MPs urge '2 alcohol free days per week'

[Booldawg]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16443240

They're making it sound like an epidemic. I mean, what percentage of the population have some amount of alcohol 7 nights of the week?
"How Often Do You Drink?" Poll Here

[Booldawg]

I suppose the trouble is there's no 'one size fits all' policy.

We all know the 90 year old who's smoked like a trooper for 70 years, had bacon and eggs for breakfast since VE day and clears out Morrisons cheap gin stocks every pension day.

Very few could get away with it, and I suppose you can try but its too late when you've overdone it. Listen to your body, what is it telling you?

[jno]

well, that's the thing about bodies, they're not necessarily acting in your best interests. If your body is telling you to have another drink, it may be because you're addicted to it.

[Gromit]

Not drinking alcohol is bad for you. People who are abstainers tend to die younger that those who have a modest amount daily. So all those health messages telling us not to drink and live longer are incorrect.

// But a new paper in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research suggests that - for reasons that aren't entirely clear - abstaining from alcohol does actually tend to increase one's risk of dying even when you exclude former drinkers. The most shocking part? Abstainers' mortality rates are higher than those of heavy drinkers. (See pictures of booze under a microscope.)
Moderate drinking, which is defined as one to three drinks per day, is associated with the lowest mortality rates in alcohol studies. Moderate alcohol use (especially when the beverage of choice is red wine) is thought to improve heart health, circulation and sociability, which can be important because people who are isolated don't have as many family members and friends who can notice and help treat health problems. //

http://open.salon.com...onger_than_abstainers

[jno]

very interesting (and gratifying), Gromit. It appears my intake is practically perfect in every way.

[cazzz1975]

there is a concern though that some people may binge drink to compensate for their 2 day abstinence.

[cazzz1975]

I would take that link with a pinch of salt, not everyone needs alcohol to de-stress, there are many more ways to relax and unwind.

[Gromit]

cazzz1975

From the US Government Dietary Guidelines (Alcohol)

// Moderate evidence suggests that among free-living populations, moderate drinking is not associated with weight gain. //

// Moderate evidence suggests that compared to non-drinkers, individuals who drink moderately have a slower cognitive decline with age.
Alcohol, when consumed in moderation, did not quicken the pace of age-related loss of cognitive function. In most studies, it was just the opposite—moderate alcohol consumption, when part of a healthy diet and physical activity program, appeared to help to keep cognitive function intact with age. //

// Strong evidence consistently demonstrates that compared to non-drinkers, individuals who drink moderately have lower risk of coronary heart disease.
An average daily intake of one to two alcoholic beverages is associated with a low risk of coronary heart disease among middle-aged and older adults. //

http://www.cnpp.usda....eport/D-7-Alcohol.pdf

see also:

http://skeptics.stack...cial-in-small-amounts

[systemsready]

this sort of intermittent differing advice will keep coming until the day when people realise there is no need for alcohol at all. Its just a silly culture that developed over time and people feel that its a necessity for life when its not at all.
Most people when they get to a certain age realise that alcohol is a dangerous substance and causes a lot of damage to family life. So why do we put up with it as if its an unmoveable force? Its as if we are under some sort of spell. Just get rid of it from the culture..develop new ideas , new pastimes , we don't need it at all.

[sashasam]

I think MPs ought to be ashamed of themselves, preaching to us when they have all the freebies! They get discount on Champagne and are often seen in their free bars!
OI Voi!!

[nannybooby]

well I have had my liver monitored monthly(have been on dmart drug) and my enzimes are all ok ,so a glass of red a day isnt affecting my liver,nor is the occasional g&t.

[maggiebee]

I'm pretty much a non drinker - maybe the occasional glass of wine at Christmas etc. However, having watched a programme which I think was called Booze Britain, I have real concerns about young binge drinkers. Facing a liver transplant in your 20s or 30s should be an eye opener but some don't seem to think it will ever happen to them, or if it does they will just get a new liver. Don't they realise someone has to die for this to happen?

[teajenny]

I think MP's of all shades are being very patronising on a number of issues these days. Yes, there is a problem with the drinking culture in Britain but it is not the people who have a single glass of wine of an evening who are the problem. Perhaps a lot of those MP's would do well to look at their own drinking habits considering how many of them have been convicted of drink driving. A reduction in pub opening times might also help.

[dickythecook]

4 free alcohol days would suit me better

[marray]

Anyone who drinks to such an extent that they injure themselves falling etc should be made to bear the cost of hospital treatment... this could be very high and might just make the drunkards think in future. Liver damaged drunks should not be considered for transplants.. keep the organs for really naturally sick folk.

[Barrygas]

In my opinion it's all down to the individual,I'm sick of governments & other bodies telling people what they should be doing, when 9 times out of 10 they aren't following their own advice.

[dave50]

There was also a report on tv about older people in their 70's and 80' drinking too much. Does it really matter when you're that age? It's like when they are advised to stop smoking, why? When you reach that age i would have thought all the health advice can go out of the window. Why the obsession with wanting people to try and live forever?

[joggerjayne]

I agree.

Are the Government's public policy objectives ...

1. Get people to live as long as possible.

2. Err ...

3. ... that's it.

[joggerjayne]

ps. I forgot to add ...

"Two lacohol free days each week"? ... LOL, LOL, LOL, LOL, LOL !!!

[EDDIE51]

I drink a pint or 2 of real ale almost every day. I do not like spirits, wine gives me terrible indigestion and larger is horrible fizzy gassy tasteless junk.
I have not the slightest intention to stop no matter what the doctors say.
Do you know that Doctors as a group are amongst the most likedly to become alcoholics ? a higher % of doctors are alcoholics than almost any other profession. The bars of the House of Commons and the House of Lords have the cheapest booze in London ,they are exempt from licencing regulations and are open all the time that parliment is sitting , the MPs /Peers can vote and listen to the debates while still in the bars.
Let them get their own house's in order first.

[EDDIE51]

I look at this from the other perspective . The government is telling us to drink 5 days a week .
Did you know that the brewing industry is the single biggest export earner for the UK by a very large margin ? Well over 90% of Scotch Whiskey is exported and earns a massive amount of foreign currency for the UK. Without the brewing industry the UK would be bankrupt.Yet the MPs keep on trying to kill it off. It is like them telling us to give up cars and driving as it is too dangerous. No one would suggest banning or having 2 car free days a week just because a few idiots drive like loonies and kill themselfes and others !
How do you think that would go down with the motor industry?
Yet the brewing industry which earns over 10 times as much export cash as the motor trade has to just put up with it without a murmur