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Comment by hcurtiss | Hacker News Reader

Respectfully, why not? Putting aside state regulation, what's your objection to recreational drug use?

edit -- I'm pretty sure your second sentence appeared after I commented. In any event, I don't mean to put you out. Just curious.

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I don't drink because I don't feel the need to. Simple as that. It has forced me to develop that "social lubricant" internally which people use as the most common reason for drinking. And for dealing with stress, I think sweeping it under the rug (even a little bit, or temporarily) is not the right way to handle things. I have heard so many reasons over the years, none of them have convinced me. As you can see in my other replies in this thread, this doesn't have anything to do with personal experiences with family alcoholism.

I'm also OK with recreational drug use for the most part. You're free to do whatever you please on your own time, as long as it doesn't affect me. I don't feel any better than someone because I don't drink and they do, that would be silly. That's just about everyone.

I think decision of avoiding certain or all drugs makes total sense, if the person has no interest in their effects and is not ready to suffer inevitable side effects of doing things that our body is not meant to do normally. Hacking one's body often has its costs.

"doing things that our body is not meant to do normally."

The reason it doesn't outright kill you is an enormous amount of evolution to occasionally consume "somewhat overripe fruit". That doesn't mean you're evolved to chug grain alcohol like water, or get drunk every night like the goof in the article, it just means your body is quite very well used to handling a bit of fermented grapes once in awhile.

Hacking one's body, is like eating non-human food like grains or potatoes or beans or artificial sweeteners / colors / flavors.

Human body is a very resilient thing, so it can withstand some abuse for a prolonged time (and some bodies are extremely resilient, read this one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Malloy). But it all takes its toll at the end...

Everyone, that is a must read!!! Amazing.

Of course, it's Wikipedia, so who knows if it's true ... but amazing nonetheless.

What a veiled FUD. If you doubt the text, check the references.

Well in fairness the article wasn't joking about there being studies that indicate there may be health benefits to drinking in moderation (as opposed to complete alcohol abstinence). So if you're teetotaling only to be "healthy" then you may not be making the right choice.

> get drunk every night like the goof in the article

The author didn't say he gets drunk every night, he said he drinks every night.

I have a beer or a glass of wine with dinner most nights. I get drunk (i.e. have more than one drink, feel drunk, feel worse the next morning) with a much lower frequency.

Then I missed the point of the author's amazing experiment. If he's not "feeling it" buzzed or whatever, what is the point of all that expensive drinking he's doing and why all the health changes once he stopped drinking? Author is having a lot more than a glass or two, to get that kind of long term habit and those effects, I think.

I also have a glass of wine that goes with some meals, but I don't cook "chicken in wine" every single day. Wine doesn't go well with everything. When I'm eating something unhealthy like pizza, well, you gotta have beer with pizza, but I don't eat bad food every day, so... Or even stuff in between good and bad, I had saki and sushi last weekend, close enough to natural human food to not bother me occasionally, but not eating/drinking that every day.

There's a pretty wide spectrum between completely sober and "drunk".

I suspect a history of family related substance abuse. That usually does it.

Though I suspect I'm not as strict as the parent comment this is why I avoid alcohol. Father's side extremely alcoholic including several deaths (both liver failure/pancreatic, and alcohol related deaths).

I've never had more than 1 drink in a day and usually only drink once per month out to eat when someone else is driving.

Alcoholism is scary for most of us that have seen it up close.

Both my mother and father have always been pretty dry. My father has maybe 2-3 beers a month, and my mother one mixed drink every 2 months. I've not had any bad experiences at a close personal level with alcoholism.

Then I suspect it's just being raised in a very healthy environment ;)

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