Poor language choice on my part there. When I say greater fitness what I mean is ‘less blunted fitness’. Classic case of using the language of ‘best’ options when what we’re really talking about is ‘least-worst’!
Not trying to be a jerk.
I’m genuinely curious to learn if there’s a compelling case that any amounts of alcohol improve physiological / athletic performance.
Haven’t see it yet.
The strongest argument made in this thread is that alcohol doesn’t diminish athletic performance.
As you say, there’s definitely an argument in favour of drinking in moderation when considering mental, physical, and emotional health holistically. If it adds to overall quality of life without causing enough phsyical harm to outweigh that benefit, then I guess that makes it a net positive influence. Of course there’s no real way to assess that quantitatively, so once we’ve hashed out all the studies and stats it inevitably becomes more art than science when deciding how to implement what we know for each individual.
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Beyond anecdotal evidence, is there a scientific basis for alcohol improving quality of life and happiness?
I haven’t seen any. But both in this thread and in life in general there seems to be an awful lot of anecdotal evidence about it. One might even say some are desperately trying to justify a drinking habit.
He said, just after drinking a beer while watching football.
But then again, it was the first in several months and I raced cyclocross earlier today in absolutely horrendous conditions. So I felt I deserved it. See end of first paragraph 
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I listened to this a few weeks ago, it was a big fat bummer from start to finish.
For a few years I was into wine making…made over 800 bottles and had a lot of fun making them, drinking them, making them while drinking them. Had a few rounds every night during the last few working years. Now semi-retired in geezer central, drinking is a common past time.
But that podcast killed it. I’m down to 2-3 per week. His logic and data is irrefutable, unfortuantely.
Hate to be the bearer of bad news but you can’t make it less bad. It’s just bad news for health start to finish.
Not so much make alcohol less bad…how about simply a whole new drug? More “neurotransmitter modulating” than toxin please. Any suggestions other than MJ?
Joe
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Our suggestion: When possible, choose a light beer ~ 2-4% ABV and consume a salty carbohydrate-based snack or add an electrolyte drink containing sodium. Or try one of the many NA versions available, even beer lovers approve! .
I can only speak for myself but I DON’T APPROVE!!!
Joe
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I can get down with this advice though.
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other than the stout, have loved Athletic Brewing NA stuff. and I say that as someone who prob drinks at least 10-15 (alcoholic) beers a week
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@Joe check out this one. It is pretty good if you like IPAs.
The trick for me with NA Beers is to have 1 or 2 regular beers first. The Athletic Hazy (Free Wave) is usually my go to, after having a single full-strength IPA it just blends in and it would be hard to tell it is NA.
Another important thing with NA beer is ensuring you can get it relatively fresh. The grocery store I usually go to had fresh craft stuff, but all the NA was pretty dated. You notice that little difference when you are drinking for taste.
£11 for 6 small cans of non alcoholic beer sees like a lot.
When you can get bitter shandy £2 for 8 cans:
I’ll look for it locally, unfortunately the 18$ shipping just killed online ordering for me 
I’ve tried it but once I get one or two in me then I want to keep the party going!! For me it’s gotta be NA first and then stick with it. If I had a little more self control though your plan would be perfect
Joe
yeah… same price as craft stuff
but helps when I hit that “I need a beer” vibe but dont want alcohol (e.g. worknights). seltzers are good too but don’t always hit the same spot for me.
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Thanks for the recommendation.
As for NA beers I have mostly found the IPAs to be good. But as someone who craves dark beers, I am definitely missing something.
Definitely gonna try this.
I hate to be a stick in the mud. I haven’t read the rest of the posts, but alcohol is an addictive substance. Binge drinking (more than 4-5 drinks is in a setting) is the worst option. “Moderate” drinking really should be just 1-4 (units of alcohol) drinks per week, but 2 x 8% 12 oz IPA beers would probable count as 4 units (you can get all sorts of apps to figure out “unit of alcohol” - it is less than people think) and then you are done for the week. The health benefits of “moderate” drinking can be wildly exaggerated… my opinion and 2 cents since the question was asked, and I hope not to step on any toes and as this can be a touchy subject. A great NA beer option is Untitled Art Beers - I had to take a look at the can one time after I had a sip to make sure it was NA. A lot of NA beers are not worth drinking in my opinion…
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That’s kind of an irritating article. It mentions studies showing 1-2 drinks a day of beer with perfectly normal ABV (5.4%) don’t affect training. Then it says otherwise without even pointing to supporting information.
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This is a follow-up post from yesterday about ‘moderate’ alcohol consumption. I am posting links for Dr. Huberman’s podcast about the effects of alcohol on our health and wellness. He is a neuroscientist at Stanford and reviews the current literature on the subject. I highly recommend a listen