Hello guys, Is Alcohol as bad as we make it out to be sometimes? I mean, surely, the abuse of alcohol is very dangerous and life wrecking, but the truth is, what about the benefits of a little bit of alcohol? I know people who drink daily not to the point of drunkness and they do have self-control, they say alcohol is very beneficial for the body in a lot of areas. I mean, I also drink occassionally and find it enjoyable but not when you get drunk. Should one stay away from Alcohol completely? Or is it allowed in small amounts?
In my opinion then alcohol isn't all bad in moderation, but that's the key word. Moderation. Lots of people around the world like to have a drink and relax, and if course there's nothing wrong with that. The problem starts when that person then starts to rely on the substance to relax, and with alcohol especially, that can creep up on you quicker than you think.
That's exactly what I thought. I mean there's also something to do with absolute prevention which caused people to become alcoholics. If they've been in a household growing up where alcohol is an "abomination" then when being introduced to it, they will consume it in huge amounts and be stuck, while if they had been introduced to it in moderation, it wouldn't of had to be a problem!
Pwarbi summed it up nicely I think. Some people have no problems with it because the moderation side of things is not a problem for them. There are others, myself included, who can't do that - one drink turns into multiple and there's no control there. And there's the reliance side of it too. So I guess that yes, on face value some may think alcohol isn't that bad but there are many dangers about it too.
People, and especially teenagers, don't like being told what to do, so if a person says you can't do this or that, and are told that something is bad, the automatic reaction is to weaned to do it even more. With alcohol this is even more so the case. While we are all aware if the dangers of alcohol, the fact it's legal tends to make us think it can't be that bad. In some cases it isn't, but some people can get addicted and that's when the issues start.
There are many dangerous things that we consume daily. If we as a society say to not drink alcohol, we might as well ban salt, sugar and processed food. Hell, might as well ban cigarettes as well. There is a limit to everything and if it gets to the point where it hinders your responsibilities in life and your health, then it's time to cut back or cut it out totally.
Entirely agree and banning things is never the fix to a problem, it just drives it underground. As you say, we'll have to ban salt, fatty foods, wine and spirits...even driving because if we're not responsible behind the wheel of a car we can be a danger so that can go aswell...soon we won't be able to do anything if we went down that route.
I say it would depend on the person who is drinking. If you can handle drinking and not become addicted and to let it control aspects of your life then you have then its okay to have sip here and there. Abusing it will cause negative effects not only in your life but your health as well. Any substance that is overly abused is basically bad. For a person who is getting over being an alcoholic though should not think so innocently to what little damage a sip here and there can do though.
Wine is actually said to be very good for your heart and your body when it is consumed in moderation. The problem is that many people drink way to much and way to often and that is where the health problems come in because at some point you are poisoning your body and your body can't process all of the alcohol.
Let me make something very clear. NO ONE is saying that any amount of alcohol is good for you. That's a very common misconception that I will have to say it again. NO ONE is saying that any amount of alcohol is good for you. Alcohol is a poison. It's a plain and simple poison and is bad for your health. If you take the time to read the studies, you will find they don't say that the booze is good for you, it's the other things in beer and wine that's good for you. Beer and wine contain 5-15% alcohol and lots of other stuff. It's that other stuff that the studies say is good for you, not the alcohol itself.
Alcohol isn't the problem - it's your relationship with it. If you are addicted, then even a little bit of alcohol could set your journey back a very long way indeed, so it is a good idea to stay away from it completely. However, if you know that you don't have a problem, and that you're able to restrict your intake of your own free will, then alcohol in moderation is something that could be enjoyed.
While I do agree with what your saying, I think it's a case of splitting hairs a little. Cigarettes contain vitamin D but nobody is saying that smoking is good for you because it's a good source of vitamin D, and with drinking it's the same sort of arguments. The bad outweighs the good, as far as what the ingredients are, as for drinking as a relaxant then that's a harder topic to tackle.
@OP if you don't drink then you shouldn't start drinking. While theoretically it's always very easy to drink in moderation, fact is you won't always be in control. Though you may have planned to have only one beer you may make them "just two." In any case as tolerance builds you'll be drinking more to get the same effect and that's how you may end up getting addicted to alcohol.
Tolerance is a factor that a lot of people don't seem to take into consideration, and its true that the more you drink, in the longer term, the more you will need to have the same effects. If you can stick to having a couple of beers once a week, then that won't be an issue, it's just that once people start drinking, they can very rarely stick to that sort of routine.