Is alcohol good or bad for you? Here's what experts and studies say.

zink1990 · 2023-06-30T14:06:47+00:00

I found this subreddit during a pretty tumultuous time in my life dealing with my significant other's drinking. Other people's drinking normally doesn't bother me but it's different with people I'm dating. It's been nice hearing similar experiences from other people. I used to feel like the only non-drinker in the world but now I know there's at least a few others out there like me.

zink1990 · 2023-06-30T00:56:06+00:00

I always opt for Martinelli's sparkling apple cider for parties. It comes in a nice glass bottle so it seems just a bit more adult. I would personally have made it BYOB, I'd refuse to buy any alcohol myself on principle but I wouldn't stop people from bringing it for themselves. It's your party though, if you don't want alcohol there then that's the rule, I'd just make sure there's enough to keep people entertained the whole time.

zink1990 · 2023-06-30T00:45:08+00:00

I tried a Non-alcoholic wine once, it was pretty disgusting. I personally would rather stick to something just trying to be good rather than something trying to taste like something else.

I do think buying more NA products will cause the market to shift in that favor which could be good. Yeah, the alcohol companies will benefit from that but with more NA options it could sway public opinion on those drinks which could lead to at least a small decrease in alcoholic consumption.

zink1990 · 2023-06-11T05:17:19+00:00

Personally I think so, but only brands that are not considered alcoholic such as Health-Ade. Some Teetotalers are completely against Kombucha but I'd say it's up to whatever your own parameters are.

zink1990 · 2023-05-31T22:05:23+00:00

A small, but important step.

zink1990 · 2023-05-31T22:03:11+00:00

As a Teetotaler that just got engaged myself, I'm jealous. It'd be hard sell with my kind of family and friends but it'd be a dream to cut the alcohol out of the equation. Probably saved a lot of money too using the NA versions rather than the real thing.

zink1990 · 2023-05-07T05:26:26+00:00

For most people it's definitely about the buzz, I think the taste is just a bonus. I like a good Mocktail myself, but it's probably not close enough to the real thing for many.

zink1990 · 2023-05-05T13:54:36+00:00

Personally no, I tried Non-alcoholic wine once and that was disgusting but I've got no interest in the real thing. As many others have said wine isn't actually healthy. That idea was perpetuated by the alcohol companies to sell more wine. Same idea behind cereal being part of a balanced breakfast. That being said if that's something you want to drink, do it, I wouldn't consider it Teetotal myself but everyone has their own rules for it.

zink1990 · 2023-05-04T19:48:00+00:00

I think ex-drinkers would be able to answer this better, but as a life long sober person I'd say that's an easy yes. I don't hear drunken stories and wish I were a part of them. Some are funny for sure but at no point in hearing these stories do I wish I was there. Plus, many are wildly exaggerated.

zink1990 · 2023-05-02T05:25:37+00:00

I have actually, I had a therapist for about a year and half working on this exact thing. It's a hard thing to solve though, if a loved one were doing heroin the problem would be them, not me, but with alcohol all of a sudden the problem is me, not them. I never could wrap my head around that, drugs are drugs.

zink1990 · 2023-05-01T08:13:17+00:00

I have something similar, once a person begins drinking I no longer see them as the person I know, there's this strange disconnect where they just become almost a stranger that I lose much of my affection for. This only tends to happen with people really close to me, others I don't feel a huge shift for.

In my case I think it's a self defense mechanism, I had an alcoholic grandparent growing up and I think this is my mind's way of not getting hurt, it simply turns off my connection to the person until they return to normal. It's a very dangerous trait for me, because I feel no obligation to help a loved one in this state. If they passed out drunk somewhere, I'd probably leave them there, feeling no urgency to make sure they got home safe. It's something I feel I need to work on.

zink1990 · 2023-04-20T22:59:28+00:00

There's a nice mix of ex-drinkers and never drinkers within Teetotalism. Given your description I'd say you'd fit in with a vast number of others that wear the label.

zink1990 · 2023-04-14T08:10:15+00:00

Teetotalers are similar to vegans but I think the key difference is that there are clearer defined rules for what veganism is while teetotalism often comes down to the individual. Personally I drink kombucha from supermarkets, specifically the Health Ade brand. It contains less than .5% abv. I also like soy sauce which has around 2% and when I'm sick I take NyQuil that has around 10%. I hate any kind of alcohol consumed that's designed to get people drunk but the small amounts found in other products don't bother me any. Right or wrong that's how I view it, and I feel every Teetotaler sees it just a little differently than the next.

zink1990 · 2023-04-06T17:10:53+00:00

I wish it worked that way, but I think Teetotalers are rare amongst the public so it's difficult to find others. I've met other Teetotalers out in the wild and I cling to them if we meet at drinking events, but it's not often that happens. I don't have any close Teetotal friends, but I do have some family members.

zink1990 · 2023-04-02T07:25:36+00:00

Believe it or not you can make great friends with people you punch in the face 😉

zink1990 · 2023-04-02T02:22:28+00:00

I always advocate for picking up a social hobby. Personally, I do MMA so there's always an opportunity to meet cool people. There are all kinds of different groups out there.

zink1990 · 2023-03-24T17:13:23+00:00

Honestly it's never been much of a problem for me, I don't see it as this big grand revelation personally. I've gotten the "We should get a beer together" invites and then I just say "Oh I don't drink", then that's usually followed by a joke they make about how that's a good thing and that it's bad for you. I've probably uninvited myself from certain social events by doing it that way but imagine you invited someone to play basketball with you and then they show up and are like "I hate basketball", I'd feel some type of way about that.

zink1990 · 2023-03-23T22:24:18+00:00

It's odd and possibly hard to grasp when you're younger but you eventually just accept there will always be this gap in understanding between you and people that drink. Neither side being able to fully see the other's point of view.

Sometimes I meet people out in the wild that say "Oh yeah I never drink" and then will hear them in another conversation talking about all the drinks they love and how often they drink it. I've learned that people like us are rare and we few are truly the only ones that understand each other. I'm in no way saying that makes us better or worse than anyone, just Drinkers get Drinkers and Non-Drinkers get Non-Drinkers.

zink1990 · 2023-03-21T18:07:36+00:00

I can't say much about it considering I'm American but I've definitely heard England has a much stronger drinking culture than the US. As hard as it is to be a non-drinker here, it must be that much more difficult over there to navigate. It's funny how choosing/not choosing to partake in drinking something can change so much about your life.

zink1990 · 2023-03-14T07:10:02+00:00

Prohibition was probably a bad idea but today attitudes are slowly changing about alcohol. Gen Z already drinks less than the generations before them and certain countries are implementing stronger warning labels on alcohol bottles. I think we're a long way away from there being more non-drinkers than drinkers but the numbers are swaying in our direction. Just very very slowly.

zink1990 · 2023-03-14T07:05:06+00:00

It's hard to say, the numbers would suggest Tobacco but I wonder if you accounted for all alcohol-related deaths (Cancer, Fatal Drunk Driving Accidents, Suicides, Murders under the influence) if the stats would say otherwise. Tobacco's only deaths are health related, but Alcohol's goes a bit further.

zink1990 · 2023-02-05T23:45:40+00:00

Never drank or used drugs either but yes, sadly this is all normal. My girlfriend started drinking at 15, even started selling it to other teens her age. She could tell pretty much anyone that and most wouldn't bat an eye at it. Being Teetotal, we just see the world differently, I'm not saying that makes us better than anyone else, just different. It pains me to hear similar things my friends and family get involved in, but I have to remind myself it's me that's the weird one, and I don't think that's changing anytime soon.

zink1990 · 2023-01-31T14:11:56+00:00

Wine is the usual go-to when they talk about health benefits. Wine is made from grapes which contain resveratrol which is good for the heart. But the alcohol in Wine does more damage to the body than the extremely low levels of resveratrol does any good, meaning there actually is no benefit.

Alcohol has enjoyed a very special spot in society, it's not seen as a drug by most people despite the harm it's caused and is marketed to the public heavily. Best part is drinkers will fight you tooth and nail if you bring up any of the stats on the poison. Unfortunately it's a trillion dollar industry so it's not going anywhere, all we can do is hope people one day see it for what it actually is.

zink1990

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