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I enjoy a bottle of wine everyday, am I an alcoholic?

jacksn

I went on holiday to France last year, over there I enjoyed a lot of wine and since then I would have a bottle of wine every day, I feel like I can stop anytime but I do enjoy it.. am I a dipso?

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wakka12

a bottle of wine a day is way over the weekly recommended low risk guideline so youre putting your health at risk even if youre not necessarily addicted

You should be drinking at most about two bottles of wine spread over the course of a week with at least 2 days not drinking , and this is the very upper limit before you begin to have much higher chances of getting alcohol related liver diseases, heart diseases and cancers than the general population, ideally no drinking is best for mental and physical health but if you limit it to that its unlikely your health will be damaged

Peregrinus

abff wrote: »

. . . think the limit seems to be a moveable feast and has suffered a certain amount of inflation in recent years. I know this is partly due to wine on average having a higher alcohol content, but I think it's also partly due to a lowering of the recommended limits. But rather than do this by reducing the number of units, the size of a unit has been reduced.

Nitpick: the "unit of alcohol" is 10 ml of pure alcohol and has been since the concept was invented; it has never changed.

What has changed is the recommended intake, but this change hasn't always been a reduction. Changes have been driven both by improved understanding of the effects of alcohol consumption, and by observing the effect of recommendations on behaviour.

For example, in the mid-1990s, the recommended maximimum intake was 21 units per week for men, 14 per week for women. But observation showed that a signficant proportion of people "saved up" their units for the weekend, and consumed the bulk of them in a single evening ("binge drinking"). This led to the conclusion that the way the recommendation was expressed was giving people false reassurance that binge drinking, within the weekly limit, was not h harmful, which is of course wrong. So the advice was changed to 3-4 unjits per day for men, 2-3 for women. Expressed in weekly terms, this is in fact a higher limit than the previous advice.

ceadaoin.

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

They had good genes. They reckon about 5% of the human pop can get away with life long hard living.

The vast majority of people though are going to be eventually affected by long term bad lifestyle choices.

I don't think so though. The vast majority of people have at least one kind of bad habit that can effect their health, whether it be drinking, smoking, being overweight, not exercising enough, eating junk etc. But still life expectancy is pretty decent and most people would know a handful of people who are technically living unhealthy lifestyles but who are perfectly fine. Maybe not the fittest, but not suffering too much from from it.

I do think a whole bottle of wine a night is too much though. It increases the risk of some things but you can never say with certainty that it will directly cause cancer, or definitely lead to live damage etc as people who do everything "right" still get those things.

abff

I go to Portugal a few times a year and would generally drink every day when I'm there, typically polishing off a bottle of wine (or more) each day. When I get home, I find I tend to keep going and this is probably not a great idea. So I then try to take a complete break for a week or two and after that, limit my alcohol consumption to the weekends. But I don't always manage to stick to this.

I have my bloods taken every year or so and ask my GP to check for liver function as part of the tests. So far, I've come up within the normal range, but I am concerned that I probably drink more than is good for me. I'm retired, so it doesn't affect my work when I have a few drinks, but I definitely have more energy during the day if I've taken it easy on the previous day.

I think that overall, I definitely exceed the recommended limit. Having said this, I think the limit seems to be a moveable feast and has suffered a certain amount of inflation in recent years. I know this is partly due to wine on average having a higher alcohol content, but I think it's also partly due to a lowering of the recommended limits. But rather than do this by reducing the number of units, the size of a unit has been reduced.

afkasurfjunkie

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

That former footballer fella is still knocking around, Gazza. Thought he would be gone years ago. He must be taking the milk thistle by the gallon.

But I doubt he could even spell it at this stage.

Anyway, it affects people differently. Three or more rest days per week from the grog is a good habit to get into I think. Otherwise just enjoy it.

I am more concerned about the binge drinking up for a fight, knife weilding nutjobs off their heads.

The affecting people differently is a good point to note. My dad drank heavily for years but functioned at work. Got worse for a while after he retired. His liver is fine. But it aged him terribly and he’s quite shaky now. In his late 60’s but looks and walks like a man in his 80’s. If he could turn back time he would never have drank so much. He could enjoy retirement and use his travel pass and play with his grandchildren instead of being confined to a chair for most of the day.
So you might be ok now OP but not always.

Ray Palmer

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

They had good genes. They reckon about 5% of the human pop can get away with life long hard living.

The vast majority of people though are going to be eventually affected by long term bad lifestyle choices.

It's really the other way around. No matter how you live you are genetically predisposed so will get it anyway. While how you live can damage you it is more or less what the body can take.
When you see warnings on cigarettes about what smokers die of it is a bit of a lie and manipulation of statistics.

I had a doctor say smoking weed doubles your chances of developing schizophrenia. He based it on an increase of 0.01% to 0.02% from a study. Technically he was correct in the extent of reading the figure but it doesn't double your chances. That conclusion can't be drawn, it was one study, the sample size was limited etc...

Doctors aren't statisticians and knowing one thing doesn't mean you understand another. Teachers aren't smarter than you they just know something before you. The researchers may know what they are doing but it doesn't hold up much due to the way research is funded.

OldMrBrennan83

Sycamore Tree wrote: »

To be fair it was terrible advice. Silly really. But good that you stand by it.

Nobody here is an authority on it so the same can be said for any advice. At the end of the day we're all just a bunch of blowhards with differing opinions.

Sycamore Tree

Patww79 wrote: »

What advice you disagree with you mean, though people have an awful tendency here to believe their way is the only way.

Not everything has to be outrage and a problem these days. As hard as that is to believe.

To be fair it was terrible advice. Silly really. But good that you stand by it.

OldMrBrennan83

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

What terrible advice.

What advice you disagree with you mean, though people have an awful tendency here to believe their way is the only way.

Not everything has to be outrage and a problem these days. As hard as that is to believe.

Spanish Eyes

That former footballer fella is still knocking around, Gazza. Thought he would be gone years ago. He must be taking the milk thistle by the gallon.

But I doubt he could even spell it at this stage.

Anyway, it affects people differently. Three or more rest days per week from the grog is a good habit to get into I think. Otherwise just enjoy it.

I am more concerned about the binge drinking up for a fight, knife weilding nutjobs off their heads.

DEFTLEFTHAND

DS86DS wrote: »

There are plenty of people who enjoyed their drink, smoked like a chimney and didn't eat near enough vegetables....and lived well into their 90s.

They had good genes. They reckon about 5% of the human pop can get away with life long hard living.

The vast majority of people though are going to be eventually affected by long term bad lifestyle choices.

Ray Palmer

Focusing on liver damage and diseases is the wrong approach. Apparently 1 in 5 liver disease are a result of drinking. I know raging alcoholics at it for years with no liver problems. They do have other problems which are mostly digestion related. Alcohol is much more likely to affect you stomach and intestines first and mostly.
A bottle a day in what is likely a short period in the evening is just unhealthy. Drinking the same amount of Coke is probably as bad. Mentally alcohol at level will develop a dependency emotionally and the physical properties will come after.

SteM

Grayson wrote: »

To be fair december is the time when alcohol consumption ramps up.

He says he can stop and says he'll knock it on the head in the new year. He certainly shouldn't be looking to ramp up!

IMO he should be cutting his consumption in half now for the rest of December if he wants to stop completely in the new year, if for no other reason but to prove to himself that he can.

I had the same discussion with my dad for years, Christmas/NY was always the big reason not to knock it on the head even through he said he could at any time. There were always other reasons during the year. Weddings, foreign holidays, christenings and all sorts were all trotted out as excuses not to stop during the year.

cloudy90210

Edgware wrote: »

Never mind the New Year. Wait until the long evenings

The long evenings are here. The shortest day of the year is in 2.5 weeks.

Winter has come. ALL OVA YOUR FACE

Edgware

SteM wrote: »

The fact that you're going to wait until the new year suggests to me that you have a dependency OP. There'll always be an excuse for not knocking it on the head.

Never mind the New Year. Wait until the long evenings

cloudy90210

Yes you are

seamus

Grayson wrote: »

To be fair december is the time when alcohol consumption ramps up.

Yeah, but that doesn't mean you have to keep drinking.

Even something as simple as, "I'm not going to drink at home unless we have guests", could halve the consumption without affecting your Xmas plans.

Sycamore Tree

engiweirdo wrote: »

Before you know it you're waking up in the doorway to Supermacs having spent the weekend sucking off strangers for Dutch Gold.

Grayson

SteM wrote: »

The fact that you're going to wait until the new year suggests to me that you have a dependency OP. There'll always be an excuse for not knocking it on the head.

To be fair december is the time when alcohol consumption ramps up.

engiweirdo

Seriously, you're not an alcoholic. Yet. What could end up happening though is the bottle of wine every evening becomes more normal, helps you relax, then you cant really relax without it, sure its only a bottle of wine anyway....

Then one of lifes little bumps in the road comes along, wheres that magic potion that helps me relax, fcuk this isnt working, maybe another bottle. Before you know it you're waking up in the doorway to Supermacs having spent the weekend sucking off strangers for Dutch Gold. Be careful is all I'm saying.

RWCNT

igCorcaigh wrote: »

I think the word 'alcoholic' can be self defeating.

Alcohol is a drug that can cause damage, on many levels, if consumed too much.

You do not need to be "addicted" to a drug for it to cause damage.

That word is a scare tactic anyway, and is also badly deployed to other things such as sugar.

I agree with this.

A lot of folks seem to think that being able to stop whenever you want means that there's no problem. No, if you are continuously overindulging then you are creating the problem regardless of whether you're addicted or not.

SteM

The fact that you're going to wait until the new year suggests to me that you have a dependency OP. There'll always be an excuse for not knocking it on the head.

Sycamore Tree

jacksn wrote: »

thanks all for your comments

I am married and self employed age 35, it doesn't seem to affect my productivity or sex life. It does however feel like a slippery slope so in the new year im going to knock it on the head..

it feels like a habit alright, as mentioned i drink wine because i enjoy it - not always a bottle but 2-3 glasses.. occasionally turning into a bottle.. and on a sunday i look back at my week and think "Jesus i drank 5 bottles last week" but i never intently drink to get drunk, at least i dont think so.

Are you under huge stress?
It's way too much alcohol consumption.

Richard Hillman

Enjoy your life

klaaaz

Try alco-free wine or lower strength wine(on occasion) to help you cut back. Excessive alcohol makes a person tired, you will get liver damage over time and that's very serious with no medical quick fix. A blood test with your GP can tell you of some damage to your body. Everything in moderation, you're not drinking in moderation at 5 bottles a week.

[Deleted User]

julius caeser made his soldiers drink a litre of wine most days, never hurt his army really.....

but yes that much alcohol will really age you and fook your body up.
can't be good for you.

In saying that you hear centenarians saying they smoked every day, drank every day and laughed every day....you might get away with it based on genes and everything else.

WIM HOFF LOVES WINE

Bacchus

jacksn wrote: »

I went on holiday to France last year, over there I enjoyed a lot of wine and since then I would have a bottle of wine every day, I feel like I can stop anytime but I do enjoy it.. am I a dipso?

Why not set yourself a challenge and give it up for a week (no excuses because its coming up to Christmas). If you breeze through the week without feeling the urge to drink, then maybe you're not an alcoholic. If you struggle or cave in, then maybe you have a problem and you should seek help.

If you can't even bring yourself to put such a challenge to yourself, then maybe you have a problem.

In either case, it seems like a lot of alcohol to be drinking and it's in your health's interest to cut back.

suicide_circus

if I drank a bottle if wine a day I'd be in a hoop. that's about 70 units per week. your liver will be fcuked

jacksn

seamus wrote: »

Forget the connotations of the word "alcoholic" for a second. Most people in their heads picture someone who stinks of drink all day (even when sober), and is a slurring mess in the evening. And the label implies an illness that will stay with you for the rest of your life, and you need to cry off drink and never drink again.

But all of that is obviously the extreme end. It might be more appropriate to say that at the moment that you're engaging in alcohol abuse. You're drinking too much and you can't stop. You say you can, but rather than actually stop, you posted here for advice.

It's really easy to fall into the pattern. Day done, jobs done, grand, glass of wine to relax while watching the telly before bed. Oh, that went quick, I'll have another nip. And another. Aaaaand... the bottle is gone.

The next night, the same thing. And before you know it you've had a few glasses or a bottle every night for the last two weeks.

Stop the habitual drinking for two weeks. Have a cuppa instead. If someone invites you to go to the pub, fire away. But the habit of a glass of wine in front of the telly is what's catching you. Two weeks, is what it takes to shake it. It won't be as easy as you probably think it would. Tonight you can change your routine, cuppa tea no bother. Tomorrow night you'll be itching for a glass and telling yourself, "Ah sure I'll just have the one, that's no big deal", and the thought of a cup of tea is like salad for breakfast.

After your dry two weeks, just have more awareness of what you're doing. If you realise you've been sitting in front of the telly with wine for 3 nights in a row again, then stop yourself, take a few days off.

Cee-Jay-Cee

jacksn wrote: »

I went on holiday to France last year, over there I enjoyed a lot of wine and since then I would have a bottle of wine every day, I feel like I can stop anytime but I do enjoy it.. am I a dipso?

Bet ya you can't...I have a gambling problem but I can stop anytime.