Thetownend.com

I changed doctors recently and was asked how much I drink on average in a week.  As is standard policy, I lied and said probably about 10 beers and a couple of glasses of wine in an average week, and was told I was drinking more than is safe.  This equates to about a beer and half and a sip of wine a day.  What a load of crap.  Luckily, there are a few more cans in the fridge for me to contemplate my apparent early death.

Tellingly though, the rest of my checkup said I was in very good health.  These doctors limits on boozing are clearly bollocks.  I understand that chronic boozing will kill you, but a few beers does noone any harm - and the world of good mentally.

Word




Just ask Ben

I don't drink much in teh week anymore.

I've cut back on my drinking significantly in the last few months (0-10 units a week on average). Sure, I've still had occassions where I've indulged greatly but what's the point of living if you can't enjoy yourself.

Anyhoo, I found out my bilirubin levels are high on Monday, which is probably down to a blood trait more than anything but it made me think - if my levels are high without drinking loads then what would they be like if I was drinking at the levels I used to. I should probably put it to the test over the summer in the name of science.

Have to confess, if it weren't for the context, if you'd just used the word bilirubin in conversation, I'd have thought you were referring to a Country and Western singer or some such. So what is bilirubin and how's it connected to drinking?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilirubin

It's a byproduct of the breaking down of old red blood cells. If the liver is fucked it doesn't remove it from the body so well and can cause things like seizures.

I read one of those questionnaire thingies in the paper recently.

Out of a possible 10 questions, I had already scored enough points to be deemed a hopeless alcoholic. What a load of crap.

your liver is not something you want to mess around with, i have seen so many patients come in with liver cirhosis due to too much drink. Kinda puts you off a bit

The alcohol guidelines may sensible according to medical research etc but in terms of our peoples habits and lifestyles and our drinking culture in this country they are just ridiculous.

Isn't it that if you drink 4 pints or more it counts as a binge?  :soapy tit wank:

No, they are not 'sensible', they are based on absolutely nothing.

Referring to the man who 'made up' the limits:


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article2697975.ece (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article2697975.ece)

Well worth a full read.

Wankers.

Thats interesting.

Yeah I can't really see a health minister wanting to raise recommended limits whatever the research. Its like the government advisors suggesting ecstacy should perhaps be reclassified a class B drug - like that would ever happen!

I was going to post this - thanks for saving me some time. Basically the "guidelines" for safe drinking are completely made up.

Ain't I glda about that ! I can now go on my glastonbury binge with a clear consience if not a clear head !

I'd not seen that article before, so thanks for that.  I think this must go in the same bin as the BMI index - I'm no medical expert but the "one size fits all" approach to medical advice strikes me as simplistic.  Throw those "daily guidelines" on calories, sugar etc in there as well - apparently all men should eat exactly the same amount, and the same deal for women.  I'm 6 foot tall - should I eat the same amount as my mate, who is 5 foot 7?  How about my mate who is six foot six?  (Yes, I have odd looking mates.  Beggars can't be choosers.)  Medical advice needs to be focused on the individual.  This standardised stuff can lead to people being overly paranoid.

To the fridge!

There was a thing about the two litres of water a day on telly (think it may have been on the rubbish which is called the one show).

Anyway, I'd read about this before but you can get your two litres from tea, coffee and food. No need to even drink any H2O if you don't want.

-its only a guide, got to start somewhere

The problem is that as a guide, these things are quite useless.  If they are based on an "average" person, they need to say what that "average" person is, and how we differ from them.  Only then can we decide how our personal "guidelines" would differ.  For instance, being taller than the average, do I need to exceed the daily recommended amounts by 1%, 5% or 15%? 

Also, in specific relation to the BMI - many, many athletes are obese by this standard. 

I also have a mate who was told by his GP that on the BMI he was overweight, but had a smaller than recommended waist circumference. 

The "guidelines" provide confusion, not guidance.

Does anyone else shit blood after a heavy night out?

You might wanna get that seen to mate.

BMI Calculator (sorry not sure if its in the the article above)

http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

Mine is 19.8

As had been said before on this thread, BMI is just a guideline and isn't tailored to individuals. Take me for example, my BMI score is 33.1 which according to these guidelines means I'm obese. I know I'm overweight, but I wouldn't say I'm obese in the sense that it's severely damaging to my health.

According to the BMI indicator pretty much every proffesional rugby player is obese. Thats why its a shite measure

BMI is ok as a rough guide. Let's face it, the average person isn't an athlete and so unless you're obviously muscular then it's probably a fairly good basic indicator.

When I used to go to the gym and cared about body fitness, I always just used scales which measure your body fat percentage. It's a far better measure to understand and is less arbitrary.

I'll be fine!

That's called denial, Sam.

Shut up or I'll sit on you.

Don't you mean eat me? ;)

I'll sit on you then eat you.

Well done TT.  I posted this link a few months ago in another related thread (or possibily unrelated thread, you know how things are on here).  I remember reading the article and another one that showed people who are tea-total have the same life expectancy as someone who drinks a bottle of wine a day!  I reckon most things in moderation are OK, and besides the occasional blow out is good for the soul.

In my opinion, if you look down and can't see your willy, then you are overweight.

Otherwise, carry on.

Or you're a woman ?

readers of this thread may well appreciate this T-shirt:
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Probably depends how excited you are at the time as well.

I usually look down when I wake up.

And fuck me, there's a six berth tent in the bedroom.

Yep, I'd heard that camping was a speciality of yours  ;)