The flip-flop on whether alcohol is good for you (2023)

Social function and subjective experience

• Many describe alcohol as a “social lubricant” that eases anxiety, deepens conversation, and helps people relax or celebrate, especially at weddings, big milestones, or with old friends.
• Others say alcohol is unnecessary for good socializing; they socialize fine sober and see drinking as cultural conditioning.
• Experiences differ sharply: some feel a pleasant buzz, creativity, or warmth; others only get sleepiness, cognitive dulling, or anxiety, and some feel nothing positive at all.
• Several note that the “better” version of themselves when drinking already exists without alcohol; they see alcohol as a shortcut to behaviors that can be trained.

Health risks, benefits, and evidence

• Multiple comments cite that “no level of alcohol consumption is safe” for physical health, with specific mention of cancer and cardiovascular risk.
• Others emphasize tiny absolute risks at the individual level versus large aggregate harms at population scale.
• Mendelian randomization studies are highlighted as key newer evidence undermining earlier “protective” narratives and helping explain the apparent flip‑flop.
• Personal stories of severe alcoholism (ICU stays, withdrawals, deaths) underscore that some people “can’t stop,” and early heavy use is depicted as a dangerous gamble.
• Some argue alcohol can reduce stress and indirectly support health through social connection; others counter that long‑term it worsens anxiety via GABA system effects.

Nutrition science and “flip‑flop” skepticism

• Many are skeptical of nutrition headlines in general, seeing long cycles of reversal (fat, carbs, wine, etc.), driven by weak observational studies, confounding, industry influence, and media clickbait.
• Others push back, arguing there is still meaningful consensus (e.g., on lipids and ApoB) and that dismissing all nutrition science is “relativity of wrong.”

Culture, policy, and morality

• Drinking is framed as deeply cultural: central in many European and East Asian settings, restricted but still present in Muslim societies, and often binary (binge vs abstain) in parts of the US.
• Some see alcohol as a historically important tool (preservation, hospitality, medicine, business), others as simply a socially entrenched poison.
• Religious views (Christian “gluttony,” Islamic abstinence) and prohibition history surface, with broad agreement that culture matters more than strict bans.

Behavior, environment, and moderation

• Several note their drinking rose or fell with the pandemic and social environment, often without explicit decisions, raising questions about personal agency.
• Some quit and report better sleep, less anxiety, but also social isolation in heavy‑drinking circles; others adopt low/no‑alcohol substitutes.
• A recurring theme: attempts to “min‑max” health versus accepting trade‑offs and aiming for moderation—while acknowledging that, for many, the truly “optimal” intake is zero.