Alcohol - Good For You?

[Jessica Coconut]

Yep. Most people's brains stop developing around 21, that's why it's the legal drinking age in most places.

[Torey]

Jessica said:

Yep. Most people's brains stop developing around 21, that's why it's the legal drinking age in most places.

In England the legal age to drink is 18.

[althechia]

Blubbeh-Is said:

I'll have two tiny sips on very special occasions.

The taste is all right, but I just don't really like it. Pepsi suits me better. XD

Meheh. Arguably, soft drinks are in some ways worse for you than alcohol. They mingle with the acids in your stomach and cause ulcers, eat away at your teeth, dehydrate you, caffeinate you (as much or slightly more than coffee! ), cause calcium deficiencies, and can cause diabetes or heart disease with those at risk.

I tend to overdrink Pepsi and occasionally get stomachaches and dizzy spells from the sugar and acids. So, all I can say is...

EVERYTHING IS GOOD IN MODERATION.

[Deleted]

I think drinking in moderation is okay..what I did was bad...



Getting drunk (15) while on medication (first time drinking)...bad combo. If your going to drink never do it while having to drive, pregnant, on medication, or taking any kind of drug with it. If your taking a drug it worsens the effects alot. It's bad enough to drink while under the age limit. I got sick and needless to say I haven't done that since.

[Tracy]

Ginger said:

In England the legal age to drink is 18.

It's 18 to buy alcohol, 14 in a private place, like the house, if I remember rightly

[Torey]

Headmistress said:

It's 18 to buy alcohol, 14 in a private place, like the house, if I remember rightly

And it's 5 to have alcohol with a meal. Now to me, that just isn't right. I mean, come on, 5?! 11 or 12 I could understand, but not 5. It's much too young.

[Tracy]

Ginger said:

And it's 5 to have alcohol with a meal. Now to me, that just isn't right. I mean, come on, 5?! 11 or 12 I could understand, but not 5. It's much too young.

Woah, really? Well, I suppose it isn't THAT bad, because you're eating with it as well. And as long as it's not more than say, half a glass. But it is a little young.

[Oily]

Headmistress said:

Woah, really? Well, I suppose it isn't THAT bad, because you're eating with it as well. And as long as it's not more than say, half a glass. But it is a little young.

Yeah, but try getting someone to serve a five year old alcohol

It is something odd like that, but I'm sure there's a reason for it :/

[sollunaestrella]

Ginger said:

And it's 5 to have alcohol with a meal. Now to me, that just isn't right. I mean, come on, 5?! 11 or 12 I could understand, but not 5. It's much too young.

Well, I think there's something to be said for starting to drink young - alcohol will always have been part of your life - a normal part. Drinking young teaches you to drink responsibly.

At the same time, I will never let alcohol touch my lips until I'm 21 because of my brain. Well, yeah, I don't want to break the law, but what I really don't want is anything interfering with my brain's development. So while I don't think it's necessarily great for little children to drink alcohol, I can understand why they're allowed to do it in some places - to train them to drink responsibly.

A few years ago, though, my Spanish teacher told my class something interesting. One student had brought up how (in places like Spain, France, etc.) drinking is viewed as something normal that almost everyone does, and children drink wine and there are few alcoholism problems. What my teacher responded with is that since it's such a disgrace to be seen drunk and to have a problem with alcohol, people with problems keep them quiet. Only they themselves and their families know about it and are left to deal with it on their own. So she said that she didn't think there were that many fewer problems over there - they just couldn't get help because of a general view there that drunkeness and alcoholism is disgusting and despicable.

I'm not sure exactly how true it is, but it was interesting and a little related to the thread. Just thought I'd share, I guess.

Anyway - once we had to learn five healthy habits for a long, healthy life. One of them was to "drink alcohol only in moderation at the proper age." Yes, I believe it has health benefits, but only once you're old enough.

[Oily]

SLE said:

A few years ago, though, my Spanish teacher told my class something interesting. One student had brought up how (in places like Spain, France, etc.) drinking is viewed as something normal that almost everyone does, and children drink wine and there are few alcoholism problems. What my teacher responded with is that since it's such a disgrace to be seen drunk and to have a problem with alcohol, people with problems keep them quiet. Only they themselves and their families know about it and are left to deal with it on their own. So she said that she didn't think there were that many fewer problems over there - they just couldn't get help because of a general view there that drunkeness and alcoholism is disgusting and despicable.

Perhaps that's true but Spain, for instance, or France have much lower levels of binge drinking. In England, there's an increasing tendency for older teenagers to go out and get totally drunk at weekends, binge drinking far too much as a way of having fun. That culture isn't present in France or Spain because alcohol is viewed more as a normal thing.

[KittyKadaveral]

I'm 35 years old and never drank nor have I even tried one drop of it ((cough meds don't count)) and have no desire to. To steal a quote from a very smart person "I saw what it did to other people and I don't wish to do the same to myself." Well, that's not 100% what he said but you get the picture. I don't think there's anything truly wrong with it until it's abused. I don't see comparing this to soft drinks actually. I never heard of someone getting run over and killed by someone drinking a coke unless they weren't paying attention to what they were doing. I wonder if there's a Pepsi and Coke rehab someplace? muahhh...Anyway, it's just like all things, if you can't control your habit perhaps you should look for something else to do. I have no respect for boozers as my grandfather and my uncle were big time ones. From what my gram told me, my uncle used to drink turpentine when he couldn't find booze. Now how gross is that?

[Kuro]

I don't mind drinking, as long as it's not consistantly and irresponsibly to where you get drunk.

Sure, I've had a couple of sips of champagne or wine before, but that's about it. Though after hearing about the brain cells thing, I'm probably not even going to take a sip until I'm 21. XD

But people drink alchahol because they like to drink it, the same way people like to drink soda pop. They think it tastes good.

So yeah, I don't mind when people have a glass or two of alchahol, but I don't like it when people get themselves drunk.

[mushroom]

Arsenic is also fine in moderation--and no, I'm not kidding. The toxic amount is just much less for arsenic than alcohol. (I wouldn't recommend trying arsenic, though ) I haven't done nearly enough research to form a solid opinion, but there is a problem with the way drugs (including but not limited to alcohol) are being dealt with today in America from what I understand.

[Torey]

KKM said:

Arsenic is also fine in moderation--and no, I'm not kidding. The toxic amount is just much less for arsenic than alcohol. (I wouldn't recommend trying arsenic, though ) I haven't done nearly enough research to form a solid opinion, but there is a problem with the way drugs (including but not limited to alcohol) are being dealt with today in America from what I understand.

I read a book where a woman was being fed small quantities of arsenic by a psychopath. It didn't kill her. It made her have really bad stomach pains and she kept throwing up. It would have killed her in time, but arsenic isn't like cyanide. Just a tiny amount of that is enough to kill you instantly.

Hehe, sorry for going a little off topic there

[huggsy]

The more people develop, the more likely it is that the creations of that era are more likely to be harmful. Cars, Alcohol, CFCs, Meepits, its all the same. Im not saying going back to the stone is is the solution, but if people stopped and thought about possible subsitutes the world would be a much better place.