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Originally Posted by Aldous9
If someone "binge" drinks(from a medical standpoint this is 4 drinks in one night) once a month are they doing damage to their health? Very unlikely.
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Yes and no. The key issue with binge drinkers is that they often don't stop at 4. Especially with young people, such as college students at parties, drinking until you're falling down is not unusual behavior. And that leads to a loss of judgment and other risky behaviors, which are inherently dangerous in a number of ways. But in addition to the obvious, young brains are still in development, and even more at risk than mature brains.
Heavy Alcohol Use Harms the Teen Brain: Scientific American
And here's a fun little video about the way alcohol affects the brain... it makes you: Feel less, Perceive less, Notice less, and Remember less, while hushing the background noise so that you can eventually "Think clearly about almost nothing!" Ha! A bit of that can be delicious for responsible adults... myself included... but too much becomes self- defeating.
Your Brain on Drugs: Alcohol | Video of the Week, Scientific American Blog Network
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Like i said earlier, these guidelines are about as silly as the BMI. There is no science behind them.
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I have no opinion on BMI, but there are definitely guidelines about the use of alcohol which are scientifically derived, as evidenced by the steady stream of articles in Scientific American over the years about various new pieces of research into the issue. BAC calculators are not foolproof, but they are a good general guide, and the methodology was determined by research. For a more empirical approach, buy yourself a blood alcohol meter and check yourself out while imbibing. They're inexpensive enough for personal ownership now.
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There was an article in Scientific American recently about how flawed the medical guidelines are on alcohol. It's much much worse for someone to drink two drinks a day than it is for someone to drink six drinks in one night. It's the overall consumption of alcohol over a prolonged amount of time that does damage to the liver.
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Yes, of course, and this conversation began way back when about the dangers of drinking 4 drinks every night, and some folks opining that was not a lot. Damage to the liver is only one of many dangers associated with habitual heavy drinking.
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I'm in the US now but I did grow up in Scotland. Drinking is much more cultural in Scotland. The whole family goes out for a pint. If I was out with my family for a drink and after finishing my forth pint i stood up and said, "well that's all for me guys, one more would be overindulging and from a medical standpoint may be dangerous" they would be rolling on the floor in hysterics.
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Yes, and that's part of the reason Scotland has such a big alcoholism problem. There's a lot of social pressure to drink, and to keep drinking, and people who want to moderate their drinking get pressured not to stop. Peer mockery is a powerful tool for overcoming personal initiative.
Alcoholism and Social Exclusion | The Scicurious Brain, Scientific American Blog Network
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