Alcohol !

My mother has at least a sherry a day and sometimes wine with her meal. She is 98. Has been doing that for donkeys years.

Fifths! My iPad is mathematically illiterate.

60% there NanKate and yes, six tenths or, in equivalent fractions, three firths.

Go to the top of the class.

Only drink on occasions,two and I'm anybody's,three and I'm everybody's.

Well done Anya if I wasn't pants at maths I could give you a percentage is it three fifths ?

I do enjoy a chilled glass of wine but never to excess, well never more than 200 ml.

I also enjoy a glass of medium dry sherry with an ice cube in it and a few nuts, very old ladyish.

Day 60/100 alcohol free.

I too am a very moderate drinker because I am not fond of the taste of alcoholic drinks, do not like the effect that it has on me if I drink even half a glass too much and like still less the effect the following day.

I do not claim any virtue for this, it is no different to me than my aversion to fresh milk and dislike of closely associated products like yoghourt or cottage cheese.

I' m a natural teetotaller, I've never wanted to drink alcohol, I don't like the taste. To me wine tastes like pure acid.
I'm not boasting, I love food and eat far too much but I'm glad I've never acquired a taste for booze because all of my siblings are alcoholic and one died of liver disease.

Think its just you and me Madamecholet!

I think there must be something missing in my DNA, because I just don’t “get” the alcohol thing and it doesn’t seem to have the same mood-altering effect on me that it does on most people. I come from a family of moderate drinkers and from quite a young age, was allowed alcohol at home on special occasions like birthdays, Christmas, etc. It didn’t do anything for me and, when I was old enough to drink in pubs, I would go along with my friends and happily drink soft drinks all evening.

In my mid-twenties, I moved to a new area and most of my new friends drank heavily at the weekends and I started to join in – I suppose in an effort to fit in. I did get drunk, in the sense that I lost co-ordination and would certainly not have considered driving, but I still didn’t understand the appeal of drinking and hated the hangovers the next day. My drinking days didn’t last long and now I will have a glass of wine if we go out for a meal, but I think that's really to make others feel good, as some people seem convinced that I can’t be enjoying myself if I’m not having a drink.

Is this a common thing – or is it just me?

Thanks, Grandura, the British Liver Trust website is very informative. Makes one think twice before opening a bottle of wine etc.

Sad stories .
I seem to have gone off alcohol. I can't be bothered with it somehow. It was always a treat but I don't seem to need treats to keep me going now I've retired! I still have the odd glass of wine but often end up pouring most of it away. Just as well judging by this new research.

I lost my lovely niece recently, due to liver disease. She was 62, her husband only 44. She used to drink a small amount but every day. She stopped drinking 5 years ago but the damage had been done. I wish more people realised how risky it is to drink daily.

From the British Liver Trust:

Key facts

Liver disease is the only major cause of death still increasing year-on-year
Liver disease is the fifth ‘big killer’ in England & Wales, after heart, cancer, stroke and respiratory disease
16,087 people in the UK died from liver disease in 2008, a 4.5% increase since 2007.
This includes 13,805 people in England and Wales, 1,903 in Scotland4 and 379 in Northern Ireland
Twice as many people now die from liver disease as in 1991
Liver disease kills more people than diabetes and road deaths combined.

With some medications you need to avoid alcohol because you shouldn't drive as it could be dangerous. Just depends.

Alcohol is very enjoyable and in reasonable amounts can actually be 'good' for you- but to deny that there is a massive amount of alcoholism out there- often 'functional' and totally denied- and boast about it- is not really helpful, really. The level of irreversible liver damage in younger and youngern and larger and larger numbers is undeniable and tragic- the NHS is struggling with this much more than with immigration.

I'm with you Lona - I've survived this long. My mother never touched alcohol or smoked and was dead at 58. My father was a violent,abusive, chain smoking alcoholic and lived to be 70. I too will do as I please as long as I'm not hurting anyone.

It amuses me that when taking certain medication or going on a diet you are advised to 'avoid' alcohol.

Does this mean I have to dash past the top of the drinks aisle in a supermarket in case a bottle of wine topples off the shelf and lands in my trolley? Maybe I ought to give the wine rack at home a very wide berth. Covering it with a bath towel might help!

If DH pours himself a drink he should really give me thirty seconds warning so I can lock myself in the bedroom.

What happens if the car breaks down outside a pub?

Nightmare!

A whole bottle

At my great age, I no longer care, I shall do as I please

Funnily enough, I read somewhere recently that being teetotal was bad for you and we should all be drinking a bottle of wine a day!!!

I think that if you've got lemons, you make gin and tonic.

Sorry bimba that sounded a bit unfeeling. I've seen what alcohol addiction can do. I spent a lot of time on the addictions unit at the hospital where I worked as a mental health nurse.

Oh well, never mind, I have a glass of cloudy cider in my other hand.

Too late for this evening.
Oh well, tomorrow is another day as they say, always start a diet, giving up alcohol etc on Mondays

bimbadeen so sorry to hear that; is he still living with you?
I have seen the destructive side of alcohol.

I was telling DH about this tonight and he said 'oh for goodness sake. I have been drinking alcohol regularly for over 50 years and it's never done me any harm. I've only got prostate cancer, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, aneamia and low haemoglobln levels' with apologies for spellings!