Can you mix drinking and exercise? | Hacker News Reader

Can you mix drinking and exercise?

nytimes.com

3 pointsbookofjoe12 comments

I don't get the pairing of a healthy life and liquor. I know someone that will go out of her way to exercise, eat healthy, organic everything and watch her weight but on weekends she will drink like a fish. She's not the only one by far. When did booze become a health drink? Ya, I know it's not. It's just addictive. I wish we had an alternative that doesn't do as much damage.

Not everyone optimizes for health. Plenty of people optimize for enjoyment or hedonism. That doesn't mean you can't also try to balance it out with healthy behavior to whatever extent you like. If you indulge in unhealthy habits in one way, why wouldn't you try to be healthier in other ways? Are you implying that just because someone drinks means they shouldn't bother to exercise because they'll never be "perfect" that way?

The timbre of your definition of "healthy life" sounds quite like rigid religious orthodoxy. Try "I don't get the pairing of being Catholic and having premarital sex. I know someone that goes to church every Sunday, but..."

See, in the case that she's trying to be a "good Catholic" or "healthy liver", it comes across as judgmental and priggish; in the case that she's not particularly concerned with what others think of her devotion, it comes across as dogmatic and parochial.

Anyway,"a healthy life" would be defined by many people as whatever mix of healthy activity and hedonistic enjoyment best suits the individual's well-being, including their psychological well-being. For instance, I have a friend who has cancer and is going through the torture of the damned with chemo. Yet above all, he's utterly miserable that he's not allowed to eat anything besides vegetables; the once-a-month Big Mac keeps him going and gives him something to look forward to.

I don't even like when doctors do this, but unless you're her doctor, you should refrain from casting judgment.

> I wish we had an alternative that doesn't do as much damage.

I think for a growing number of people that alternative is non-smoking forms of cannabis. I grant you it isn't a 1:1 substitution for everything alcohol, but it's a lot safer to use and still a very social experience. I suspect that at some point there will be a "synthohol" like substance, but who knows when that might come about.

>> at some point there will be a "synthohol" like substance, but who knows when that might come about

Just about when the individual is entirely castrated à la Brave New World, and everyone worships health as part of their commitment to a perfectly harmonious social organism. Luckily, this will never happen - rebellious people in some godforsaken country will always find a way to give each other hangovers, as a simple Darwinian test that involves the ability to hold liquor while saying something interesting. And that country will end up more innovative than the ones that sank their population into some opioid or another as an expedient to having a healthy body and a numbed-out mind.

That seems like a fairly emotionally driven overreaction to a pretty harmless statement, but you do you.

> I wish we had an alternative that doesn't do as much damage.

We do; it's called GHB.

https://archive.ph/utwJk

No, unless you like higher rates of injury. Seriously avoid mixing those two things.

Going for a run, bike ride, or even a brisk walk before bed is the best preventative remedy for a hangover I know of.

You mean whilst drunk? No thanks... I'd rather chug a bottle of water.

However, once the hangover has arrived (the next day), a run can do wonders.

Paywalled, but I'll just share that before hockey on Fridays it's not uncommon to have a beer or two.

see bookofjoe's comment. I didn't find the article terribly informative. In fact, it didn't really have much information other than that alc may increase heart rate and tends to dehydrate, and to make sure to drink enough water.

As far as non-dangerous exercise, such as gym cycling stations, or a Bar-group-pedal-cycle guided exercise event, I think there's a possibility that drinking and exercising might just possibly have health benefits--pure speculation though; it would be interesting to test and do studies on this topic.

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