Even light drinking increases risk of heart disease

[Shinjin]

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 100730.htm

[Natan]

frak these studies. Each person needs to listen to their body and take care. Have two glasses, have one glass, have no glasses, Red meat is bad, then good, then bad, same butter and milk and eggs, and oil. My father livre to 91. I've met so many folks in their 80s at bars drinking and smoking. It comes down to how you feel. Keep calm. Honestly it's about that.

[Shinjin]

Crazywisdom, it's not only a health matter but a spiritual one too. The Buddha advises followers to refrain from all drugs that cause intoxication.

[Konchog Thogme Jampa]

I don’t drink apart from very rare times like if something serious happened I might have something or at a tsog I would have a sip.

But recently I discovered alcohol free beer which you can get in cafes and restaurants in England.

Very refreshing without the consequences

[Nemo]

It depends on how much you drink. 14 drinks a week doesn't sound like light drinking to me. Undiluted hard liquor is harder on your system as well. One or two glasses of red wine per week is probably good for you. I drink under a bottle of red wine per month and I like it for my arthritis.
(Even in the study "embedding the lower risk observed of coronary artery disease among wine drinkers, potentially distorting the overall cardiovascular risk from the drink.")

[Zhen Li]

The precept isn't about health, but we should take care of our health. Human birth is hard to come by.

I am not entirely convinced by most health-related studies like this, since there are always contradicting ones. That being said, "listening to your own body" simply doesn't work for most people who have an alcohol issue. It's like the ears that do the listening are being drowned out by music telling them to just drink. Only the morning after does the voice of their body get heard.

This is one reason why abstinence is superior to moderation—for some people, moderation isn't possible. The problem with the 14 drinks per week number is that people who are struggling to moderate will treat it as a quota and might binge on the weekend (rather than ~2 per night, which is really what it intends). If you can manage it though, keeping it moderate on social occasions (not alone) should not be a big issue.

[PadmaVonSamba]

Better than light drinking is light breathing:
Turn on a flashlight (a torch, if you’re a Brit), hold it in a paper bag, stick your head in the bag, close your eyes and just huff the light.

[Queequeg]

Alcohol is a poison. The buzz is a side effect of the poisoning. Not surprising that even a moderate amount consumed consistently has detrimental health effects. That said, stress is also detrimental to health and alcohol can help with stress relief. Life is a series of calculated risks. Everyone has to weigh the risks for themselves.

I had to give up booze because it was triggering AFib. I can't deny that alcohol increases risks of heart disease because my body tells me so. It was also disrupting my sleep. Taken up a nasty seltzer habit in its place.

Not sure if the abstention has improved my practice. Its been years since I drank like a jack ass so the loss of control and distraction of the mind had not been issues for me. Maybe if my practice had been deeper all these years I would have more keenly experienced the loss of control and experienced it as detrimental to practice.

Drinking with friends is the hardest loss.

[Shinjin]

[Zhen Li]

I just came across this, posted a few days ago. A JSS perspective on addiction recovery:

[Shinjin]

I just came across this, posted a few days ago. A JSS perspective on addiction recovery:

Great video for any Buddhists out there struggling with addiction. Thanks for posting.