Sam: I don't particularly like the idea of drinking because it's simply not normal, at least to me. Alcohol isn't a naturally occuring substance, and therefore I have some issues with taking it into my body in any way. Afterall soda is the same thing, my feeling is if they need to create it then it's not something I want to eat. All these various kinds of alcoholic beverages are really quite silly. Now the real sense I have here is that the liver is being poisoned, and that pretty much puts me off the whole notion. Besides that would you really want to be around someone that needs alcohol to have a good time or spend the day with you!
I do not drink alcohol as alcohol is not a substance that my body requires. sderenzi want to chat? http://www.caliditta.com/chat/main.php
Yes, alcohol does occur naturally, and it is enjoyed by other animals. Check out some nature programs, and you will see Monkeys and Elephants getting drunk from eating over ripe fruit. Bread doesn't grow on trees, but I bet you eat bread. One, your liver is one organ that actually repairs itself, two, the damage caused by moderate drinking is small, and three, drinking alcohol lowers stress, and certain types (red wine) can help prevent heart disease. Who needs alcohol to have a good time? I like alcohol but it has it's place. T-Totallers aren't more fun that drinkers btw. T-totallers generally lack personal experience with alcohol, and reject it without actually ever having been a regular drinker. They are less experimental, and less adventurous on the whole. Those that were drinkers usually stop because they had some problem. You don't find many t-totallers who had a healthy relationship with booze giving up so they can have more fun!
Yes, I drink in moderation. I usually have nearly one ounce, just be fore going to bed. (Significantly more than that is ill advised, as your sleep pattern will be altered, perhaps causing you to awaken after the effect of too much wears off.) I began this several years ago when irrefutable research (because of the quantity and quality) demonstrated the health benefits* of modest ingestion of alcohol; however, I rapidly discovered a secondary benefit (at least for most older men) I have never seen discussed. Namely, because alcohol is a "bladder drying agent" (makes your tissue and blood retain more water rather than send it to the bladder) I no longer awaken during the night to relive my bladder. I find my "just before bed drink" is very useful for rapid "mental relaxation", especially if I have been active here or otherwise thinking on a problem. --------------------------------------------------- *I have strong doubts that for me there is any health benefit, except an uninterrupted night of sleep, because I am a calm individual with little self-induced stresses. (Financial security, come what may, and not giving a dam what almost all think about me, except for wife and my kids, is the main bases for that calm, despite my expectation that most of the world is soon going to suffer badly in a depression.) I suspect the irrefutable health benefits that have been demonstrated really only come from a subset of the subjects studied - from "tense individuals" who are increasing their cardio-vascular risks by this tension.
Actually, the opposite is true. Alcohol reduces the level of vasopressin in your system. Vasopressin is the hormone responsible for water retention. Since the alcohol inhibits vasopressin production, your body thinks it has too much water in it, so the kidneys send more water to the bladder.
I have about 3 drinks a day. A beer at lunchtime and 1 or 2 glasses of red wine in the evening, lately I've been having a couple of small shots of Jack Daniels instead of wine. When I go out for a meal with certain friends I drink at least 1 bottle of red wine, fortunately it only happens once or twice a month. I've had at least 1 drink a day for 36 years now, since I was 18.
I drink. More specifically, I enjoy hard liquor like dark rum, whiskey, vodka, grand marnier, fen chiew... you know, the good stuff. I also like port and a variety of beers, wines, creams and party drinks. In respectable quantities, it's enjoyable and in my case, relieves stress and anxiety.
There's no point to life, really... and you do it anyway. Besides, alcohol consumption has its advantages. It's all out there, ready for you to discover. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I wish time travel were available commercially. We could send all the self-righteous folks who say, "Ooh ooh ooh, I'm not putting anything unnatural into this perfect body," back into the Stone Age. Then they could find out just exactly how dismal nature really is. They wouldn't have to insult their bodies by covering them with icky old unnatural clothing or separating them from nature with icky old unnatural houses or ridding them of those friendly bacteria and viruses with icky old unnatural modern medicine or ruining their muscle tone with icky old unnatural furniture and unnatural vehicles or sullying their ears with icky old unnatural music or their brains with icky old unnatural book-learnin' or their stomachs with icky old unnatural cooked meat and cultivated grains.
That's me too. Like E & J and stuff? That stuff's expensive. Just for you Fraggle, I'm not going to use furniture anymore. You've unconsciously enlightened me.
