Drink?: The New Science of Alcohol and Your Health

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But just how bad is alcohol? Well Nutt dives into the brain and bodily science to describe it's implications in over 200 diseases. Nutt evens names alcohol as the most damaging drug to society. A world-renowned authority on the science of alcohol exposes its influence on our health, mood, sleep, emotions, and productivity -- and what we can and should do to moderate our intake. Nutt has spent a good part of his career attempting to educate the general public regarding drug and alcohol use. And to consult and lobby government to adopt more rational drug and alcohol policies based on evidence of individual and social harm. a view popular with conservative politicians, that addiction is fun and addicts enjoy getting drunk...." All in all, we shouldn't drink. Or at least try drink as little as we can. And shouldn't wash the food down with glasses of alcohol.

Drink?: The New Science of Alcohol and Health - Harvard Book

A lot of people have the believe that a small amount of alcohol is good for your health. This is particularly prevalent in France, where people believe a glass of wine a day is good for you. But the science so far has been clear: "A 2018 review in The Lancet, one of the leading medical journals, was called—pretty definitively—"No Level of Alcohol Consumption Improves Health." Their conclusion was that, on balance, any protection would be more than canceled out by the negative effects. "

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Occasional breaks from alcohol of 2-4 are very, very good for you as they establish the habit of not drinking, and tend to lower your drinking after you do drink again. It can take a few weeks to remove all effects of alcohol from your system and let your liver fully recover. My continuing trend of reading health, brain/body, or psych types book lead me to this one, which outlines the relationship of alcohol to an individual. More expensive booze is probably not better for your body. It often contains congeners which are in effect different types of alcohol and they can (probably) worsen the hangover.

Drink? : The New Science of Alcohol and Your Health

Drink? holds the key to all the questions you want (and need) to know the answers to, covering mental health, sleep, hormones, fertility and addiction. This was very British. And felt extremely careful. Like the writer had in mind his audience of football hooligans. Maybe that was true. If alcohol went through food standards testing for toxicity now, you'd only be allowed to have less than a wine glass of alcohol per year."

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I didn't realize that in the old days, beer and wine had much less alcohol in them than they do today (3-4% vs 5-8% today for beer). In middle ages I think it was even less, which is why people could drink it so often. The best part of the book is headed, "How to Talk to Your Children about Booze." I can easily see this portion of the book being used with PTO/PTA groups. It was logical and could be easily implemented as a workshop program to support children and teens from succumbing to peer pressure, social norms, and advertising. While I did learn some things throughout the book, I'm not sure that much else is new or particularly persuasive that could convince an alcoholic to change their behavior; they'd just now be able to tell you why they are doing what they do. The British perspective came through a few times. For instance, in the section, "Major Ways Alcohol Affects Your Length of Life," I had to look up Professor Nutt's reference to Damien Hirst's sharks and cows with regards to Nutt's mention of formaldehyde. However, I was pleased that Professor Nutt was inclusive and did include science references to Asia and Africa along with Europe, the UK, and the USA. Ultimately, I was satisfied, but it was a bit bland. Maybe it wasn’t the target market. I’ve never been a frequent drinker. In my younger days, maybe something like 4 drinks per week would’ve been common. These days, 1 drink per week is a lot. The author frequently talks about 14+ units per week, so this all felt a little out of touch This book certainly exceeded my expectations. The overall pedigree and experience of Dr. Nutt put him in an excellent position to author this book, and he did a laudable job balancing it with a sufficiently rigorous scientific/health-related dive, the effects at the personal versus the societal level, economic considerations, as well as the many benefits of alcohol that people tend to overlook. The author also concludes with a seemingly sensible plan for those who take the facts seriously, both personally and at the institutional/policy level. The book is not a meant to scare people into worry about their habits, but rather provide a sober (hah) analysis of the risks at hand.

Drink? The New Science of Alcohol and Your Health

Two days in a row of drinking is extremely bad for you as your body doesn't have time to recover and you don't sleep well, it's a downward spiral. Avoid this if at all possible, and go light the second day if you decide to drink. However, the evidence is pretty damning, even though alcohol is associated with blue zone diets and minor improvements in cardiovascular health drinking any amount of alcohol has more negative effects than positive.It’s by far the most harmful food product in the grocery store. And that’s really saying something. Drinking while driving is a huge cause of death. In the US we have a .08% limit, which is actually not even that safe. Many countries in Europe have .05%, and many in Scandinavia have .02% (basically sober). Also, we only actually like the taste of alcohol and coffee because while being bitter, they're also addictive and pleasurable to the brain. So we find "taste" in otherwise bitter drinks. Provide a nonjudgmental willingness to assist the reader in minimizing harm if they decide to drink once informed.

Drink? : The New Science of Alcohol and Health - Google Books

I am particularly amused by the effects alcohol has on our sex hormones. Drinking appears to be something that in our society is part of the “lad culture”. Yet alcohol has been shown to reduce levels of testosterone whilst increasing levels of oestrogen. So much so that if you drink enough, a man can become feminised, developing male breasts, losing muscle mass and facial hair, and seeing reductions in sperm count. Alcohol makes a man less of a man, not more. The irony! Professor Nutt does a much better job of citing some psychological aspects of why people drink, i.e., the self-help portion of the book. [Read the section on "Is Your Booze Buzz in Your Head?"] Later on he cites one study that "...showed that people drank lager 60 percent more slowly out of straight glasses than out of outward-curving (pilsner type) ones." Now that's interesting, don't you think? He also does a better job in this half of the book delineating when he is discussing fact or logic and not just opinion. Read the introduction; it contains some of the 'truths' about alcohol. "Marketing has altered our perception," "...its's absurd that coming of age should still be about alcohol," and "Would you take a new drug if you were told it would increase your risk of cancer, dementia, heart disease, or that it would shorten your life?"

First, for people who may not have crossed an "invisible line," not recommending Moderation Management or HAMS (or whatever there is in the UK) is not good. Drinking has become your hobby or the only way you socialize. This often happens with retirees or expats." You can die from alcohol poisoning, it is the leading cause of death in young people according to the WHO.