How much beer is too much?

[skyzo]

I was just thinking the other day, now that I've been homebrewing, I usually have a beer a day now that I have so much bottled all the time. I was telling this to a friend and he acted surprised and said "...wow, you drink beer everyday, that cant be good". And that got me thinking...is it? I always thought that as long as I'm not binging and just having a beer with dinner or lunch, thats OK. I looked it up and it said its actually good for you heart, and the B vitamins in brewer's yeast is good for your skin. but what about your liver?

 

[Edcculus]

Drinking moderately every day is better for you than binge drinking. Do you wake up feeling like **** after 1-3 beers every night? No. You you wake up feeling like **** after that 12 beer 3 shot weekend bender? Absolutely yes.

 

[elmetal]

americans have way too much trouble with accepting alcohol in daily life.

I visited Madrid for 14 days, and everyone there drinks beer (even women) for lunch and dinner. and if not beer, wine.

Beer doesn't kill when you drink it everyday.

 

[DrDirt]

Also, apparently hops help prevent prostate cancer! :rockin:
http://wellness.blogs.time.com/2009/12/08/hops-compound-may-help-prevent-prostate-cancer/

 

[HalfPint]

americans have way too much trouble with accepting alcohol in daily life.

I visited Madrid for 14 days, and everyone there drinks beer (even women) for lunch and dinner. and if not beer, wine.

Beer doesn't kill when you drink it everyday.

I couldn't agree more. In Europe, people drink all the time, and they're living just as long as we are. I can drink 2-3 Ipa's and not even get a buzz. I drink them because I enjoy them, not because if I don't have them I'll go into withdraws. A lot of doctors agree with the fact that drinking alcohol in the appropriate amounts (I think 1 shot, 1 beer, or one glass of wine), can be beneficial to your body. I would say one of the only negative health effects is that I drink beer most of the time with dinner and then one after dinner, which can lead to weight gain considering each beer is around ~200 kcal.

,
J

 

[sp1365]

americans have way too much trouble with accepting alcohol in daily life.

I visited Madrid for 14 days, and everyone there drinks beer (even women) for lunch and dinner. and if not beer, wine.

Beer doesn't kill when you drink it everyday.

When I was studying abroad in Germany my host family would give me at least 2 beers with dinner every night and then try to convince me to take one up to drink while I worked on my homework.

Personally I think that responsible drinking daily is much healthier than binging on the weekends.

 

[elmetal]

When I was studying abroad in Germany my host family would give me at least 2 beers with dinner every night and then try to convince me to take one up to drink while I worked on my homework.

Personally I think that responsible drinking daily is much healthier than binging on the weekends.

Agreed. That is why here binge drinking is so prevalent.

because "we" never drink so when we do we go out of control and binge

 

[carp]

How about daily moderate drinking AND binge drinking on the weekend? It works for me!

 

[Richabt]

I think a couple of beers a day is fine. If it got to the point that I "had" to have those drinks every day, then maybe I should have concern.

 

[Trevor57]

It depends if you are also fat, and lazy.

 

[skyzo]

Yeah thats what I had figured as well. I keep it easy on the weekdays with just 1-2 a day, and then the weekends is where I allow a few extra

 

[KYB]

There is more and more studies surfacing about how beer is good for you, in moderation of course. Anything can be overdone. But like someone else said, it's looked down upon in American culture.

 

[ThreeDogsNE]

One or two drinks per day is considered quite acceptable medically for a guy under 65. For women, and for guys over 65, it's one a day. Beyond that, three to six per day for guys would put you in the "at-risk alcohol consumption" level from a health standpoint. This assumes that a person does not have health problems that would be adversely affected by alcohol, i.e. liver disease, a seizure disorder, or so on. If a person is drinking in the face of these, or drinks despite it causing recurrent other problems in their life, that is beyond the at-risk level. BTW, one drink is 12 ounces of 5% ABV beer, 5 ounces of wine, or one shot of hard liquor (80-86 proof, 40-43% alcohol).

These are generally accepted medical guidelines, not personal opinion.

OT: I have seen a thread inviting engineers to identify themselves. I wonder how many folks here are like me and formerly were employed in an addictions recovery center?

 

[moti_mo]

I'd say I average 1.5 beers a night during the week, and probably ~5 a night on Friday/Saturday. Its not doing much harm as far as I can tell, but I also try to exercise a ton and keep the brain stimulated as much as possible.

Balance is key.

 

[November]

I think a couple of beers a day is fine. If it got to the point that I "had" to have those drinks every day, then maybe I should have concern.

I think Richabt has it right. A set number of drinks would be a nice rule, but I think people are far too varied for there to be such an exact number of what is acceptable and what is problematic. The difference of when you want a drink versus when you have to have one is really the breaking point I think.

 

[Poobah58]

It's too much when it starts affecting your life...

 

[Edcculus]

Just goes to show how much we are still suffering backlash of the great social experiment all these years later.

 

[BlueSunshine]

I couldn't agree more. In Europe, people drink all the time, and they're living just as long as we are.

I too agree, except they're living longer than we are.

We're all adults and I'm pretty sure we know how much is too much. Right now I have more beer than I can drink, but then again I do have friends that can help me with that.

 

[SankePankey]

It has long been known that 2 glasses of wine per day actually increases longevity versus not drinking at all (called the 'french paradox'). The definitive study is called "In Vino Sanitas". It's due to two things, the alcohol and the magical antioxidant resveratrol (and polyphenols). Beer doesn't have the those same antioxidants, but moderate consumption of alcohol does seem to help with, among other things, cholesterol- which is why French wine drinkers can eat a lot of fatty foods and not have as many heart attacks as Americans. It has been debated that maltose is the hardest (or most fattening) sugar to digest, but the debate is that maltose is fermented before it is consumed and not the issue (I think I have that right). Other notes are that women's consumption should be 'pro-rated' at 60% that of men due to avg. weight and the theory that women store more fat for child-rearing purposes. And, it's not simple to gauge the statistics because the average lifestyle of a beer drinker is different than the average lifestyle of a wine drinker (fat consumption, sedentary..) but that doesn't have anything to do with what's in the glass.

All I know is that I can get a 'wine gut' just as easily as a 'beer gut' if I don't exercise to work it off. I like drinking too much.

FYI- There are a lot of people who drink wine for the health benefits and don't understand what to pick for that. You should be choosing RED wines that are dry and from cooler climates like France, Oregon, New Zealand etc. Pinot Noir has probably the highest concentration of resveratrol. So, white zinfandel will not work.

 

[david_42]

It's too much when it starts affecting your life...

Yeah, you might turn into a homebrewer.

When I first moved to Oregon, my new doctor asked how much I drank. I said a pint or two a day. He looked very concerned. Then I realized he was GenX, so I added, "Beer, not hard liquor."

 

[mhermetz]

damn...

I'm ass backwards then. I find it more acceptable to binge drink on the weekend then having 1-2 beers during the day. Then again I'm 24... just a phase right?

 

[Reedwalker]

Yeah, you might turn into a homebrewer.

My life is definitely affected by beer. I am constantly thinking about it. What to brew next? Is my yeast almost ready? Should I dryhop for 7 days or 14? I wonder if I can move that brew to a secondary today so I can have a primary open for tomorrow? Is this ready to drink?

 

[BlueSunshine]

damn...

I'm ass backwards then. I find it more acceptable to binge drink on the weekend then having 1-2 beers during the day. Then again I'm 24... just a phase right?

For some reason this method is much more accepted to the general public than having a beer or two a day. I don't get it personally.

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

I am fat, lazy, and alcoholism runs in the family.

That being said, I have between 0 and 2 pints Sunday through Thursday. On Friday and Saturday nights, I drink all I want, usually between 3 and 6 pints.

As long as drinking does not have an effect on your health, work or relationships, go for it. IMHO, anybody that says different is full of crap.

 

[geebert74]

As long as you don't do it in excess everyday, life will be great!

 

[shroomzofdoom]

As long as drinking does not have an effect on your health, work or relationships, go for it. IMHO, anybody that says different is full of crap.

I agree completely...

"...wow, you drink beer everyday, that cant be good?"

Your friend seems pretty clueless to me, I think you need more supportive friends. ;-) A beer a day, no problem---a few beers a day, no problem. When you are drinking to get drunk each day, potential problem. When you lose your job, house, kids, car--you may have missed the warning signs.

Alcohol consumption and it's dangers are relative. Beer for lunch is probably not a good idea for emergency workers, but for office workers it does relatively little harm. A few beers for dinner, probably OK if you don't weigh 95 pounds.

Americans are quite puritanical about this nonsense. We must remember that in our founders' time they drank beer every day! Smaller beers than we're accustomed to, but beer nonetheless. In fact, a man would not marry a woman who couldn't make beer and bread. Then WWI/WWII and we're scraremongering and scapegoating delicious beer because of Germany; the continuing effects of past prohibition cast a very long shadow indeed.

 

[sp1365]

damn...

I'm ass backwards then. I find it more acceptable to binge drink on the weekend then having 1-2 beers during the day. Then again I'm 24... just a phase right?

I would say that you are typical of your age group. Then again I am 21 and see it the complete opposite. I think there are a lot of factors that play into how you view the issue, for me I grew up around responsible daily drinking, spent time in Europe, and throughout college have hated parties. Thus I prefer drinking over the course of week as opposed to binge drinking. Everyone has their specific set of circumstances that may change their opinion of what is acceptable or right.

 

[craigd]

Personally I drink between 0-3 daily, maybe a little more on weekends or special events. I stop drinking completely for a few days every month or so just to make sure I can and it has never been a problem. Sometimes I will find myself distracted by NOT having one and when that happens I hold off an extra couple days. Not sure if that's all completely valid but it makes me feel better...

 

[Denny]

but what about your liver?

I have 2-4 beers a day. Because of the meds I take, I have my liver functions checked twice a year. It's perfect, no problems from the beer.

 

[mhermetz]

I would love to have 2 beers a day... one at dinner and during my favorite show or Hockey game. Although I feel since I go out with friends to a bar every weekend, that I should cut down where I can.

My weekend consumption has drasticlaly changed though since the GF came into the picture. I'm now DD about half of the time.