Alcohol and health

[LGTrotter]

Oh go on, you know you want to.

In regard to deaths of people I know, me neither. I wonder if it is a primary cancer that then spreads to other, more important organs which is the thing that polishes you off.

I will always keep a pair of non-latex about me in case you change your mind.

[DRT]

I wonder if it is a primary cancer that then spreads to other, more important organs which is the thing that polishes you off.

That doesn't really explain my experience of never having known a male connected in any way to my family who has died of cancer of any type.

I will always keep a pair of non-latex about me in case you change your mind.

This is very comforting to know. The very threat might help move things along when some of our members are lagging behind when voting for WOTN.

[PhilW]

That's the sort of statistic I simply don't believe is true. I can't understand how it possibly could be. A 23% increase in risk is a concept that's surely incalculable, without quantifying what each individual's risk was beforehand. Even if it's true, it's meaningless. If my risk before a drink is calculated as 0.034%, I'll be perfectly happy with a 23% increase in that risk.

Even your re-stated example is ambiguous, with the increased risk being either 0.04182% or 23.034%. I agree that such statistics need to be very clearly presented in order for the meaning to be correctly understood, and sadly this is rarely the case in journalism, especially for output where headline-grabbing is more important than providing a truthful impression.

[djewesbury]

I have known people who died of prostate cancer, including in my own family. Does that rebalance everything?

[DRT]

No. It simply confirms that it does happen, albeit very rarely.

[flash_uk]

"The crude mortality rate shows that there are 35 prostate cancer deaths for every 100,000 males in the UK."

That is not 2%. It is 0.035%. Am I missing something?

There are 35 prostate deaths per year per every 100,000 males in the UK. Not per 100,000 males who died in the UK per year.
There are 10,000 prostate deaths per year in the UK.
There are 500,000 deaths per year in the UK.
So 2% of deaths would appear to be from prostate cancer. (If the cancer research website and the ONS website are to be believed)

[Doggett]

Does anyone know if I am more at risk from port or from the chargrilled sirloin steak (rare) that normally accompanies it? Btw please factor in that I eat lots of tomatoes (raw, cooked and processed) and always have.

many thanks,

Simon

[djewesbury]

Derek is innumerate.

[DRT]

Derek is innumerate.

Yet again I find myself in 200% agreement with Daniel.

[PhilW]

According to the Office for National Statistics in 2014 there were 245142 male deaths of which 3682 were due to prostate cancer;
3682/245142 is almost exactly 1.5%.

[djewesbury]

According to the Office for National Statistics in 2014 there were 245142 male deaths of which 3682 were due to prostate cancer;
3682/245142 is almost exactly 1.5%.

We already established that the figure quoted was not a percentage of all male deaths, but of males in the UK.

What kind of cancer did Bowie have?

[Glenn E.]

According to the Office for National Statistics in 2014 there were 245142 male deaths of which 3682 were due to prostate cancer;
3682/245142 is almost exactly 1.5%.

We already established that the figure quoted was not a percentage of all male deaths, but of males in the UK.

Nevertheless, 3,682 != 10,000.

So 6,318 women die of prostate cancer in the UK every year?

[flash_uk]

According to the Office for National Statistics in 2014 there were 245142 male deaths of which 3682 were due to prostate cancer;
3682/245142 is almost exactly 1.5%.

We already established that the figure quoted was not a percentage of all male deaths, but of males in the UK.

Nevertheless, 3,682 != 10,000.

So 6,318 women die of prostate cancer in the UK every year?

[LGTrotter]

According to the Office for National Statistics in 2014 there were 245142 male deaths of which 3682 were due to prostate cancer

I can't see this stat on the page you have linked to. Could you point out where it is? Apologies for my blindness.

The other thing I find curious is that the cancer research numbers reference the ONS.

But I have so much to puzzle about. Such as why did I want 'Wine Journeys' by Stuart Oliver for Christmas? It has just arrived from America and I now have no idea what I wanted to read it for. It's quite good though.

[LGTrotter]

According to the Office for National Statistics in 2014 there were 245142 male deaths of which 3682 were due to prostate cancer.

Having looked at the linked pdf it would seem that the 3682 deaths refers to men aged 65-79. The rest of the deaths due to prostate cancer presumably coming from other age groups. 10,000 lives to fight another day, or not, depending on how you look at it.

[Alex Bridgeman]

According to the Office for National Statistics in 2014 there were 245142 male deaths of which 3682 were due to prostate cancer

I can't see this stat on the page you have linked to. Could you point out where it is? Apologies for my blindness.

The other thing I find curious is that the cancer research numbers reference the ONS.

But I have so much to puzzle about. Such as why did I want 'Wine Journeys' by Stuart Oliver for Christmas? It has just arrived from America and I now have no idea what I wanted to read it for. It's quite good though.

Perhaps you were planning to serialise it, one page at a time?

[djewesbury]

Well as of today I know of another person with prostate cancer. You really must live a gilded life Derek.

[Alex Bridgeman]

I read in a paper today (yesterday?) that drinking a glass of red wine 3 times a week and eating citrus fruit and berries prevents all erectile dysfunction forever.

[LGTrotter]

I read in a paper today (yesterday?) that drinking a glass of red wine 3 times a week and eating citrus fruit and berries prevents all erective dysfunction forever.

Yes I think I saw this piece of research from the University of Hopefully's department of Madeupology. I think they also did that work on two bottles of port a week for a washboard stomach.

[jdaw1]

I am svelte.

Photographed in the Tower of London.

(Also discussed in The Guardian.)

[Alex Bridgeman]

Excellent news. I have just read an article in the Telegraph which clearly says that eating butter is good for you and eating low fat butter substitutes will kill you.

I plan to celebrate with toasted crumpets tonight.

[jdaw1]

An outbreak of E. Coli affecting more than 100 UK people could be linked to eating contaminated mixed salad leaves, public health officials say.

To date, 109 people are known to have caught the bug - 102 in England, six in Wales and one in Scotland.

South-west England has been worst hit.

E. coli O157 infection can cause a range of symptoms, from mild diarrhoea to bloody diarrhoea with severe abdominal pain.

Public Health England says it has triggered heightened surveillance and is carefully monitoring the situation across the UK.

Although the cause of the infection is not absolutely certain, preliminary investigations show many of the people affected ate salad, including rocket leaves, prior to getting sick.

[DRT]

Presumably the Scottish patient was intentionally poisoned?

[TLW]

An outbreak of E. Coli affecting more than 100 UK people could be linked to eating contaminated mixed salad leaves, public health officials say.

To date, 109 people are known to have caught the bug - 102 in England, six in Wales and one in Scotland.

South-west England has been worst hit.

E. coli O157 infection can cause a range of symptoms, from mild diarrhoea to bloody diarrhoea with severe abdominal pain.

Public Health England says it has triggered heightened surveillance and is carefully monitoring the situation across the UK.

Although the cause of the infection is not absolutely certain, preliminary investigations show many of the people affected ate salad, including rocket leaves, prior to getting sick.

Indeed. My grandfather did not drink alcohol, and he ate vegetables frequently.

He is dead, and I will not make those mistakes.

[jdaw1]

My grandfather did not drink alcohol, and he ate vegetables frequently.

And both my grandfathers.

He is dead

And both my grandfathers.

and I will not make those mistakes.

Mistakes they are — and I will not make them.

[Alex Bridgeman]

Presumably if the salad had been properly washed in a product designed to kill bacteria and remove their toxins then the consumers would have been fine. So the morale of the story (apart from don't eat leaves) is that salad should be washed in vodka or gin before being eaten.

[jdaw1]

It is alleged that doing exercise is good for you (not for me, for you). Alleged.

New learning amazes us. The BBC, in an article entitled Can you get the benefits of exercise by having a hot bath?, reports that hot baths and imagining exercise are also excellent for us.

This is fantastic!

[DRT]

It is alleged that doing exercise is good for you (not for me, for you). Alleged.

New learning amazes us. The BBC, in an article entitled Can you get the benefits of exercise by having a hot bath?, reports that hot baths and imagining exercise are also excellent for us.

This is fantastic!

I hate salad and exercise in equal measure, but neither of them compare to my hatred of lying in hot dirty water.

Please can someone come up with a theory that having a shower is better than salads, exercise and baths?

[PhilW]

Please can someone come up with a theory that having a shower is better than salads, exercise and baths?

Having a shower is excellent for your health, and is far better for you than baths:
- the regular pounding of water droplets on the skin invigorates and aids blood flow, reducing cholesterol and the chance of heart attack
- your muscles are active in the standing position, aiding both leg and core strength
- singing in the shower while standing allows correct breathing and strengthens the diagphragm and aerobic capacity, and boosts endorphins
- showering is more environmentally friendly, generally using less water and less energy for heating
- showering makes you more attractive to the opposite sex, and the same sex, makes you wealthy and can cure cancer
- if you really, really insist on a bath, you can always have a shower first to help minimise the "sitting in dirty water" issue

Since from the article linked, thinking about eating a salad while doing exercise is clearly as beneficial as actually doing, so I suggest thinking about eating a salad while doing exercise as soon as you wake, and then think about how great life is because you're not eating a salad while having a stimulating and health-beneficial shower first thing in the morning.

[CPR 1]

Good news - According to this new study all we need to do to offset the dangers of alcohol is do some walking, gardening or play golf to offset the adverse effects of drinking........

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09 ... f-alcohol/

[DRT]

Good news - According to this new study all we need to do to offset the dangers of alcohol is do some walking, gardening or play golf to offset the adverse effects of drinking........

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09 ... f-alcohol/

This is absolutely excellent news!

From 1980 to 2001 I was a very keen golfer. I have played lots of golf.

From 1998 to 2001 I was a very keen gardener. I have grown lots of things that grow in a garden.

From 2006 to 2012 I was a very keen hill walker. I have walked up lots of hills.

That is 32 years of mitigation in the bank. I should be fine.

[jdaw1]

Mention should be made of The Onion’s video entitled Top Benefits Of Drinking Water.

• Keeps insides nice and wet
• Flushes out toxins and other pseudoscientific scapegoats for what’s wrong with you
• Nice way to break up time between cans of Dr Pepper Cherry
• Your skin will look better for the two to three days it will take you to abandon this new health effort
• In a grand sense, each glass you consume is one less glass of water for Bashar Al-Assad

“With this collection of informative videos, The Onion shall strike a mortal blow to ignorance everywhere and shatter any pitiful illusions the world once had about how many video views a media juggernaut could accrue.”

[PhilW]

From a BBC article entitled "Drinking a few times a week 'reduces diabetes risk'" :

"The researchers concluded that drinking moderately three to four times a week reduced a woman's risk of diabetes by 32% while it lowered a man's by 27%, compared with people drinking on less than one day a week."

[Alex Bridgeman]

I vaguely remember reading an article a couple of days ago that said drinking alcohol improves your memory.

I've been dry for five days now. Time to open the next bottle of port, I think. If only I can remember where I put the next bottle.

[jdaw1]

The BBC, GP warns Santa to 'give sherry a miss', could have had much better reasoning:

Father Christmas could be doing serious harm to his health by overloading with mince pies and sherry, a leading doctor has warned.

Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, head of the Royal College of GPs, said Santa could face a raft of health issues because of his diet and busy schedule.

Some of his conditions could include gout, sleep deprivation and alcoholism.

But we can all help Santa get a bit fitter, and inspire ourselves too, she says.

Professor Stokes-Lampard said: "He's overweight, and all of us do our bit to add to his obesity by leaving mince pies and cookies out for him, and milk or alcohol.

"If Mr Claus was a patient at my practice, I would be encouraging him to adopt a vastly healthier diet and take more exercise in the new year."

[DaveRL]

Santa should take plenty of sample bottles with him, then the accumulated sherry could last him all year.

[jdaw1]

From Consciousness and Cognition 21 (2012) 487–493, Uncorking the muse: Alcohol intoxication facilitates creative problem solving.

[DaveRL]

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/ful ... /add.14249

Women who reported drinking 1–11 units and men who reported drinking 1–34 units of alcohol per week in both surveys were the reference group. Compared with them, women and men who reported no alcohol use in either survey had a higher risk of sickness absence due to mental disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, diseases of the digestive system and diseases of the respiratory system.

Moderate drinkers off sick less than those that don't drink at all.

[jdaw1]

BBC, The peasant whose binge drinking went global:

“Most of Liu's supporters are men - "I guess they also love drinking, maybe there is a little sense of jealousy" - but his wife does not share their admiration.”

“… Dr Sara Kayat, a doctor in London, says - despite his iron constitution - Liu risks passing out, vomiting, and even asphyxiation. There are also long-term dangers, she says. "Binge drinking and excessive alcohol consumption can lead to mental health problems and liver damage, and are associated with increased blood pressure, irregular heart rhythms, and even some cancers."”

[jdaw1]

BBC: Is a vegan diet healthier than eating meat and dairy? Summary: drink red wine.

[jdaw1]

BBC, 'A bottle of wine a night was normal for me', 21 April 2024:

For almost 20 years it was not unusual for Anna Donaghey to drink a bottle of wine every night.

The advertising professional said it was a part of normal life, nothing "atypical or abnormal", until it began to impact her relationships with her husband and children.

Her story, she told BBC Radio Bristol, external, is a "frighteningly common" one.

Since becoming sober, the Thornbury resident has launched a podcast to encourage more conversations about our relationships with alcohol.

[flash_uk]

Alcohol, freedom, and responsibility are firmly linked.

https://newsfromuncibal.substack.com/p/why-we-drink

[Doggett]

Alcohol, freedom, and responsibility are firmly linked.

https://newsfromuncibal.substack.com/p/why-we-drink

Interesting read. There is another way that the swedes acquire their full strength beer. There is a ferry from Helsingborg in Sweden to Helsingør in Denmark which only takes about 20mins and I travelled on it lots in the late 90s and early 2000s when I used to go to Denmark fairly frequently. You would see lots of Swedes making the trip with hand carts loaded with cases of carlsberg Elephant beer on their return leg that gave them some decent beer for the weekend. The same is done on the bridge from Malmo to Copenhagen but that is a car job as it is a bit obvious in the train shuttle. There are always ways to get a proper quantity of decent drink!

[jdaw1]

Interesting comment from one of the world’s great scientific journals: