Alcohol

[tikitavi]

I have been "testing" the Alba quite a bit lately, and I'm doing fine with it. I'm not drinking a lot, just one an evening, but I seem to have no reaction (besides a happy, warm feeling!). I definitely seem to do better with it than the Fraoch.

[tikitavi]

Well, I just went to Williams Brothers Brewing website, and on the site it says that the Alba DOES contain First Gold hops. It says "only a small token handful of hops" which is why I've probably not had any estrogenic problems. But, I'm surprised that they don't list hops on the ingredients label. The Fraoch does not list ANY hops on the site, though, so it must be truly hop-free. However, I like the Alba much better, and the amount of hops must be negligible since it hasn't affected me. So I'll stick with it!

[esmee]

In the video I posted in the "Links" section called Sugar: The Bitter Truth, Dr. Robert Lustig says that alcohol is processed in almost the exact same way as ethanol, the only difference is that ethanol also goes through the brain which fructose does not do. He does not identify the specific enzymes need to process alcohol, but says both must go through the liver and this is why the physical outcome (fatty liver disease) is the same for alcoholics and those who consume a lot of fructose in their diet (which includes most Americans). Perhaps this is why people with HFI don't do particularly well with alcohol.

[ukbill]

Ethanol is alcohol.. there are hundreds of Alcohols most are deadly to us humans (methanol for example will make you blind and dead from liver failure in very short order!)

Ethanol is the only one (I know of) that is safe'ish for us to take, as a result of it being in rotting fruit and getting into our blood stream from yeasts living in our guts, we all have a small amount of alcohol in our blood naturally.

So over many millennium we have found ways to handle ethanol.

I have had heated arguments with people who's religion disallows them taking even medicines which contain ethanol.. let alone a pint of beer!

Apparently most people who eat a Mars bar (not an HFI person obviously) will produce enough alcohol naturally to be the equivalent to a single measure of vodka (25cl) this will be in their blood just the same as having had a single Vodka or whisky.. so where's the problem with having an injection of cough medicine which has a very tiny amount of alcohol in it?
Particularly for a child (as was the case).

[tikitavi]

I wanted to mention that the beer did start to affect me after all. So I am back to just Belvedere vodka.

[denverjay]

I usually have no problem drinking beer, whether it be the american, german or microbrews.

I cannot tolerate any white or blush wine. And I am hit or miss on red wines, sometimes I have no problems with them and sometimes even a small amount makes me sick. I think the inconsistency between the infinite varietals of wine make it very hard to determine why.

And of course, all hard alchohol is much too sweet to drink.

[tikitavi]

Hi Jay! Welcome!

I can only tolerate Belvedere vodka, which is very pure and multiple distilled. I can't tolerate any other alcohols or beer or wine. From what I understand, pure hard alcohol should have zero sugars after the distillation process (as long as none are added after the fact). Whereas beers and wines can still contain some fructose produced during the fermentation process, which is why some are considered "sweet" as opposed to "dry".

I'm still considering buying one of these kits to test if there's any residual sugars in what I'm drinking!
accuvin.com/Products%20Residual%20Sugar.html

[ukbill]

Jay, welcome to the site

I suspect you have only tried "American" strong liquor such as Bourbon, in which case I agree! Its Horrid stuff!

Try a genuine Scotch Whisky I can manage one or two "Bells" (a poplar Blended Brand in the UK) Or much more of any good quality single Malt Whisky, the really good ones are 12 years or older

A 12 year old Glenlivet goes down a treat!

www.theglenlivet.com/

OR Glenfiddich 12 year old is a really nice drink.

I uses whisky as a medicine, If I get a sore throat I gargle with neat malt whisky.. like a normal antiseptic mouthwash or gargle.. only I do not spit it out .. I want it to have a second go at the bugs from the inside

If I have really persistent bugs.. I hit them with Laphroaig which is a highly "peated" whisky and really will kill the bugs..

www.laphroaig.com/home.aspx

It stings a lot but only for the first few gargles after that ... well I don't notice so much.. or remember to gargle. In fact finding my tongue is a problem after a few.. its a very good anaesthetic.

Unfortunately I'm disgustingly healthy and have not had a good sore throat for ages.. (5 years even) so I have taken to having "Man Flu" if I sneeze then that's a good enough excuse to dose myself, for protective reasons of course.. and it seems to work too

The only Single Malt Whisky that seems to disagree with me is Glenmorangie. I know they "age" the whisky in old sherry oak barrels for many years so it may be the contamination of the sherry (but I suspect they add a little to the whisky.)

Not that I have taken much time researching this subject you understand? ;D

[denverjay]

ukbill, It's funny you mention Glenlivet scotch. I actually have a 18 yr bottle in my wine cellar for a friend who visits who does not drink anything else. I personally have never tried it. I will give it a whirl this weekend and let you know what I think.

I have tried Vodka, Tequilla, Rum, Jack Daniels Whiskey and numerous other god awful liquors and they all taste much too sweet. I will also try tikatavi's recommendation of Belvedere Vodka.

Beer and wine are my vices and I was afraid I would have to give them up after discovering HFI and the possible effects on my liver. But it appears not a simple yes or no thing.

[ukbill]

We all have to die of something..

So long s its not boredom its OK I think

If like me you can "tolerate" beer then I for one am very glad.
I cannot drink much so the option of becoming an Alcoholic is not possible because I would never be able to drink sufficient to get addicted.

If we ever manage to get the "conference" off the ground and meet up sometime, somewhere.
I for one will enjoy having a pint with you in a bar

Regards

PS I like the idea of a Wine Cellar even if I cannot drink the stuff

[denverjay]

Bill, I tried the scotch this weekend. No reaction to it, but I really did not like the taste of it. A wee bit too strong for me. Probably more of an aquired taste.

Going to stick to beer and wine in moderation.

In my previous job posting, I was able to travel all over the world and have been to London a few times. But unfortunately in my current job, travel is restricted.

[ukbill]

Try it with a little soft water..

If you are using tap water put it through a filter first to remove the chlorine.

Boiled and cooled rain water can be used.. it transforms the drink completely..

\i prefer it neat.. but most Scots people unless they are trying to impress the ladies (or appear HARD) will add water.

[tikitavi]

Interesting, Bill, I had no idea about adding water! I don't like the taste of scotch either. I'll have to try that sometime!

[ukbill]

If you want a really refreshing drink.

Get a glass of ice cold soda water (in the UK this is sugar free) or plain filtered water and add just a small amount of Whisky to the water.. about 1/2 a normal measure to 1/2 pint (560ml).

Mix and drink!

Very refreshing and most likely so low in alcohol as to be safe to drive on.. so long as you don't have 10!


It really makes a difference which Whiskey you use also.. if you get a very smoky peaty Whisky the smokiness is accentuated by the dilution.

Homoeopathic Whisky... Now there a thought..

[shereebailey83]

I have researched this an as far as I'm aware the only liquor that doesn't contain sugar is straight vodka and straight tequila... I used to enjoy lip sip suck when I was younger on tequila and never had any probs other then a sore head the next morning) now I'm older I cut alcohol out all together but I know carona's are very low in sugar and I could get through half a one

[ukbill]

Carona larger type beer?

I find it quite sweet and cannot drink many. ( 2or 3)

Other beers particularly those made to the German Purity standard I can drink many many more.. (and no bad head either! win win I like that )

If drinking alcohol I recommend eating as well Alcohol I think naturally depresses the blood sugar level so Make sure you do not go Hypo which will make you feel rotten and confuse your reactions you might think you are getting a reaction while its just normal effect of drinking

[tikitavi]

My husband just bought some Shiraz wine (aka "Syrah"), and I recently got my residual sugar test kit. So I had to test it out of curiosity! The results:



Super high in sugars! So beware!

[adrian]

Shiraz is one of the most disgusting things in the world to me

did you test any cabernet sauvignon...I've had mixed results with this

does that kit test for different kinds of sugars?

[tikitavi]

No, I haven't tested any Cabernet.

The kit says "The ACCUVIN Residual Sugar Kit tests only for fructose and glucose sugars, the sugars reduced in primary fermentation." So it's not 100% perfect test for us, since it also shows glucose which is safe. But, it's an easy way to get some idea what sugars are in an item. I find it kind of fun too, but I'm a bit of a science experiment dork.

I should test my Belvedere vodka, I have a little around still. I have had no problems at all with that particular brand of vodka.

[tikitavi]

I tested my Belvedere vodka this morning, it is very low in sugars according to the test!