"Holiday Heart Syndrome", atrial fibrillation, arrhythmia. Possible affects of alcohol on heart activity. It's a thing.
I have a-fib -- “palpitations” and
The only drinks I ever heard giving palpitations are coffee and energy drinks...caffeine. I'd bet on the covid or even the damn shots. I read beer is very healthy like wine is, in moderation, but please don't take this as any advice for I am no doctor. If I live to 100 I will certainly credit beer, or at least my homebrew craft beer. I hope this is just a passing thing for you. My wife has palpitations from anxiety. Meds keep it at bay. I tried to get her on my one high ABV beer a night program to combat the anxiety but beer is not her thing.
I haven't brewed a batch of beer since before my heart attack on 7/5/23. I was also diagnosed with a-fib and the palpitations I'd experienced for a couple of years prior to that are consistent with that. I had zero alcohol for maybe 5 months but then I tried some here and there. Studies show a correlation between a-fib and alcohol use, and it does not even have to be heavy drinking.
The studies about the effects of alcohol on our health are out there -- reputable ones -- if you wanna see them. I am trying to decide if I want to quit drinking entirely. I miss brewing, but I was not prolific about it as brewing 5-gallon batches in a small condo kitchen is something of a PITA. Maybe I can occasionally brew 3-4 gallons if I decide to imbibe conservatively. I still view HBT 4-5x/week and enjoy it but that has finally become a bit boring since I am not actively brewing.
I have no illusions there is a health benefit to alcohol and I'm of the opinion anyone who believes there is one is simply kidding themselves -- perhaps going on old information or reading sources that tell some what they want to believe. It is clear any
perceived health benefit is obliterated by the scientifically proven downsides. Due to a family history of heart issues and serious, ongoing concerns I have with my heart requiring monitoring and likely future surgery, I must be honest with myself when I research how drinking affects one's health.
In the thread, there's been discussion about number of drinks per day, being in control, not being in control (alcoholism). The NIH states,
"Physicians operationally defined "light" drinking as 1.2 drinks/day, "moderate" drinking as 2.2 drinks/day, and "heavy" drinking as 3.5 drinks/day. Abusive drinking was defined as 5.4 drinks/day". There are even more details on the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism website.
You've all seen the numbers. I brewed mostly Belgian Triples and Quads at 9% to nearly 12%, so one of those is 2-3 alcoholic drinks. Many of us brew stronger beers than the official equivalent of one alcoholic drink, so I am wondering when I see posts on HBT stating having 2 or 3, what is the actual number of alcoholic drinks, really
It certainly is not for me to say people shouldn't drink and though I am enjoying it occasionally right now, I may need to quit 100%. For me, any amount may not be worthwhile. I am 65 and I am "medically complex" (my doc said). No doubt many of you are genetically, biologically superior to me (younger!) and the health risks make it worth it to you; although, I've learned we cannot know everything that is going on inside our bodies until a diagnosis shows up at some point, sometime too late, so excessive alcohol abuse may catch up with you unexpectedly.
It seems clear to me if even the finest human specimen is a moderate to heavy drinker over a long period of time, it will affect their health. Of course, some will live to 85 regardless of their bad lifestyle choices, so if you want to pick that person as your example to justify heavy drinking, go ahead. Also, I believe many of the self-declared "moderate" drinkers are heavy drinkers. We often determine our own standards regarding alcoholic behavior or light versus moderate versus heavy drinking. We convince ourselves of what we want to believe -- I have been guilty of it.