Reply to Even a Little Alcohol Can Harm Your Health

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]“Notably, none of the experts we spoke to called for abstaining completely, unless you have an alcohol use disorder or are pregnant.”

I mean, the main message here is what we have heard from the medical profession for a long time - stick to the drinking guidelines or abstain.  [/quote]

+1. I think the negative reaction is because people don't want to accept that moderate drinking means a drink here or there versus a drink or more every day.[/quote]

[b]But for women, the guidelines *are* no more than one drink per day.  Not “a drink here or there.”[/b]

I think some people drink more than that and are defensive, sure.  But, as PP pointed out with the CDC “don’t drink if you’re of childbearing age” example, these messages can go to the extreme, and end up not being helpful.  Personally, I think health advice in these discrete chunks isn’t particularly helpful in getting people to balance out their overall risks.  People do plenty of things that aren’t ideal for their health; the moralism associated with alcohol consumption undermines that fact.[/quote]

That guideline is the MAXIMUM - any consumption above that is classed as excessive. I don't think this has been messaged well by the health authorities and that creates confusion. And yes, the inane "don't drink if you are childbearing age" type stuff doesn't help.[/quote]

Right - the latter message is a nightmare.

And yes, I realize that guideline is the upper limit of what’s considered moderate (beyond that is heavy, not excessive).  A woman who has, say, one drink four nights a week is below that, but it’s more than “here or there.”  I also think people don’t realize that we’re talking about risk and probability here.  Having two or three drinks on occasion slightly increases risk for certain negative outcomes, it’s not a death sentence.

I remember years ago telling my NP that I smoked pot on occasion and she shrugged and said, it’s really terrible for your lungs.  That combination of matter of fact and non-judgmental really stuck with me, in a good way.  It would be great if more healthcare providers could take that approach to various lifestyle choices.[/quote]

I'm not trying to split hairs with you, but as a further example of how much the message is muddled, the NYT article says this, "“Excessive alcohol use” technically means anything above the U.S. Dietary Guidelines’ recommended daily limits. That’s more than two drinks a day for men and more than one drink a day for women." The CDC defines moderate as the 2 for men/1 for women standard and NIH/NIAAA defines "heavy" as "For men, consuming more than 4 drinks on any day or more than 14 drinks per week. For women, consuming more than 3 drinks on any day or more than 7 drinks per week."

Now to me, the word moderate means medium/normal but not a maximum or minimum and excessive is more than heavy. Add in risk/probability, anecdotes like the PP with the 85 year old father who drinks regularly, and the fact that I bet most adults don't agree on what moderate, heavy, and excessive it, and it's just a mess of a message.[/quote]

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