Beer & Your Health

Agree, when it doubt just leave it be for a while. Beer will still be here in a few days, months, years. I recently had a somewhat alarming set of symptoms recently that paired with some oddities in my bloodwork. I stopped immediately and went beerless for three weeks just in case, it was a total false alarm but nothing was lost. I jumped right back in the pool and discovered beer still tastes great. If anything, it tastes better when you’ve gone without.

I’ve also gotten more picky about my consumption in recent years, if I’m not enjoying a beer or I’ve clearly had enough I try to find a polite way of disposing of it or drain pouring it. No extra points are given for finishing every last sip. Also, don’t be the toxic asshole who makes fun of someone for that (I’ve been guilty more than on the receiving end of that).

 

I consume 2-4 cans (16oz) every Friday-Tuesday. I work a single shift on Tuesdays, double shift (16 hours) every Wednesday/Thursday. So I don’t drink on those 2 days for obvious reasons. I’ve been doing that for the last 7 years. I consider myself a social alcoholic. Last year in January had my annual lab work done. All my numbers were higher than usual. I’ve always been close or on the border. This time I was diagnosed as being pre diabetic. Cholesterol number was at 227 and was put on meds. I was already taking 2 meds for high blood pressure. My eating habits? Average. Lots of carbs and sugars, etc. I weighed 230lbs. I told my doctor I love to drink “good” ipas everyday. I left out how much I drink a day. The very next day I threw out all my junk food and sweet snacks and went grocery shopping. No carbs, sweets, sugars, junk food, packaged food with preservatives, etc. The first 3 months I hit the web and YouTube to see what I needed to do to reverse my life style. Started eating healthy. Oats, fresh vegetables and fruits, nuts instead of cookies and sweets, protein shakes for weight loss, etc etc. I had to do another lab test 6 months later to see where I was at on my weight and health. My cholesterol dropped from 227 to 146 and taken off my cholesterol meds. My blood pressure dropped, but still considered high. My weight was at 195lbs. Went from a size 38 to 36. Today I weigh 170lbs and wear size 34. Still taking meds for high blood pressure because I still consume the same amount of IPA’s. If I cut back or stop drinking my blood pressure would probably be normal. But I love my beers. Yes I was drinking the last year and half while on my life changing diet and exercise. Oh I forgot to mention I walk every morning for an hour to hour and half (3 1/2 to 5 miles) since last year when I changed my diet. I’ve done several beer walks to my local breweries. From 2 to 6 miles. My last lab work I had them do a liver and lung test to see how they were doing from my activities. All good there too. So I continue to enjoy my IPA’s while still enjoying my new life changing style. I believe it’s all the preservatives in the processed foods that’s causing this epidemic here in America. The Natural and Artificial Ingredients labeled on the labels is just that, crap and shit we don’t know what they are using to make the food taste sweeter and better. I’m 64 1/2 years old and feel great these days. Ready to retire in 1 year. And hopefully keep enjoying all these wonderful hoppy beers! Cheers.

 

Agree that there should be an area here for those cutting back or having to stop drinking period. I’m a social alcoholic. Not that I need it now, but maybe in the future?

 

Yeah, I can relate. I got a surprise test result saying I just hit the mark for diabetes. I immediately declared no beer for 3 months. I’c committed to living a long, healthy life (with 2+ years until retirement.

I’m not quite sure how @cavedave hangs here without going crazy. I’m sure I’ll check in a few times a week to keep up with my “hobby,” though. Getting healthy now so I can (more moderately) enjoy beer later.

 

Sorry to hear about your test result. Here's some encouragement to quit: JUST DO IT! It's important!

Good luck and get healthy.

 

Thanks Papa. I shifted immediately into no bread, low carb, no beer, more exercise. It’s going to be a good thing in the end.

 

Best wishes.

 

Gonna start a 2025 thread for accountability .

 

gonna tag @GreenBayBA ,too

wonder what his platform totals are

 

Sorry to hear of your health problem. Hopefully it can be managed and you won't have to quit completely. Personally I love beer too much not to drink it daily, which I do vicariously with the help of fellow BAs' excellent pics and descriptions of amazing beers No better place than BA to drink imaginarily

Wishing you the best, man..

 

@Resistance88, making the switch to an animal-based diet in July 2023 improved my health and wellness by every metric.

 

I'm not disagreeing by any means, but I think you're the first person who I've ever seen come out and say that.

 

We don't know what he switched his diet from. Perhaps he was on an all candy and ice cream diet before.

 

Speaking in general, not regarding this specific diet. But if someone switches to a different diet and loses weight, it's always hard to separate the health benefits from that specific diet compared to just the weight loss.

 

You meant plant-based, right?

 

Last year at this time I discovered this site as I was really starting to get into craft and fine whiskey as well, alongside a lot of professional failure and disappointment, and I let it get to a really dark place that was never the fault of the liquid. After a pretty bad incident, I gave it up for a good 5 months and have really worked to control it. It's still hard to keep controlled, since it is a hobby, and I have a very addictive pe4sonality, but I've been managing to keep it to once a week, which reduces some of the stomach issues, mood and anxiety problems, and sleep quality.

Recently I've been dealing with a lot of stress but also success and got a little too deep for my liking, so gonna take 2 weeks off. My personal metric is that if my anxiety level is low overall and I can keep with two weeks off, I don't have to take months off again.

It's a difficult balance to keep, since I am probably a good deal younger than a lot of people on BA, and also am an amateur fighter, which means I get away with a lot of bad decisions regarding health sometimes, but the week off rule has generally kept the worst of the after effects away. It seems every month it gets harder and harder to bounce back after even one evening of drinking, and while I do prefer higher ABV options, I'm drinking MUCH less than I used to a year ago. It's not healthy and I'm trying actively to drop it, but it's hard to only drink one or two a week when there's a lot of interesting things to try, plus package sizes can be so large sometimes.

I can only imagine how hard it can get and I wish everyone here a lot of good health so that the community can stay alive. The point of respecting beer by moderating your consumption and keeping your health in a good state so that you can continue to enjoy the best of what's out there really resonated with me.

 

Unfollowing all of the beer pages on social media helps a lot . Out of sight, out of mind.

I found out one of my favorite beers was out 3 weeks after release and that kept me from buying a ton of it like i usually do .
Not a massive feat but it helps.
Completely ignoring the Post Your Haul thread as well since it created fomo in a weird way for me.

I have 6 beers in my cellar down from over 100 and 4 in my fridge.

Sticking to starting strength/strong lifts/ 5x3x1 also keeps me on track.

Being an amateur fighter must be tough with beer. During a fight camp my friends won't drink for weeks before a fight and a month or so after



Good luck