Is alcohol dangerous in high doses* dangerous? Yes. So is water or sugar or fat or anything else we consume.
* Notice the weekly consumption level mentioned in TFA.
Alcohol is a poison to the human body regardless of amount consumed, and there is no longer a point in debating it. Stupidity attempts to dismiss this fact in favor of a number of ignorant excuses to consume it.
So because one study shows that it may be dangerous to drink to the maximum recommended limit, all alcohol consumption is inherently dangerous, and there is absolutely no need to debate it?
I'm perfectly OK with your apparent aversion to alcoholic drinks. Maybe you're a former alcoholic, maybe someone in your family drank too much, I don't care. But please do not project this behavior onto people who happen to enjoy an alcoholic beverage on occasion, in safe moderation.
I'm not making excuses. I enjoy alcoholic drinks because they taste good. And you're sure as hell not getting plastered to hell and back from a single dram of high-quality whisky or two over the course of an evening.
Eat the rich.
When I read "While 35% of those who didn't drink were found to have shrinkage on the right side of the hippocampus, the figure was 65% for those who drank on average between 14 and 21 units a week, and 77% for those who drank 30 or more units a week.", I decided that a 77%, 65% or even 35% risk was too high, and will aim for 22-29 units a week, which seems to be a safe range.
Plus, I know it's England, but since when is 3 drinks a day, every day of the week, moderate?
It's moderate in that you'll never proceed from a small buzz to drunk if only drinking 3 units a day. It's certainly within the "normal" range of having a couple after work, before going home to the dragon.
Apparently 14 to 21 units is in this study categorized as moderate drinking. It sounds like rather a lot to me. It's decidedly more than the occasional glass of wine with dinner or drinking alcohol at social functions. For the age group in question, it sounds like a lot and adverse effects shouldn't be all that surprising?
By comparison, there is no amount of alcohol that has been proven to be of benefit, even with moderation. It is quite clearly, a poison.
Stop lying. You're basing your statements on one flawed study. Notice the amounts consumed by the participants. They're way over what any reasonable person would call "moderate".
Also, this:
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/n...
Eat the rich.
That not true! Me brain go worksing still! Drinking good! ;)
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
Whores and ale!
Yes. The only reason it is legal today is because addiction demands it should be.
No. The primary reason is that people fundamentally have a right to determine what they want to consume and what not. Moreover, the overwhelming majority of people who drink alcohol are not addicted to it.
Alcohol is a poison to the human body regardless of amount consumed, and there is no longer a point in debating it. Stupidity attempts to dismiss this fact in favor of a number of ignorant excuses to consume it.
That is not actually true. The consumption of alcohol may have loads of negative effects, even in small quantities, but the positive effects are also well-documented. Even if the balance is negative for any amount (a discussion which has been far from settled scientifically), calling it a poison would be stretching the definition of that word rather wildly.
Don't forget Oxygen. Nasty nasty highly bio-reactive toxin that kills all kinds of stuff. It's the cause of one of the first mass extinctions on Earth.
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
Because I read now that a 750ml bottle of wine contains 10 units of alcohol, while I was always taught that it contains six glasses, and that normal glasses all more or less compared in their alcohol amount (and were therefore considered a 'unit'). So 21 units would be 2 bottles of wine a week. That, in my mind, is still somewhat heavy drinking. Not overly so, but still.
Religion is what happens when nature strikes and groupthink goes wrong.
No, I didn't say that and don't endorse the original theory. I merely stated that you didn't say anything to refute the original claim. Your post was void of non-trivial content, so to say.
false,
ethyl-alcohol has a large therapeutic dosage range, so can be used for a number of things with a high safety margin, by untrained persons.
1) Disinfecting wounds
2) As disinfecting oral rinse
3) general mild short term pain relief
4) a temporary mood elevator
5) a temporary (poorly performing) sleep aide
6) sterilization of tools like tweezers before use
I think its more fair to say it does not benefit chronic conditions.
Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
So consumption of alcohol is simply stupid?
Yes. The only reason it is legal today is because addiction demands it should be.
I am Greek that, like -almost- all Greeks, consumes alcohol in a moderate way (Greece has few alcohol addicts) - alcohol is legal in Greece since... i guess from the invention of alcohol! Theoretically, if some authority implements an alcohol prohibition tomorrow, few people -the few alcohol addicts- will be effected severely, but -almost- all Greeks will rebel. So, who is the stupid now dear mister stupid?
But i admit that your stupid reasoning may be valid in the case of tobacco smoking - yes, i am an addict that demands tobacco smoking to remain legal until the sun freezes...
A single unit isn't a pint. A pint of 4% proof beer is 2 units, so 21 units a week equates to 10.5 pints which is way less than 3 pints per day.
fact
eat shiat and bark at the moon
So it's stupid to enjoy something that tastes good and makes you pleasantly light-headed?
Neo-puritans be crazy.
I dunno, what's the main ingredient in alcohol? (in the voice of the Church Lady) Hmm... could it be... Satan?
By the way, watch the documentary How Beer Saved The World. It's easy to find online. Do you see how long humans have been consuming alcohol and that it's even a core element to our culture? Society hasn't disintegrated yet has it? How do you explain that?
The fact is no one lives forever. You're going to die from something and it's probably not going to be pleasant. I like to think of it this way from the song Sheep go to Heaven by CAKE "As soon as you're born you start dying, so you might as well have a good time."
We'll make great pets
By comparison, there is no amount of alcohol that has been proven to be of benefit, even with moderation. It is quite clearly, a poison.
Red wine has been shown to have positive effects on your heart health.
What part of "shall not be infringed" is so hard to understand?
^^this^^
grape juice has the same effect, its not the alcohol portion that's benificial
Key word: Consumption.
Be aware! Overconsumption of water can lead to death.
Overconsumption of water can lead to death actually. It can even result in a wrongful death lawsuit against a radio station to the tune of $16.5 million dollars in damages.
We'll make great pets
The study cites 14-21 units/week of alcohol as "moderate consumption". That is not moderate, it's definitely into the "high" range. Thus, the conclusion is flawed when the paper talks about moderate consumption, because it isn't.
It you would read the paper, it supports the current UK recommended limits (14 units per week maximum) and posits that the current US limits are too high.
That is perfectly in line with what I've stated in this thread and in other comments on this article.
Eat the rich.
Points 3, 4 and 5.
Eat the rich.
Yeast extracts and hydrolyzed proteins are considered excitotoxins, and are added to create that feel-good effect, and also make you crave it again.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Hmmm, not mentioned in this article. Reference? Monosodium Glutamate, OTOH, is an almost pure excitotoxin -- Glutamate in the brain being the number one excitotoxin that causes cell death by overstimulation -- and yes, Mickey-D's food is often loaded with MSG (especially their "chicken nuggets"). Nothing in the article suggests that excitotoxins make you feel good, by the way, so this is a bit of a non-sequitor. Are you asserting that they add them to make you feel good and crave it again, and that incidentally they are excitotoxic? How toxic are they on a scale of water to MSG (which is close to ubiquitous and which directly triggers a reaction in a substantial fraction of the non-East Asian population).
Ahhh, but this whole topic reminds me of The Space Merchants, by Pohl and Kornbluth, where they added a harmless alkaloid to all of the foods in a three way loop so that smoking would make you crave something to krunch, which would make you crave something to drink, which would make you crave something to smoke. Or maybe it was a not-so-harmless alkaloid...
Still, sir, I must thank you for the excitotoxin reference. I'd never heard of this, but it explains chinese restaurant syndrome quite nicely, as well as why overstimulation in many contexts can lead to damage. A good motivation for a placid, contemplative life...
Even when the experts all agree, they may well be mistaken. --- Bertrand Russell.
People drink to forget their troubles. This could plausibly be a selling point for the product. A label stating that it's scientifically proven to make you forget your problems over time just might help manufacturers sell
More booze.
People always minimize their consumption. A couple of months ago a medical professional was taking my history, and asked me about my alcohol consumption and I laughed. She said that usually means either you drink a LOT or none at all. I told her that the only times I had any alcohol last year were Thanksgiving and Christmas at family suppers, and it wasn't much. Getting loaded is considered bad form and makes you a boring conversationalist, even if YOU think you're brilliant.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
0.5 to 1% near beer poured in your morning gruel to kill pathogens during medieval times is not what we're talking about here. False comparison.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
A single measure of spirits (ABV 37.5%); half a pint of average-strength (4%) lager; two-thirds of a 125ml glass of average-strength (12%) wine; half a 175ml glass of average-strength (12%) wine; a third of a 250ml glass of average-strength (12%) wine.
Two glasses of wine or beer a day is "high" to you.
Guess almost the whole world (except for the muslim world) are drunks to you.
If you're scared of your govt then you need to further restrict its powers
Vote 3rd Party in 2016 and beyond
Plus, I know it's England, but since when is 3 drinks a day, every day of the week, moderate?
3 units is one pint of beer. One pint of beer a day isn't moderate, it's abstemious.
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
First, that's still a considerable amount of alcohol, far more than most drinkers drink on a daily basis, and quite sufficient to give a 140lb man or 180lb woman a BAC of 0.08% (the limit at which the CDC considers it binge drinking) if drunk quickly. That's at least pretty thoroughly tipsy if you're not accustomed to it, which is probably a good gauge of the fundamental effects it's having on your body.
Second, that's a weekly estimate, not daily, and pretty much all the drinkers I know tend to concentrate a fair portion of their drinking into one or two days of the week. Even if that only accounts for 1/3 of their total alcohol intake, that easily doubles their intake on those days. At which point you're almost certainly in binge-drinking territory.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
For those who drink to forget, this study is scientific proof that your method works!
Sounds like they drank too much to me...
Wow. You're not a zealot are you.
Do you advocated imprisonment to cure the drinking problem?
A proponent of incarceration for weed as well?
If you don't favor laws - OK. But I hope you don't mind that I'll have a nice glass of red wine tonight with my meal. Unless I'm having Indian food in which case I'll have beer.
If you're scared of your govt then you need to further restrict its powers
Vote 3rd Party in 2016 and beyond
it is an acute poison, but the body is also very well adapted at processing it. In all things moderation -- an occasional glass of wine or beer won't hurt anyone.
The study cites 14-21 units/week of alcohol as "moderate consumption". That is not moderate, it's definitely into the "high" range. Thus, the conclusion is flawed when the paper talks about moderate consumption, because it isn't.
It you would read the paper, it supports the current UK recommended limits (14 units per week maximum) and posits that the current US limits are too high.
That is perfectly in line with what I've stated in this thread and in other comments on this article.
BTW, the definition of units is poorly defined here. Below is a link to the UK web page that shows what they mean. For me, I would have to be on a drinking spree to drink 6L of lager a week. I enjoy alcohol but I tend to limit it to a couple of coolers at occasional BBQs and a couple of glasses of wine at special occasions and nights out with friends.
https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/a...
If you saw the documentary you would have known that is a very, very minor detail in the long scheme of things. Alcohol is believed to have brought modernization of farming and with farming; Civilization (culture, community).
Is that a pint of weak-ass British ale, or a pint of "wife-beater"?
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
I would be VERY interested if all these non drinking, non meat eating, non sex, religious etc people were all are walking around at 150+ years old.
But I don't see ANYONE that old around.
The reality is, People at 75+ years old all seem to be equally deteriorated no matter what their past was.
The odd few that might make 90+ years old but are hardly a barrel of health. - In most cases, they are propped up by mediation and luck. 'Funny enough' if you talk to these people, you'll find out they weren't the sort that 'never drank'. They will tell your they never jogged every day while sipping vegan green tea etc either haha.
So, In my view, once you reach around 60, sadly, your health drastically decreases and very fast. You have around 15 good years left. So if you squandered 40 years of the prime of your life thinking you have invested in more years, I am sorry but you WASTED 40 years.
Enjoy life. Don't bank on it.
So consumption of alcohol is simply stupid?
Intentionally taking a drug to remove inhibitions and slow motor control just because you think you like it seems pretty stupid. I could understand if it was being done for some therapeutic reason.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
So I guess you also avoid sugar, fat and anything else that is pleasurable in life?
You could try being intelligent and find your pleasures elsewhere.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
My thought is:
"BEER......it's not just for breakfast anymore....."
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
Christians: The founder of your religion performed a miracle by turning water into wine.
YEAH!
That's at least pretty thoroughly tipsy if you're not accustomed to it,
If you average 3 units per day, you're by necessity accustomed to it.
And 3 alcohol units is about two pints (British beer, British pints), which to me seems like a moderate amount of alcohol which a typical Brit might consume at the pub before going home.
Perhaps share a bottle of wine with the missus on the weekend, or have a couple of drinks with friends instead of the post-work beer.
Seems moderate to me, at least compared to what I grew up with, which was someone who drank a bottle of vodka a day.
It tastes good? The stuff to make it palatable perhaps, but not the alcohol.
Fortunately, I only drink pints, never units.
Proud neuron in the Slashdot hivemind since 2002.
Thanks. I may actually try that. I just need to get to a state where it's legal.
I admit that "illegal" drugs are things I haven't tried yet and honestly I believe the cheap natural drugs are probably less damaging than the "medicine" that drug companies make profit with. I've had several life-threatening situations caused by prescription drugs that were taken as prescribed. In most of those cases i was actually taking LESS than what they prescribed. Again, doctors are fucking morons. I work in a complicated field myself and i know what they're up against. Most doctors are simply people born in to wealthy families that want to enrich the wealth so they choose "doctor" on the career checklist. They care nothing about knowledge, skill, or the science.
I include marijuana, opium (that is, pure poppy juice, not heroine), and cocaine in the class of natural things I would try given the choice. I'm not that interested in psychedelics like shrooms/cactus because with my already unstable psyche I think they could be a problem... but who knows.
Fuck yeah. And get rid of refined sugar, candies, and deep fried foods. Those, too, are poisons that are consumed by stupid people to make themselves feel better while destroying their bodies.
We should ban them because tax dollars are used to pay for people's healthcare. Fast food joints should had to pay the real cost for the food they sell, the social, health and environmental costs. By having tax payers cover most of the costs, we're propping up an entire industry through what is effectively a welfare system for corporations.
Businesses should be able to operated on their own, without assistance from tax payers. And that includes paying for all the aspects of their own business, and passing those costs onto customers and not innocent tax payers.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
not drinking (moderately) can damage the mood.
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
I imagine there is a big difference, biologically speaking, if you have one beer a night, Monday through Saturday, than if you were to drink six pints on a Friday night. Experience tells me it certainly feels different the next morning.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
That amount may be moderate in the UK.
It works out to 2-3 beers a day. This is entirely reasonable if lunch and dinner are accompanied with one alcoholic drink rather than soda or other sugary drinks.
Or a stop to the pub for a drink or two with friends before heading home.
The drinking culture in America is mostly stupid, but there are reasonable ways to enjoy that amount of alcohol.
The number of people on here saying a drink or two every day is alcoholism is somewhat astonishing. A glass or two (or even three) at night does not an alcoholic make. If you're pounding a two-four of rye every day, then you have a problem. Enjoying a couple of glasses of good beer or a bottle of wine with dinner (with your partner) is simply enjoying something that tastes good.
"U feckin' knobs are lookin' fer a burst mooth."
You are welcome on my lawn.
So....no alcohol, sugar or fat....what's left for pleasure?!?!?!
I mean hell, you might have said sex, but you generally don't get ready access to that without some form of alcohol, fat and even sugar.....
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
0.5 to 1% near beer poured in your morning gruel to kill pathogens during medieval times is not what we're talking about here. False comparison.
Non-sequitir, try again. Get your facts straight and come back, then maybe we can have a rational discussion.
We'll make great pets
There is a huge therapeutic reason...GETTING LAID!!
Geez, I'll bet you are fun at parties....
[rolls eyes]
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
Actually there is a strong positive correlation between IQ (measured in school students) and later alcohol consumption, especially wine.
See https://www.psychologytoday.co...
Low IQ is associated with binge-drinking though.
^Maybe you shouldn't feel the need to be so brilliant all the time. There can be great joy in having conversations with a group of slightly intoxicated folks, even if it serves no other means than providing some fun filled stress free time. And yes, I can foresee your 'I don't need alchohol to do that' response. It doesn't have to be mandatory to be effective.
The drinking culture of England isn't stupid?
Bullshit. If a Brit drinks 21/week. That's 21 on Friday night.
If a Scot drinks 21/week, he's just lying. That was monday.
We're not even going to talk about the Mics. If they have less than 21 in their blood they shake.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Do Brits really stop for a drink every night after work? That's not how it is here in the US, unless maybe you are a young single person in a large city. Most people head straight home, especially if you have children waiting.
It's 'legal enough' in whatever state you live in. Ask any teen you trust to help you find some.
Getting high CBD low THC won't be easy, but try the regular 'killer green bud' AKA KGB. If it works for you, then you can find the 'high free' stuff.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Who drinks a lot? Irish and Polacks. Who's stupid? Irish and Polacks. Looking good.
Who are total geniuses? Mormons & moslems. Oh, wait...
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
There is a huge therapeutic reason...GETTING LAID!!
Geez, I'll bet you are fun at parties....
[rolls eyes]
Do NOT mock the eternal designated driver! Instead, give thanks (and soda) for their sacrifice (not the beer, but putting up with your obnoxious drunkenness).
Over 0.08% is now 'binge drinking'? Jesus tits, they just keep moving the goalposts, they're on the 50 yardline now.
0.08% isn't drunk, it's 'very lightly buzzed'.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Ever wonder if those that tend to drink more tend to read less and do less strenuous mental activities?
It's alcohol, which is a DRUG. Now, THIS week alcohol is bad for you. Next month, alcohol will turn your brain into that of a harvard educated scholar. Hey, anything over consumed can be bad for you....
Sequitur.
The red squiggly line wasn't wrong.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
I kinda suspect that sex didn't even cross their mind. This is Slashdot, after all.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Stop crying. I know it sucks to realize your drinking habits are shrinking your brain, but get over it. You can excuse it as much as you want but it is what it is. You now have a choice. You can continue to shrink your brain and enjoy your alcohol or you can stop drinking. It is that simple.
Strangely, I haven't been drunk in years. I am, by no means, a Puritan. Hell, I'm smoking the rest of a joint, even as I type this.
That said, I've a huge history of drug and alcohol abuse. It's kinda impressive, actually.
But, I have made a discovery. I don't actually need alcohol to get laid. The ladies don't need it, either. Singular lady, currently and thankfully, but I digress.
It's true. I am just as surprised as you. I haven't ever been drunk with my girlfriend. She doesn't even drink. I never have more than two, and seldom even have that. Hell, she's even cute as a button and a tiny little thing. Even better, she's many years my junior.
It took no alcohol.
I'd like to think it wasn't required, but I do have some money. Of course, I also have some nice automobiles and some fancy toys. I might have a good personality, I am told I do. I figure I am too biased to accurately opine, but I think I'm spectacular.
Either way, no booze required. I don't even need to be drunk to want to put my penis in her, she's pretty cute. However, as I said, I have a few bucks and some nice toys. She's probably in it for the money. ;-)
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
The Puritans drank. Not so sure they were even that uptight about sex if what is said about "bundling" is true. A young man and a young woman would be placed in a bed with their clothes on and a board between them to decide if they were compatible for marriage. Yeah right.
You were supposed to get married -- celibacy was regarded as an errant Catholic thing. Cheatin', however, was treated severely.
I only can deem such research results as irrelevant, and a waste of resources and time. If you only take into consideration one aspect of these people's lives, then you can't draw any definitive conclusion. They most certainly had very different diets, very different lifestyles, very different life conditions, work conditions, stress, illnesses short or long term serious or not so much, travel habits, sport and workout habits, and a million other factors that could cause any kinds of differences in the long term MRI scans.
I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I can think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.
Doctors are morons? :-(
I am a doctor. I have been a doctor for almost exactly 25 years, now that I think about it. Huh, I should do something to celebrate.
At any rate, you probably shouldn't take medical advice from me. However, there's a moderate chance that I've had a positive impact on your life, though that may be from someone basing their work on my work.
I am also pretty sure they won't let me prescribe drugs.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Take a fat rip off a bong and watch how well it dulls the world for you. Just one hit of some good chron will do it for you.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
Think I'll wait a week, until the next study contradicts this one.
If you drink regularly that's true. Go without drinking for a year, and I bet you that 0.08% will hit you a *lot* harder. And as I recall it's been pretty well established that most of the negative effects of alcohol don't really decrease with acclimatization.
Basically, if you drink regularly you don't feel the buzz as much, but you're still damaging your brain and liver just as badly. Your reflexes and judgment are also just as badly compromised - you're just more accustomed to functioning in that state so you don't notice it, and are potentially better at compensating for it (with the understanding that a one-legged man can only compensate so much for his disability).
Think of the first time you had a few drinks, and then realize that you're pretty much just as "out of it" when you have a few drinks today, you're just a lot better at hiding it - even from yourself.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
This isn't important, but I am not doing anything better.
I am a secular Buddhist. I've even been on refuge. I've spent lots of time listening to the venerable.
In my experience, most of them will tell you that they don't drink. They will tell you that they feel as though they shouldn't drink. Not a whole lot of them are going to tell you that you shouldn't drink. Now, if you're going to become a monk, they may tell you that you shouldn't drink.
Assuming you're not a monk, they are more likely to just ask you a few questions, should you ask their opinion on drinking. They will probably answer your questions about why they don't drink, if you ask them.
No two people can cross the same stream. It is different, every time. The path you walk is not my path and I can't tell you how to walk your path.
Now, if enlightenment were your goal, they might tell you that you shouldn't drink. Chances are, that's not your goal. We're not exactly the type to go knocking on doors and moralizing. We don't actually go out seeking converts, as a general rule.
If asked, I'd say drink as much as you want, unless it is becomes problem for you or affects others in a negative fashion.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Do Brits really stop for a drink every night after work?
Traditionally, that has largely been the case, yes.
Although things are changing, and the British beer consumption has gone way down. In 2003, the average Brit drank 218 pints of beer a year, and that includes teetotalers and people who drink other beverages, but this has since dropped around 30%, and a great number of pubs have closed. Part of this drop correlates with the smoking ban, but a large part is also the increasing operating costs of pubs, with more regulation, taxes, inspections and other cost-increases. And a younger public that spends more time communicating online than over a beer.
But you still find a lot of Brits who will not forgo their after-work pint.
since when is 3 drinks a day, every day of the week, moderate?Italy.
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
Even if you don't drink your brain wears out, starts screwing up, when you get old? This is news, how, exactly?
My conclusion: Nothing to see here.
My recommendations: Don't sit on your ass your whole life, get some damn exercise, don't drink every damn day, and while we're on the subject, don't eat garbage food all the time, and you'll be as fine as you ever could be. Of course no one who needs to be told all this will take the advice so as usual I'm wasting my breath.
> Getting loaded is considered bad form and makes you a boring conversationalist, even if YOU think you're brilliant.
I mean, there's degrees of inebriation. If I'm sober (or even drinking to a buzz) and a friend is getting hammered, it's clear I'm in for a reasonably boring night, though I'll probably be part to some ludicrous statements. Two folks with a light buzz will usually have a pretty good time though.
As far as solo drinking goes, I want to find a way to say "drinking increases creativity" in a way that doesn't sound so unilateral. In my experience, it is definitely easier to make mental connections when under the influence of at least a little alcohol. Depending on your work and hobbies, a little bit of drinking at night sometimes may, uh, fit your use case.
So I have a theory here.
Alcohol itself tastes terrible (if you taste buds and nose are working). In fact, most (all?) commonly consumable alcoholic products don't taste good...the first time you drink them. Normally we say these kinds of things (alcoholic or otherwise) are "acquired tastes".
My belief is that everyone saying how good beer, wine, etc tastes has fallen victim to their brain telling (tricking?) them that the alcoholic beverage "tastes good" out of addiction in order to get them to drink said beverage. In fact, they (normal/moderate drinkers) are surprised that someone else who doesn't normally drink at all can easily identity the overpowering aftertaste of alcohol in even the fruitiest, sweetest mixed drinks/wines. I have never met someone who can HONESTLY say that their first taste of an alcoholic beverage was "good".
Your judgement is fine until about 0.15%, that's the science. 0.08% is MADD politics and revenue generation. Calling 0.08% binge drinking is bullshit. I bet even most MADD mothers can't 'double blind' if they are 0.0% or 0.08%.
Your liver is fine with booze, in all but the most extreme quantities, unless you drink/use tylenol on a hangover. Water soluble vitamins protect your liver and get flushed out by booze. Take a multivitamin if/when you wake up hungover. Never use tylenol/paracetamol, even if you don't drink.
There are do gooders that want to force producers of 'bum wine' (Maddog, Night Train etc) to include Bs, C and Ds. So we have old, healthy alcoholics walking the streets.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
The health effects of alcohol are unproven. A long-term study with a few tens of thousands of participants was reported on Slashdot a couple of years back that showed that, statistically, the people who died first are the ones that give up drinking, then the ones that never drink. The ones that regularly drink alcohol live longest. Alcohol in the blood stream dissolves fatty deposits in blood vessels and reduces the risk of blood clots blocking them, for example. The risk is nowhere near as simple as you seem to think.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
So I guess you also avoid sugar, fat and anything else that is pleasurable in life?
You could try being intelligent and find your pleasures elsewhere.
Who's to say I don't? I just also happen to enjoy alcohol, in moderation.
Eat the rich.
dude, 14-21 units a night isn't even moderate where I'm from
> Alcohol is a poison to the human body regardless of amount consumed
True, but what's your point? There's a huge variety of things that are toxic. If you retroactively subtracted all or almost all of alcohol from human history, you'd definitely have a much lamer playlist. How many ideas were born under the influence of some voluntarily imbibed mind affecting chemical, and then refined under the light of sobriety (or under the light of caffeine)?
Also, how many relationships (romantic and friendly) are lubricated by alcohol? Its easy to think of the negative cases, but are there NO positive cases ever?
It's a complex poison. It has a bunch of social upsides, and tolerance for it seems to have been selected for in societies that have access to it- that is to say, being able to booze "correctly" has actually bean a selection pressure in RECENT human history.
> The only reason it is legal today is because addiction demands it should be.
Disagree. When prohibition ended, it wasn't addicts who drove that, it was everyone. The more you read about that frightening top-down attempt to reshape society, the scarier it sounds. It wasn't just the minority of addicted drunks in the world that drove that around.
I would make an argument that, out of all the mind-altering substances to have a prohibition against, we've chosen a really large set of reasonably harmless ones (cannabis, EVERY hallucinogen despite no addictive properties, etc.), and conspicuously left out alcohol, which causes a real and noticeable amount of harm to society every year. But I think that's more a conservative choice: we know we can have a society with alcohol, because we DO, and we know trying to take it out ruins everything, because it DID, but we're hoping to prevent change happening from other substances. That seems more inline with our national character, and more predictive of the anti-drug hysteria we whip ourselves up in every decade and a half-ish.
Anyway, it's not just addiction driving its legality, and being a poison at every dose does not imply that something should be banned.
So consumption of alcohol is simply stupid?
Intentionally taking a drug to remove inhibitions and slow motor control just because you think you like it seems pretty stupid. I could understand if it was being done for some therapeutic reason.
No, because I know I like it. A moderate buzz is not very impairing at all. I very rarely drink enough to even be over the legal limit for driving, not that I would drink and drive anyway, I'm just using it as a reference.
It is done for a therapeutic reason, it's called mental well-being and happiness. Tonight I'm participating in a music quiz with some friends, and yes we'll have a couple of beers too. Why? Because it's fun :-)
You know? Fun? You should try it sometime.
Eat the rich.
A lot of very interesting flavors are alcohol-soluble. Try tasting normal wine. Now taste alcohol-free wine? It's bland and boring, right? Now try adding vodka (or a similar neutral spirit) to the alcohol-free wine until it's at normal wine level (12-16% ABV) and taste it again. The taste markedly improves.
Eat the rich.
> but the body is also very well adapted at processing it
Not all bodies. Your race plays a part.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
The reasonable diversity in alcohol reactions imply that different societies have used alcohol in different ways, and races that historically didn't have access to it tend to be worse off when in an environment that has a bunch of it around.
Alcohol is a poison to the human body regardless of amount consumed, and there is no longer a point in debating it. Stupidity attempts to dismiss this fact in favor of a number of ignorant excuses to consume it.
So because one study shows that it may be dangerous to drink to the maximum recommended limit, all alcohol consumption is inherently dangerous, and there is absolutely no need to debate it?
Over the course of the last century, there has been far more than one study done on alcohol, with many trying to convince us of the benefits. Recent studies have dispelled with the illusions. No, a beer a day will not keep the doctor away.
Is a moderate amount of alcohol any worse for you than other habits? Likely not. Risk vs. reward. My point was more centered around dispelling the illusions that even moderation will eliminate risk. Put simply, it does not.
Looking at the aggregate, is alcohol in general good for society? Likely not. This is also the same society who legalizes a product like tobacco, which has proven to be one of the deadliest products ever created. Logic does not always follow capitalism. Greed does.
McNuggets don't have MSG in them.
Anyway, the idea that MSG sensitivity exists has been thoroughly disproved by double blind tests. Proteins are all broken down to component amino acids starting in the mouth, and glutamates are a very common amino acid essential to life.
Excitotoxic shock doesn't come from what you eat, but the body processes that involve amino acids. You don't understand what Excitotoxins are. Without glutamates we will die, and MSG is a simple salt of an amino acid, that dissolves in water.
It is true that glutamates can make some foods taste good, generally speaking it's very helpful for soups with little or no meat (meat is naturally high in glutamates already).
All in all, what you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
Your belief is completely wrong. Pure ethanol has no taste at all. Sure, it burns, but it doesn't taste like anything. What you're tasting (in cheap-ass vodka and the like) are unpleasant impurities. Lots and lots of flavor compounds are alcohol-soluble, which is why whisky can have such and enormous range of flavors (ranging from vanilla over plums over leather over hay over blackcurrant preserve over toasted chestnuts and so on) from nothing more than malted barley and oak casks.
Yes, there are definite "acquired tastes", but it's not due to the alcohol itself (which is tasteless, remember), but rather from the wide array of tastes that are not immediately identified by out brains as "tasty" and "good nutrition" (sweet, salty, fatty and so on), but rather more complex, such as bitterness.
I know I'm certainly not fooling myself when I drink beer (and especially whisky and other "brown spirits) for taste, not for the buzz.
Eat the rich.
By comparison, there is no amount of alcohol that has been proven to be of benefit, even with moderation. It is quite clearly, a poison.
Stop lying. You're basing your statements on one flawed study. Notice the amounts consumed by the participants. They're way over what any reasonable person would call "moderate".
Also, this: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/n...
The only lie is thinking there has only been one damn study done on the effects of alcohol consumption over the last half century. I wasn't even talking about the flawed study in TFS, which is quite obviously showcasing more of an excessive or high consumption.
As I stated, newer evidence tends to highlight the fact that even moderation is not good for you when consuming a poison.
Even one drink a day can harm you.
Bullshit. 0.08% may not be seriously incapacitated, but down 3+ drinks in rapid succession and all but the hardest-core alcoholics will be able to clearly recognize the resulting intoxication. And while judgment *might* not be seriously impaired for some most people at such levels, reflexes most definitely are.
As for water-soluble vitamins protecting your liver, do you have a reputable source for that claim? I had never heard it, and would be quite interested if true, seeing how as when I do drink I like to actually feel it. I can find plenty of references to alcohol flushing out such vitamins, but nothing about the unrelated claim of the vitamins providing a protective effect in the process.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
I want to find a way to say "drinking increases creativity" in a way that doesn't sound so unilateral.
I'm not really sure it helps much with creativity, at least in my case, but there's something there. For me, I almost want to say it just facilitates my willingness to sit in one place and work on the thing I've been meaning to work on, whether it's something creative or some kind of drudgery/chore. I don't know that it makes a lot of sense, because promoting focus isn't something I'd attribute to alcohol.
The Quirkz Handbook of Self-Improvement for People Who Are Already Pretty Okay
The health effects of alcohol are unproven. A long-term study with a few tens of thousands of participants was reported on Slashdot a couple of years back that showed that, statistically, the people who died first are the ones that give up drinking, then the ones that never drink. The ones that regularly drink alcohol live longest. Alcohol in the blood stream dissolves fatty deposits in blood vessels and reduces the risk of blood clots blocking them, for example. The risk is nowhere near as simple as you seem to think.
Arguably our #1 killer right now is cardiovascular heart disease.
If you're not managing your health properly enough to prevent fatty deposits from building up in your blood stream, then you might as well drink alcohol. You've already proven your health is not a priority.
The risk is very simple to manage. The true problem is 90% of society views a life of proper exercise, good healthy diet, and eliminating the intake of poisons into your body as some kind of impossible challenge that's "no fun." To each their own.
It doesn't take 3 drinks to reach 0.08%. Unless you're a quite large person. We should double blind 0.08%. I doubt it, I never felt the first couple, even as a kid.
Google 'vitamin b alcohol'.
At 0.08% your reflexes are slightly slowed, like being 10 years older. Judgement is fine.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
"factors including age, sex, social activity"
drinking and sex are usually correlated.
The right side of the hippocampus is the part of the brain that makes you a square.
Alcohol, marijuana...same type thing, both intoxicants.
Do ya'll or did ya'll get high the first times sleeping with each other?
No real big difference...what you get high on, lowering inhibitions is quite often helpful with women.
I"m not talking having them blasted out of their minds and not responsible, mind you...just nicely buzzed and letting down their screens a bit.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
I'd say if you have something, anything, with almost every meal (or an equivalent amount, 2-3 servings a day) then you have a lot of that thing.
If you drink soda with every meal, you drink a lot of soda.
If you have a beer with every meal, you drink a lot of beer.
If you skip the beer at breakfast, but still drink it with every other meal, that's still a lot of beer.
If you eat a bag of potato chips with every meal but breakfast, you eat a lot of potato chips.
If you eat Mexican food for breakfast and dinner at home, but not at lunch, that's still a lot of Mexican food.
A beer for most every meal doesn't mean you're ever "getting drunk", but your overall consumption is still high compared to other things that you consume only occasionally.
I might go so far as to say that if there's anything that you consume every day regularly, then you consume a lot of that thing, whatever it is. "Occasionally" is a little. "Daily" is a lot. "Regularly" on some schedule other than daily is moderate.
-Forrest Cameranesi, Geek of all Trades
"I am Sam. Sam I am. I do not like trolls, flames, or spam."
Alcohol every day suffer brain damage.
I will continue to not worry about my occasional (less than once a month) drink.
How much is a lot? Is 8 ounces of water a lot?
And a lot, in this case, means "too much." And how do we determine and define "too much."
One can have too much water but I think most would agree that 48 ounces of water per day is not too much. (Yes I know 64 is the recommended amt)
One can have too much coffee. How much is too much? Same with beer and wine.
If you (or anyone) says you're consuming too much "x" then how did you determine that? It's not because you consume it every day. I drink water every day. Obviously that is not "too much" or "a bad thing".
If you say that 2 glasses of wine is "too much." How is it harmful? And, for that you would need to know what amount is not harmful. I think I drink very little. I think that two glasses of wine does not affect my health - and am betting with my life that it does not.
If you're scared of your govt then you need to further restrict its powers
Vote 3rd Party in 2016 and beyond
You win this round, sir.
According to this chart, it does indeed take 3 drinks to hit .08, unless you weigh under 140 pounds, which I don't consider "quite large". You'd have to be under 110 lbs for 2 drinks to do it, and if you're over 160 lbs (I'd call that average, still not "quite large"), it takes 4 or more. That's all at once, without food.
http://rageonthesamepage.uconn...
That is for men. Of course women get hit harder, and will weigh less on average. But being slashdot, I think using men is reasonable.
The Quirkz Handbook of Self-Improvement for People Who Are Already Pretty Okay
In medieval times?
In my country of origin, Bulgaria, there is a drink called boza. It is a kids favorite, and I used to have it for breakfast every day. Its alcohol content is usually around 1%, although, of course, stronger versions exist.
In the 80s, I had a couple of business trips to Czechoslovakia, and they had beer fountains on the factory floor. Yup, low alcohol content, but unmetered and free.
In both Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia, huge quantity of beer used to be consumed... and frankly, in my first year of college in the US, I saw more falling down drunk people that I had seen in my life before that, and that included three years of high school (beer becomes legal at 14 in Bulgaria) five years of military education, and two years of military service.
The article says that none of the people in the study had a drinking problem, but also that some of them had more than 30 units per week, i.e. more than four drinks per day. I have trouble reconciling the two statements.
No good deed goes unpunished...
So....no alcohol, sugar or fat....what's left for pleasure?!?!?!
Autoerotic asphyxiation?
Getting loaded is considered bad form and makes you a boring conversationalist, even if YOU think you're brilliant.
It entirely depends on the company, and "loaded" is completely relative to the "loadedness" of the observer. I'm my experience, its not necessarily the alcohol, but the person, that makes one a boring conversationalist. Also people who get "loaded" usually have hilarious stories that wouldn't happen/be told if they weren't under the influence of alcohol, IMO, YMMV
This is my sig, there are many like it but this one is mine
drinking and sex are usually correlated.
drinking and BAD sex are usually correlated.
This is my sig, there are many like it but this one is mine
"Sorry, there is no peer review to display for this article"
So at this point there is no consensus behind this hypothesis.
One problem with the article is there is no mention of the fact this has not been vetted by peers in the field. We really need journalists to take a course on how to report on scientific papers. Just because someone wrote a paper does not make it accepted science.
Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
So that's where you've been KGIII, getting laid.
Welcome back!
You fuckers are just tons of fun. Guess I'll have my FDA-approved bottle of recreational drinking water to go with my ration of gluten-free wheat 'snacks'.
Oops, never mind! Only the topic changes, the attitude never does. ;-)
> Alcohol is a poison to the human body regardless of amount consumed
True, but what's your point?
Uh, that is exactly my point. Many want to attempt to argue otherwise.
To each their own in the end. Risk vs. reward. People like the feeling of alcohol in their body. People also like the feeling of sex without a condom. Doesn't mean having unprotected sex in an environment that has a high risk of STDs is not stupid behavior just because a lot of other people are doing it.
To your point, many in society still believe that marijuana is deadly, including a government that still wants to denounce any medical benefit. Common sense, has never been common.
I'm in the UK, it's coming up on 8pm and I'm about to board a flight: in the past hour I've drunk three cans of Tiger beer, 330ml at 5% makes for 1.7 units (10ml of pure ethanol) per can, so 5 units in total. I think I can get another one in before the flight...yeah, sure I can.
This is pretty moderate and normal drinking in the UK. I've noticed a lot of fuck-wits posting to this story about how shocked they are about the drinking levels that all normal people consider to be normal.
To all you wankers I've got one thing to say...watch this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru5uyoskbw4
Whaaaaat? Drinking an organic solvent has negative effects on your body? Unthinkable!
Hi. I have a high IQ, used to work in engineering before becoming management, and have several very mentally intensive and challenging hobbies.
And you know what? Thinking takes energy. While I enjoy doing all the intelligent things, they aren't what I'd call 'relaxing'. You know what is? Shutting your brain off for a couple hours with a nice drink and watching the wind make the trees dance. Or enjoying a candy bar after cracking a real tough puzzle.
Like it or not, humans are visceral being as well as intelligent ones. Being intelligent doesn't preclude enjoying baser physical pleasures. In fact, I'd argue that if you're eschewing half of your existence, then you're the one missing out on some of the true joys of living.
On the basis of them not liking drinking, and thinking themselves intelligent.
If they're smart, and they don't like drinking, then clearly you have to be a moron to drink.
Now, which logical fallacy is on display here?
So consumption of alcohol is simply stupid?
Yes. The only reason it is legal today is because addiction demands it should be.
I am Greek that, like -almost- all Greeks, consumes alcohol in a moderate way (Greece has few alcohol addicts) - alcohol is legal in Greece since... i guess from the invention of alcohol! Theoretically, if some authority implements an alcohol prohibition tomorrow, few people -the few alcohol addicts- will be effected severely, but -almost- all Greeks will rebel. So, who is the stupid now dear mister stupid?
But i admit that your stupid reasoning may be valid in the case of tobacco smoking - yes, i am an addict that demands tobacco smoking to remain legal until the sun freezes...
The irony of a tobacco addict attempting to defend alcohol legalization by labeling it stupid. Sound logic.
I'm reminded of a quote that describes the rebellious masses: "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it."
Arguably our #1 killer right now is cardiovascular heart disease
And moderate alcohol intake has been shown to reduce this risk. Did you have a point somewhere, or are you just on a puritan rant?
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
Arguably our #1 killer right now is cardiovascular heart disease
And moderate alcohol intake has been shown to reduce this risk. Did you have a point somewhere, or are you just on a puritan rant?
Yes I do have a point.
Even one drink a day can harm you.
One of the benefits of continued studies is finding where we were wrong in the past to better educate ourselves, which defines progress.
I typed it backwards. In any case 0.08 is not drunk by any reasonable definition of the word.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
There are other things that will get you that same, some would argue a better buzz, without hurting your body. Consider switching to heroin.
Plus, I know it's England, but since when is 3 drinks a day, every day of the week, moderate?
England has a culture of after work drinks. Not after work on a Friday drinks, just ... every night. Speaking of you got your units confused. A 14 units of beer per week is less than one pint per day.
An average pint being 2.4 units.
An average glass of wine being 2.3 units.
Your 21 units of alcohol in a 6 hour period could with a guy who has a good metabolism keep him under the legal driving limit in the USA. That's hardly "binging"
Nope. She doesn't even smoke pot. (Crazy, right?) I was even sober when we first hooked up.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
LOL Among other things - there's a journal post, if you want to see more info.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
ITT: "2 drinks per day is moderate drinking? OMG. That's not what I'd call moderate drinking. That's a LOT!!!" Or "Lightweights!"
I don't drink BTW, but for reference...
https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/faqs.htm
What does moderate drinking mean?
According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans,1 moderate alcohol consumption is defined as having up to 1 drink per day for women and up to 2 drinks per day for men. This definition is referring to the amount consumed on any single day and is not intended as an average over several days. However, the Dietary Guidelines do not recommend that individuals who do not drink alcohol start drinking for any reason.
The article says that none of the people in the study had a drinking problem...
It is quite clear that they had no drinking problems; in fact, they seem to be quite competent drinkers...
Resorting to a false equivalence? That sounds like something a stupid person would say.
I'm gonna keep drinkin' til I become a Democrat!
Beer did not save the world. Improved agricultural techniques have endangered the world by allowing overbreeding. So rather than just killing off humans by famine, we're killing off the whole planet. And this has been happening for several thousand years, as humans have hunted one species to another to extinction, and destroyed habitats by converting them to ... wait for it ... farming. Plagues of locusts are more benign.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
Slightly intoxicated folks tend to enjoy having conversations with slightly intoxicated folks the same way that heavily intoxicated folks tend to enjoy having conversations with other heavily intoxicated folks. But even slightly intoxicated folks don't want to talk with those same heavily intoxicated folks. And the bullshit factor rises quickly with every drink. After a certain point, nobody can put up with a drunk's bullshit. Or someone who's slightly intoxicated and doesn't realize they're being boorish or offensive.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
... because drunks usually have a "failure to launch", even with viagra. But their memories seem to be uniformly affected as they boast to everyone about the mind-blowing sex they had. The only thing blown is their memory.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
And boy, do they regret telling those stories after they sobered up. Especially the ones that involve a goat :-)
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
That's a feature.
That is indeed interesting, I'll have to give it a shot. I don't see anything about it protecting your liver from the damage done by alcohol though, only from the secondary damage that can be caused by vitamin deficiency.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
Which is why you should know your limits, and maintain and pleasant lightheadedness, instead of falling down the rabbit hole.
Eat the rich.
Heavy drinking, yes.
One or two beers is right around the sweet spot.
Eat the rich.
Thank you for summing it up so concisely!
Sometimes you just need to slow down the constant stream of thoughts, let the world be and unwind. A beer or two helps slow the stream just enough to make it more like background noise, so you can get in a more relaxed state of mind.
Eat the rich.
Then I guess we should ban all sports, too. And driving.
After all, our taxes pay for healthcare for people engaging in these dangerous activities, too.
Or maybe you should just unclench your asshole and let people have fun, lest they go crazy.
Eat the rich.
Even one drink a day can harm you.
That is one very particular condition (irregular heartbeat), which may be slightly exacerbated by alcohol consumption. The people suffering from this condition should obviously confer with their doctors, to mitigate any risk factors.
But as the authors directly state: "more than 100 previous studies have shown that a light to moderate intake of alcohol – up to seven standard drinks per week for women and 14 standard drinks per week for men – can actually be good for some people, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, more specifically coronary artery disease."
Eat the rich.
As I already replied in another comment:
"more than 100 previous studies have shown that a light to moderate intake of alcohol – up to seven standard drinks per week for women and 14 standard drinks per week for men – can actually be good for some people, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, more specifically coronary artery disease."
It's right there, in your own link.
Eat the rich.
The true problem is 90% of society views a life of proper exercise, good healthy diet, and eliminating the intake of poisons into your body as some kind of impossible challenge that's "no fun." To each their own.
Who's to say you cannot combine proper exercise, a healthy varied diet and a light-to-moderate intake of alcohol, for fun?
I think we need to get to the root of this. What is your actual problem with alcohol? Why do you think it's wrong to get a little light-headed and unwind?
Eat the rich.
If tobacco had been discovered today, it would probably be classified along with cocaine and opiates. Unlike with alcohol, there is no minimum safe dose for tobacco.
I urge you to look what happened during prohibition, the wild rise in organized crime and the resulting deaths and casualties.
Alcohol is not a human invention. Apes, giraffes, elephants and countless other animals flock from far away to consume berries and fruits that have fermented naturally. To even consider completely banning alcohol is simply ridiculous.
Eat the rich.
As I already replied in another comment:
"more than 100 previous studies have shown that a light to moderate intake of alcohol – up to seven standard drinks per week for women and 14 standard drinks per week for men – can actually be good for some people, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, more specifically coronary artery disease."
It's right there, in your own link.
And reading further into the article reveals the following:
"However, the authors found that this is not the case when it comes to an irregular heartbeat, and note that many people who are consuming one to two glasses of alcohol per day may not realize they are putting themselves at risk for AFib. The authors conclude that moving forward, more research is needed to determine the specific causes responsible for the relationship between alcohol and AFib. Researchers believe they may include direct toxicity and alcohol’s contribution to obesity, sleep disordered breathing and hypertension. Further, more research is also needed to determine whether avoiding alcohol completely is required for patients who have irregular heartbeats."
I could put myself at risk for many or all of these identified risks, or I could simply not drink. Given the fact that alcohol is a multi-billion dollar industry, I would also question a lot of results that tend to diminish or outright deny the negative aspects of consuming alcohol. Half a century ago your doctor was sponsoring cigarettes, so we've already proven Greed knows no bounds.
Risk vs. reward. Humans take part in risky activities every single day of their lives. To each their own, but given the controversy, sometimes it's far easier and healthier to simply avoid alcohol altogether, as I wouldn't be surprised if future studies determine this poison was never good for you, in any way.
I could put myself at risk for many or all of these identified risks, or I could simply not drink.
You could also stop wildly exaggerating the risks associated with light to moderate alcohol consumption, while completely ignoring the very real benefits, both socially and verified healthwise.
Just don't drink then, but there is no reason to be running a while misinformation campaign because you think the rest of us are horrible sinners and addicts and whatever else you accuse people of being.
Eat the rich.
I could put myself at risk for many or all of these identified risks, or I could simply not drink.
You could also stop wildly exaggerating the risks associated with light to moderate alcohol consumption, while completely ignoring the very real benefits, both socially and verified healthwise.
Just don't drink then, but there is no reason to be running a while misinformation campaign because you think the rest of us are horrible sinners and addicts and whatever else you accuse people of being.
A misinformation campaign? Ironically, I would expect nothing less coming from a multi-billion dollar industry who would be impacted greatly if further studies were to actually prove that their product is not really good for you at all. History has shown that repeatedly, and between researchers and the Alcohol Industrial Complex, it's rather obvious who stands to lose the most.
Cheers.
The inability to get to sleep, financial stress, and environmental stress, and general levels of pain all lead to increased drinking.
All of those things are correlated with this area of the brain being smaller.
Going to need a more finely tuned study.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Dude, lay off the crusade.
We know that excessive alcohol intake has deleterious effects on health. We also know that a light to moderate alcohol intake can have positive effects on health. We also know that alcohol consumption can be fun, especially in good company.
And thankfully, we let people decide for themselves whether they want to drink or not. And yet you insist on insulting and belittling everyone who disagrees with your personal opinion.
Eat the rich.
Usually talking about something is a pretty good indicator you aren't doing it.
At slashdot it sometimes means it isn't even crossing your mind.
Came out a year or so go the resvitrol studies were largely fabricated. Not sure if this informed your claim above.
I'm gonna keep drinkin' til I become a Democrat!
Good luck with that. I have never heard anyone else claim that drinking actually makes you smarter.
RFT!!!
Dave Kelsen
--
It's true that Smokey the Bear deserves praise for his campaign against forest fires, but nobody ever mentions the boy scouts he kills for their hats.
Why do you think that? My doc said with my age and weight I could drink up to 15 shots a week and I'd be fine. There would be no noticeable effect on my liver. The the UK, I'd think 14 shots would be small. They drink beer in pints after all. For them I'd expect 14 is moderate. In France they probably give that much to children.
Never the less, I think even the 15 is too much. I need to drop it down or even give it up.
--nomsg
While pithy, it's also untrue. We tend to talk about the things we do. It'd make pretty bizarre conversations, if we didn't.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
As I was getting in the elevator this morning, I noticed Plato was headed a few flights above me so I asked him, "Do we tend to talk about the things we do?"
He answered: "No one wants what he already has."
There's a lot of stuff he doesn't get (love, Jesus, etc), but I thought he nailed that one.
I'd like to think it wasn't required, but I do have some money.
You shouldn't look down on her for that. Most likely she also fell in love with the man who had the skill to earn that money in the first place. I don't think you lucked into it entirely, after all, it took some skill.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
She's even sane AND cute. LOL Remind me, I'll upload a pic. On a tablet right at the moment.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."