Not sure about grabbing that beer? You’re not alone. Americans are reaching for alcohol at record lows, according to a new Gallup survey.
The survey, out Aug. 20, found the number of Americans who say they drink alcohol sits at 54% for the second consecutive year − and health concerns appear to be a major factor.
“Fifty-one percent of U.S. adults now believe drinking one or two alcoholic beverages a day is bad for one’s health,” the survey results noted. “The figure is essentially unchanged from last year’s record-high 53%.”
In 2001, only 27% considered moderate drinking bad for one’s health, according to Gallup.
I actually like to drink but especially beer can give me really bad stomach cramps. Not always, but often enough that I rarely risk it. Also my sleep quality is suffering after drinking and with age I no longer can afford bad sleep. Honestly I’m not sure how people after 30 manage to drink regularly. Even though I’m a fit and healthy person, alcohol just affects me too much to be a regular and enjoyable part of my life.
I get it can be “relaxing” in some ways, but having to recover from alcohol the day(s) after makes it a very inefficient way of relaxation.
Honest question: how much do you typically drink in a session?
At this point I feel averse effects after 1-2L of beer (stomach cramps sometimes at less) or three glasses of wine or more than two cocktails.
So it’s relatively easy to get beyond this when it’s a longer event like a BBQ or a night out.
I am in my mid thirties. Someday age will catch up to me on this front, but it doesn’t seem to have noticed me yet. I can still out drink most 25 year olds (which does not make me cool). Some of us are just Built Different, and by that I mean that through a combination of genetics, tolerance, and being, ahem, “big boned,” my body is fantastic at absorbing, buffering, and metabolizing ethanol. A blessing and a curse in equal parts. Other people will stop at two drinks because their body tells them to and they have the willpower to listen to that signal. My body never sends the signal. Unless I’m in a situation where I have to drive home, my internal “probably shouldn’t do that” doesn’t overcome the disinhibition. So on a Friday night at home with nothing to do I can easily knock back enough to still be drunk the next day and still not get hung over. Sounds awesome, except that the ability to process alcohol efficiently doesn’t protect me from alcohol being a carcinogen or neurotoxic.
The simple antidote to all this, of course, is to not have the first drink. Which pains me, because alcohol rules.