For many, drinking less is a New Year's resolution

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jan 1, 2009 | by Angela Woodall

For some, those New Year's resolutions are fading about as fast as the Jan. 1 hangover. Others are sticking to their guns.

The top choices among Americans for remodeling their lives revolve around weight, money and bad habits, according to the U.S. government's Web site, www.usa.gov. Quitting smoking has lost ground, but there are still plenty of drinkers out there. The smart ones waited until after the holidays to do what is politely called "drink less."

Sobriety in November and December is about as good an idea as a Thanksgiving diet -- No. 1 on the list of resolutions is losing weight. Booze seems nearly as pervasive as candy used to be at holiday parties. In fact, now we suck down cocktails that taste like candy with names like lemon drop.

"The best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle. It's called the 401-Keg," according to a joke circulating on the Web.

Forget real estate. I'm putting my bucks in booze. Alcohol and coffee are not entirely recession resistant, but more than half of Americans say they drink alcohol, a percentage that has varied little in the last 10 years, according to a 2008 Gallup Poll. They guzzle $197 million worth of alcohol each day. That's good for someone's business.

Even the solution to global warming might be found at the bottom of a martini glass: A recent study found the average American walks about 900 miles a year. Another study found Americans drink, on average, 22 gallons of alcohol a year. That means Americans get about 41 miles to the gallon of ethanol -- on average. I found the same calculation applied to Canadians. We both get nearly the gas mileage than a Toyota Prius.

Ethanol is the pure alcohol content in any drink, named ironically by Arab chemists who perfected distillation, which produced a liquid they compared to mascara--in Arabic, al-koh'l -- according to "Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol."

Hooch historians long have known that we've always been a hard- drinking country. That includes a massive binge between 1790 and 1830, which W.J. Rorabough, author of "The Alcoholic Republic," called a key formative period in our history. During that time, everyone drank -- men, women, children, politicians, clergy, judges and juries. That might explain a lot of things if the founding fathers were stewed when they were putting this country together. (By the way, I just found out how few jokes there are about the U.S. Constitution.)

More recently, the average drinker reported to Gallup pollsters having consumed 3.8 alcoholic drinks in the past week -- the first time the average has dropped below four drinks since 2001. It had been as high as 5.1 in 2003.

Now, bear in mind that the Centers for Disease Control defines heavy drinking as more than one drink per day for women, and an average of more than two drinks per day for men. A drink is one 12- ounce bottle of beer; 8 ounces of malt liquor; a 5-ounce glass of wine; or one 1 1/2-ounce shot of liquor. Whoa "... before I thought three glasses of wine was moderate.

Alcohol, it turns out, depresses nerve cells in the brain and body. Stimulation occurs to compensate for the imbalance. So low doses of alcohol cause people to feel high, while higher doses cause sedation and sleepiness.

One of the strangest things about being a nondrinker is that you might start feeling like a lush because drinkers can't seem to fathom why anyone would stop boozing short of alcoholism. That said, I can't tell if it's the season or a sign of our times that I've seen numerous articles lately about people drinking too much (women more than men; men more than women, etc.) or about alcohol moderation.

Our financial situation might be catching up with our wallets -- or just our livers. For those who are resolved to give it a rest, StopDrinkingAdvice.org. recommends making a list of all the reasons you want to drink less, and then set a goal of how much you will drink.

Decide, before you start imbibing, exactly how many rounds you will have. Sure, Shirley Temples don't have the same sex appeal as a round of cosmopolitans. But you'll remember what you did after you drink them.

That's all for now, ladies and gentlemen. But if you have a cool shindig, e-mail me at awoodall@bayareanewsgroup.com or visit the Night Owl blog www.ibabuzz.com/nightowl. for more events and oddities.