Tag: Alcohol

The Books Before the Big Book

About 20 years ago, I ran across this in an essay by C.S. Lewis:

Every age has its own outlook. It is specially good at seeing certain truths and specially liable to make certain mistakes. We all, therefore, need the books that will correct the characteristic mistakes of our own period. And that means the old books.*

Photo Credit: PBA Galleries

Lewis argued, “I do not wish the ordinary reader to read no modern books. But if he must read only the new or only the old, I would advise him to read the old.” He also offered this suggestion: “It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between.”

My reading habits immediately changed. I started reading old books—in many cases, very old books.

And so it is that we will be considering Richard R. Peabody’s The Common Sense of Drinking, which was published in 1931, at an upcoming residential recovery retreat at Hazelden Betty Ford’s Dan Anderson Renewal Center. The book contains ideas and phrases that were later popularized by Alcoholics Anonymous such as “once a drunkard always a drunkard” and “halfway measures are of no avail.”†

Many thanks to Kim Albers and Peg Schroeder for inviting me back!

* C.S. Lewis. Undeceptions. London: Geoffrey Bles, 1971, p. 161–166.
† The first edition of the Big Book appeared in 1939.

New Drinking Limits

I appeared on WCCO Television this morning to discuss some new alcohol drinking limits. The context was a Lancet study that will likely be incorporated into the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s updated Dietary Guidelines

WCCO Television

Consistent with the Lancet study and traditional binge drinking definitions, my current advice regarding consumption is:

  • Men: Up to 7 drinks per week; no more than 4 drinks per occasion/sitting
  • Women: Up to 7 drinks per week; no more than 3 drinks per occasion/sitting

Key caveat: These recommendations are for people without a history of addiction. Those with a history of addiction should abstain from alcohol.

Many thanks to Sarah Jackson with Media Minefield for her partnership on this timely and important subject! ✸

Sober Curious

I’m scheduled to appear on MPR News with Angela Davis this Friday, January 17th, at 11 a.m. I’ll be representing Allina Health in a live discussion about the sober curious movement (and here, here and here).

Peder Schweigert, the general manager of Marvel Bar, will also be in studio. He’s been a bartender for 15 years and about four years ago decided to stop drinking alcohol.

I’m occasionally asked if I have a personal history of addiction. I don’t but stopped drinking by my mid-30s before sober curious was a thing (I’m currently a week short of 50, so I’ve been “dry” for at least 15 years).

Some sober curious factoids appear below.

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“Would I be happier without booze? More productive? Would I feel more confident? What would it be like to never have to face another deadline half hungover? Would I be thinner if I didn’t drink? Look younger? Would I have less sex? More sex? Would the sex be better? Would I have anything to talk about at parties? Where would the glamour go? Would people think I was boring? Exactly how boring would I/life become? … I have termed this questioning as getting Sober Curious”

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  • Low-risk use: Consumption of alcohol or other drugs below the amount identified as hazardous, and use in circumstances not defined as hazardous
  • Hazardous use: Use that increases the risk for health consequences
  • Harmful use: Use with health consequences in the absence of addiction
  • Addiction: As per criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)

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According to the USDA, “If alcohol is consumed, it should be in moderation—up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men—and only by adults of legal drinking age.” I think that recommendation is okay for women, however, the number should be one drink per day for men. Of note, “The level of consumption that minimises health loss is zero”

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  • One U.S. Standard Drink contains 14 grams of alcohol. Examples include a 12-ounce can of beer, 5-ounce glass of table wine and 1.5 ounces of a distilled spirit like vodka
  • Alcohol provides 7 calories per gram. In contrast, carbohydrates (fiber, starch, sugar) and protein provide 4 calories, and fat 9
  • One 12-ounce bottle of beer provides 145 calories: 98 from alcohol and the rest from carbohydrates and protein

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Drinking frequency (e.g., days per week) and intensity (e.g., drinks per day) has a “very small positive and marginally statistically significant effect” on body weight in men. There appears to be no relationship between alcohol consumption and body weight in women

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Multiple studies have demonstrated that consuming alcohol in the evening “enhance[s] sleep onset but decrease[s] sleep continuity during the second half of the sleep period”

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“The available scientific research indicates that higher amounts of alcohol intake have an immediate short-term negative impact on the arousal and orgasm phases of the human sexual response cycle”

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“Hangover symptoms are not just physical; they are cognitive as well. People with hangovers show delayed reaction times and difficulties with attention, concentration, and visual-spatial perception.” Veisalgia—the medical term for hangover—can be traced back to kvies (Norwegian), the “uneasiness following debauchery.” “Hangover is common and underdiagnosed and can have serious physical, psychiatric, and occupational consequences”