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comment by mk
mk  ·  2042 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: New Study Concludes No Safe Level of Alcohol consumption

I don't understand this article.





timid  ·  2035 days ago  ·  link  ·  

The headline is meaningless and the article not much better.

"New Study Concludes No Safe Level of Roller Coasters"

"New Study Concludes No Safe Level of Driving"

"New Study Concludes No Safe Level of Skateboarding"

Life = risk. It's up to each of us to try to understand the risks of what we are doing and manage them as we see fit. I think this is where YOLO comes from, a response to the large groups of people too afraid to try anything interesting because there is a small chance of negative results.

tacocat  ·  2042 days ago  ·  link  ·  
mk  ·  2042 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Thanks. I read that and am still not following.

The beer I had today increased my chance of tuberculosis?

I'm not convinced their analysis is separating drinking from lifestyles that correlate with drinking. I think I'll have to read the study.

tacocat  ·  2042 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I with ya but I'm no neo prohibitionist and I'm inclined to believe the health benefits are overblown. That's my takeaway.

mk  ·  2042 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Yeah, no one should drink with the notion that they are doing for their health. But when you say something like "no safe level", you might be doing a disservice to the data.

ecib  ·  2041 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I heard an NPR bit on the article where the "expert" mentioned that the way the came to conclude that there is no safe level was indeed by rolling in data on deaths/injuries from things like drunk driving etc.

It could very well be that as long as you don't engage in risky behavior while drunk, moderate consumption really doesn't harm you.

tacocat  ·  2042 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I'd probably be 100% 'fuck this story' but a few months ago I heard a different story that said the alcohol industry funded the research that put into place the popular idea that red wine is good for you as a result of what happened to the tobacco industry. That is plummeting sales and numerous lawsuits.

It's no stretch to hear and accept that alcohol is carcinogenic. But everything is known to cause cancer according to the California state government. But also you don't willingly eat or drink a lot of known carcinogens.

It's probably not the most useful or even a useful study, but maybe it'll start research that isn't guided by the notion that moderate alcohol use is good for you. I've never seen anything like this. I've not been paying attention, but still the idea of 'moderate' alcohol use as a good thing is pretty dumb.

Everybody can drink up as far as I'm concerned but it's good to know the risks. I think it's apparent that I'm highly ambivalent.