Drink?: The New Science of Alcohol and Your Health

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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. Early in the second half of the book, Professor Nutt relays some social the history of alcohol. One interesting part discussed how "...ancient Persians would only finally make a decision after the issue at hand had been discussed both sober and drunk," since being drunk brought out one's creativity. And though I knew alcohol was ancient, I didn't know that "It's only been in the last millennium that it has been banned by some religious groups, for example in Islam." [The irony isn't lost on this reader that modern "Persia" now Islamic.] 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." Still: it had good stuff in it, here and there. And if you know nothing about the subject, maybe you can start with this. But sometimes he still spouts a factoid that he doesn't substantiate with a citation. I'd like to see the documentation of these assertions, Professor Nutt!

Drink? The New Science of Alcohol and Your Health

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. We all are aware of some the dangers of alcohol, from short-term ones such as alcohol poisoning to the longer term ones like liver cirrhosis. But we learn here about all the other impacts alcohol has too, from alcohol’s effects on our brain’s neurotransmitters, our hormones, mental health, cancer risks, sleep quality and quantity, other physical health effects, economics, politics, and more.Parts of this was laughable. Long chapters about different ways to talk about alcohol use, just very clumsy kitchen psychology and mundane. This was very British. And felt extremely careful. Like the writer had in mind his audience of football hooligans. Maybe that was true. I've been reading about the dangers of alcohol multiple times, so this didn't really offer anything new.

Drink?: The New Science of Alcohol and Your Health - Goodreads

Nutt identifies alcohol as one of the most, if not the most harmful drug (legal or illegal) in common use. 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.Binge drinking, or getting "wasted" is very bad for you, much better to limit how much you do this.

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

It’s by far the most harmful food product in the grocery store. And that’s really saying something.

After listening to Edward Slingerland’s audiobook, Drunk, and reviewing that a couple weeks ago, I was curious to learn more about the latest research on alcohol and health. David Nutt is on a mission to explain the most significant alcohol-related research findings from the last 50 years. What I enjoyed most about his pragmatic approach is that he explains the impact of ANY amount of alcohol consumption. This is about making informed decisions, not moral judgements. He clarifies the differences that various levels of alcohol consumption have on our mental health, sleep, hormones, fertility, and propensity toward addiction. 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. 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. Mixing factual and anecdotal evidence, Nutt discusses the UK response to alcohol, and the struggles he faced whilst attempting to advise the government on alcohol policy. From denying its classification as a drug to allowing alcohol companies to make up 50% of alcohol advisory boards, politicians’ response to drinking is surprising, especially given the burdens it places on our national services. 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.

Drink? : The New Science of Alcohol and Your Health

I also questioned some of his assertions like, "...there are wards full of these kids," while talking about "acute alcoholic hepatitis" in young binge drinkers. Then he goes on to say, "However bingeing is not the reason behind most cases of alcoholic hepatitis...." He also provided no citation regarding the number of kids or the number of wards. There were also some judgmental statements peppered throughout the book. In one instance, Nutt says that he doesn't think people seeing their doctors for hypertension are being asked about their alcohol use, "...perhaps because many doctors drink too much themselves?" If that's not just a judgment, then where's the citation? 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. French people lead the world in psoriasis and other alcohol related diseases before reforming their alcohol related laws to reduce drinking. It seems really hard to have a good social life and not drink. It is such an accepted part of life. People don't really understand the effect it has on our bodies and our lives. Of course people do understand at the extreme of becoming an alcoholic, but short of that, what's the big deal? Everyone should educate themselves on why it could be a big deal, so we can all make better informed decisions around drinking, and this book is an excellent introduction to this.

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 good way to drink consciously is to count your drinks and plan them for the week. If you know you will be drinking 2 nights in a given week, and then plan to have no more than 4 drinks on each of those nights, you are more likely to not exceed/overdrink. Chapters 1-5 are the "why" - chemistry and biology - and chapters 6-10 are the "how" - psychology and sociology. Irrelevant to which part of the book some of his suggestions appeared, a few concerned me. Although one section is subtitled, "Hangover Cures: What's the Evidence," implying he's presenting information and not recommendations, since this is a self-help book, I might assume that most readers aren't processing the "What's the Evidence" portion of the heading and merely focusing on the promise of "Hangover Cures." Alcohol is a huge dopamine stimulant, which is in part why it feels so good, and why we might crave it when stressed.