Is my daily beer intake unhealthy?

I know this sounds like a dumb question but I've become a bit health conscious.

I'm going to be given up a lot of processed foods and msg rich foods/restaurants and also giving up my fluoride enriched tap water and fluoride toothpaste. Also much of the Aspartame I intake (I use a LOT).

Home brew beer seems to be an all natural product actually that has some health benefits as we all know.

But is there any health concerns from drinking 1 Liter of 5% beer EACH DAY?

To me that doesn't sound like a lot, but to those who do not drink often they think it's crazy. To me it's nothing. Just 3 small bottles worth. I used to drink a lot more though.

I also no longer smoke either and will not smoke again.

So far I'm in good health, but I'm reaching that age where it's time to change my lifestyle around a bit and be more mindful of what I'm putting into my body for long term health.

I REALLY don't want to give up beer daily. I admit I drink 1L daily every day. It's part of my life routine and I like it. I love my beer and that's the one thing I don't want to give up. I want to be able to drink daily to unwind each night. Just 1L at 5% before dinner is all I ask.


How much would my health be suffering from this (if at all). Thanks!

Ever hear of liquid dinner? I think you should be ok, I drink 1L+ every day of similar light beer (~5%).

I'd say it depends on the beer. If it is homebrew then I wouldn't be too concerned with the daily intake of the alcohol itself. However, that's a lot of unused calories at a time of day where you aren't going to put them to use. Excess calories - excercise = fat gain. This simple formula opens up pandoras box. Fat gain leads to stress on organs, most important the heart, and both fat and its resulting health problems lead to stress which in turn leads to easier fat gain and amplified health problems (once again, involving the heart most importantly). It's truly a never ending and vicious cycle.

If you perform daily exercise along with your daily intake of beer (because the above pertains to any excess calories, not just those from beer) you'd be much better off. Beer is very estrogenic too...which is bad for men and if you're at an age where your testosterone is lowering anyway I would probably be concious of that.

Cut that to a half liter and you'd probably be even more better off.

Beer is kind of high in calories. For instance making a normal 5% beer in beersmith says that it's about 230 calories per pint. You just have to make sure you exercise enough to offset your caloric intake.

stageseven said:

Beer is kind of high in calories. For instance making a normal 5% beer in beersmith says that it's about 230 calories per pint. You just have to make sure you exercise enough to offset your caloric intake.

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Yeah...I spent too long typing. This guy nailed it in 30 seconds. :cross:

Wow am I the only one on the forum that drinks daily??

I calculated that my 5% beer should come in at about 400 calories for the 1L bottle. I usually drink the bottle of 2 hours or so. Then have dinner.

Would having a few beers like this a day put me in the category of a heavy drinker?

GraphBrew said:

Yeah...I spent too long typing. This guy nailed it in 30 seconds. :cross:

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lol, oh shi-

Would that make a 10% beer 460?

Just curious - why give up fluoride enriched tap water???? and toothpaste?

As far as the beer. It will not harm your body - actually help it - however - it will make you dumber (serious . not a joke) because alcohol kills brain cells and over time . . . .tick tick tick . . . . HOWEVER - research has shown (again - seriously) that smoking pot slows the alcohol brain cell kill . . .however then you have to worry about lungs!

So you might end up on an iron lung living a long life but a little dumber and with bad teeth.

I drink 12oz a day - more on weekends but never more then 36oz in a day of course this is 6% beer.

Many studies find that moderate drinkers actually have a lot of health benefits. I think that's like "2 beers" per day which is 8 oz. less than a liter assuming their 12 oz. beers and almost exactly a liter if they are pints.

I lean towards the thought that moderation is the key to a happy and healthy life. I believe that eating healthy, daily exercise and a couple of beers along w/ plenty of water is good for you.

OP, I'm not sure but I don't picture you as a 4'9" 90lb female, so 2 or 3 beers a day is moderate imo. A big part of being healthy is being happy. So naturally, you should drink a liter of beer a day if that makes you happy..

Grinder12000 said:

Just curious - why give up fluoride enriched tap water???? and toothpaste?

As far as the beer. It will not harm your body - actually help it - however - it will make you dumber (serious . not a joke) because alcohol kills brain cells and over time . . . .tick tick tick . . . . HOWEVER - research has shown (again - seriously) that smoking pot slows the alcohol brain cell kill . . .however then you have to worry about lungs!

So you might end up on an iron lung living a long life but a little dumber and with bad teeth.

I drink 12oz a day - more on weekends but never more then 36oz in a day of course this is 6% beer.

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"Scientific medical research has actually demonstrated that the moderate consumption of alcohol is associated with better cognitive (thinking and reasoning) skills and memory than is abstaining from alcohol. Moderate drinking doesn’t kill brain cells but helps the brain function better into old age. Studies around the world involving many thousands of people report this finding."

This is true - it all depends one what you body considers moderate and heavy. Personally I'm not too worried. The big bad thing about beer are the calories but I'm not about to start drinking 50 calorie swill.

Wasn't it Darwin who proved that alcohol kills the slowest brain cells first, thus leaving the consumer smarter over time?

Here is the scientific paper written about it: http://www.jokes.com/funny/college/survival-of-the-fittest-brain-cells

Grinder12000 said:

Just curious - why give up fluoride enriched tap water???? and toothpaste?

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This.

The reason that toothpaste and sometimes water are fluoridated is that back in the day, dentists noticed that locals with natural fluorine ions present in the drinking supply had far better dental health than their non-fluoridated peers.

Why give that up?

I have to echo what others have said, the beer itself won't hurt you and as the studies have shown alcohol helps raise good cholesterol and lower bad cholesterol. The negative of beer or any drink is the empty calories that are consumed. Instead of your body turning to fat for energy it will use the empty calories first. And as said, unused calories turn to fat. 3,500 calories = 1 pound of fat. So for about a weeks worth of drinking you add 1 pound of fat, most likely less since you obviously move around and use calories throughout the day.

I think they consider moderate as 2-3 beers for an average male. I used to drink that amount daily and I started gaining weight so I stopped drinking on weekdays. I like to stay fit and I find this lifestyle allows me to do that without too much extra work (aka without working out every other day). Plus, when I finally crack open that beer on Friday night it just tastes extra amazing since I've waited all week for it lol.

And to specifically answer your question...I don't think your daily intake is that unhealthy or at all alcoholic.

Ok. I was in pretty much the same boat as you so I'll give you what I came up with. I love my beer and am not willing to give it up completely. That said, if you're trying to watch your health, you really should keep it to a minimum. I wouldn't consider 1L/day that heavy but I used to drink pretty excessively. What no one else has addressed is what moderation is exactly. If you're drinking daily, I'd say that more than 24oz daily is probably beyond moderation even at 5% ABV. ABV is not the main concern at this level of intake. What someone else did address rather well was the health risks associated with the caloric intake. I'll go further to explain that its not just the calories but the simple carbohydrates(sugars/alcohol) that really affect your insulin levels. Insulin makes your body store fat. Fat is bad for your heart and many other organs that you wouldn't have expected. There is a laundry list of diseases that are associated with high body fat. High insulin levels also increase your risk of diabetes. I've conceded that I'm going to be a bit chubby if I drink the amount of beer that I want to. Try to make your meals full of proteins and fiber and complex carbohydrates to try to reduce the other simple carbohydrates that you consumer in a day and it will help to offset a bit.

Moderate consumption surely does have some medical benefits but this point is usually raised by people(myself included) that drink it beyond moderation to a point that is more detrimental to overall health. I'm not a doctor so let me clarify that, but I'm sure that what those studies are referring to is more along the lines of one glass of wine with dinner than 1L of beer per night. And, no, matching the total alcohol intake of one glass of wine with the equal amount of alcohol in beer wouldn't be as healthy and also would be missing some of the antioxidants in wine.

Oh, and the issue with flouride is that it is an awful toxic poison. Google it man. Flouride can be really bad.

I'm trying to limit myself to one glass of beer per night although I typically drink pretty excessively on the weekends still. What good is being healthy if you can't enjoy yourself?

dwarven_stout said:

This.

The reason that toothpaste and sometimes water are fluoridated is that back in the day, dentists noticed that locals with natural fluorine ions present in the drinking supply had far better dental health than their non-fluoridated peers.

Why give that up?

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There are actually quite a few people out there who aren't comfortable with having fluoride added to their water supply, mostly stemming from health concerns about it being ingested (rather than staying on the teeth as with dental products) and concerns that the industrial sources of added fluoride may lead to contamination by other chemicals from those same sources. Don't know if any of it actually holds up, those are just the claims I've heard.

That's only to do with fluoridated water, though. I'm as curious as you are about the OP giving up fluoridated toothpaste.

I like to drink at least 8 cups of water a day. Most of Them have hops, malt and barley for flavor.

Living a stress-free, relaxed and happy life will aid long-term health more than worrying unnecessarily about a couple beers a day and thus reducing your enjoyment of life.

Yeah I work out pretty religiously but my habit of drinking beer over the weekend in 3500 cals plus has still left me with a fat layer.

If ever gave up beer I'd have six pack abs instead of a six pack of beer.

As well as the caoloric downside, remember that drinking beer leads to "naegative" water intake. In other words, even though the beer you're drinking is made up of water, the alcohol makes your body expel more water than you're replacing with the beer you're drinking.

The easiest way to live healthier, as well as to look and feel better, is to drink more water everyday. You may think this is too easy to be true, but try drinking 64+ oz of water per day and tell me I'm wrong. You'll make more trips to the bathroom everyday, but you may also shed a few pounds and have more energy.

Drinking 64 oz. of water a day is another health factoid. The research said 64 oz of total water intake from all sources. If you ask any sports doctor, you find out that having to treat marathon runners for drinking too much water is common, but they rarely have a case of dehydration.

As far as the original question, all the research I've seen says 2-3 drinks a day has a positive impact on health and drinking beer can make for stronger bones.

Well you could try this test http://www.checkyourdrinking.net

and also giving up my fluoride enriched tap water and fluoride toothpaste

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Mandrake, do you realize that in addition to fluoridating water, why, there are studies underway to fluoridate salt, flour, fruit juices, soup, sugar, milk... ice cream? Ice cream, Mandrake! Children's ice cream!

Hey guys.

I am the original poster and wanted to share some bad news with you guys.

I'm a 33 year old at 230lbs and 5'11 who likes to go to restaurants, eat pizza, drink beer etc. I'm not someone who lives on McDonalds and fast food.

However, I originally posted this question because I knew I was going in for blood test results. I posted this question about an hour before I went in.

Well I went in and unfortunately, I have high cholesterol at 33 years old. My cholesterol is borderline medication zone. Like .05 away.

I eat red meat maybe once a week, if that. I always thought that I didn't eat that much saturated fats. Yes I eat pizza once to twice a week, but my levels were pretty high. I do like the food and do like to eat.

Not only was I high in cholesterol, my wife was also borderline 'high'. We both have normal 'good' cholesterol ranges, but we both have too much 'bad' cholesterol ranges. If you saw us you may think otherwise.

Wow I'm going to have to make some life changes. I can't believe this is happening at my age. We can no longer eat pizza, eat out, etc. We must exercise regularly now. The movie 'super size me' is coming to life for us. I can't believe that some restaurants, Chinese food, and pizza could cause this.

The question became about the beer. Well, all we keep reading is articles of how it raises 'good' cholesterol levels and it's actually something we should not cut out of our diet.

I really suggest people get their cholesterol checked if they haven't. Especially if they are at a young age.

Sensible Drinking

Guidelines supported by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health suggest that most people can drink up to two drinks a day without significant risk to their health, in the short or the long term.

Most people can and do drink safely and sensibly. This means no more than two drinks a day with a weekly maximum of 14 drinks for men and 9 drinks for women. It is also a good idea to make sure there are days when you don’t drink at all. For some people, even 1 to 2 drinks per day would be too many. Pregnant women, for example, are advised to abstain from alcohol completely because even small amounts of alcohol could increase the risk to the unborn child. Heavy drinking days are especially dangerous to the unborn child. Certain health problems such as heart disease or cancer can make even moderate drinking unsafe.

I would be more worried if you didnt drink at all

Daparish said:

As well as the caoloric downside, remember that drinking beer leads to "naegative" water intake. In other words, even though the beer you're drinking is made up of water, the alcohol makes your body expel more water than you're replacing with the beer you're drinking.

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Are you claiming that all beer, regardless of abv, is negative water intake? Is a 2% abv beer negative water intake? 5%? 8%?

TheCookieMonster said:

Hey guys.

I am the original poster and wanted to share some bad news with you guys.

I'm a 33 year old at 230lbs and 5'11 who likes to go to restaurants, eat pizza, drink beer etc. I'm not someone who lives on McDonalds and fast food.

However, I originally posted this question because I knew I was going in for blood test results. I posted this question about an hour before I went in.

Well I went in and unfortunately, I have high cholesterol at 33 years old. My cholesterol is borderline medication zone. Like .05 away.

I eat red meat maybe once a week, if that. I always thought that I didn't eat that much saturated fats. Yes I eat pizza once to twice a week, but my levels were pretty high. I do like the food and do like to eat.

Not only was I high in cholesterol, my wife was also borderline 'high'. We both have normal 'good' cholesterol ranges, but we both have too much 'bad' cholesterol ranges. If you saw us you may think otherwise.

Wow I'm going to have to make some life changes. I can't believe this is happening at my age. We can no longer eat pizza, eat out, etc. We must exercise regularly now. The movie 'super size me' is coming to life for us. I can't believe that some restaurants, Chinese food, and pizza could cause this.

The question became about the beer. Well, all we keep reading is articles of how it raises 'good' cholesterol levels and it's actually something we should not cut out of our diet.

I really suggest people get their cholesterol checked if they haven't. Especially if they are at a young age.

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Moderation is key! You can still go out and eat pizaa, just eat half of what you used to eat. Go to a restaurant and split a meal between you and your wife. Restaurants (even dine-in ones) entice us to eat more with their marketing and pricing. When prices are $4 for a half plate and $5.50 for a full plate, how many people do you know that would order the half plate?

Also, everyone should exercise, but don't do too much to make you resent it or get worn out.

I drink WAY more than what most of you say you drink. Just have my latest blood test, liver and kidneys are fine. Bottoms up.

Last I heard genetics and family history have at least as much, if not more, impact on overall cholesterol levels as diet. Is that no longer the current medical thinking on the issue?

well you can offset calories in the beer by skipping a snack, or opting for a healthy alternative later. Or making the beer that particular snack.

Excluding the alcohol beer is rather healthy. If you just want to enjoy beer for itself you could find or brew something with a lower ABV for regular consumption.

As for cholesterol, genetics can play a part. Also do you get enough fiber and fruits and vegetables? Also what are your choices when you eat out?

Being young doesn't mean you've got a free pass for health.

TheCookieMonster said:

Wow am I the only one on the forum that drinks daily??

I calculated that my 5% beer should come in at about 400 calories for the 1L bottle. I usually drink the bottle of 2 hours or so. Then have dinner.

Would having a few beers like this a day put me in the category of a heavy drinker?

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Are you in nursing school? 2hrs to drink 1L of beer you must be!

I think I've had a gallon of beer in the past 2 hrs so I guess I'm not all that concerned with intake.

Enjoy!

as long as you're not drinking a liter of beer and then beating your wife, I see no problem

phatuna said:

I lean towards the thought that moderation is the key to a happy and healthy life. I believe that eating healthy, daily exercise and a couple of beers along w/ plenty of water is good for you.

OP, I'm not sure but I don't picture you as a 4'9" 90lb female, so 2 or 3 beers a day is moderate imo. A big part of being healthy is being happy. So naturally, you should drink a liter of beer a day if that makes you happy..

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Well said!

I usually drink 2 pints a day and will continue to do so because, well, I friggin enjoy it!

Keep up the habit, I don't think it will hurt you.

Yes it's very unhealthy you drunk. Lol, you're asking a bunch of brewers this question?
Drink up brother just keep it in moderation.

During the week i keep myself to 1 12oz, weekends it's 4-6 depending.

It's really tough not to grab a few when you have 4 taps and all are well conditioned aged home brews...

phatuna said:

I lean towards the thought that moderation is the key to a happy and healthy life. --- A big part of being healthy is being happy. So naturally, you should drink a liter of beer a day if that makes you happy..

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Thank you... This post has made my day!