High tolerance for alcohol

Question: Hello! I have IBD (irritable bowel syndrome). I take sleeping pills, but eat healthy, drink a lot of water, walk a lot and exercise regularly. I rarely get stressed after meals or at night.

Although I often drink 2-3 units of alcohol, I sleep well and often have 100% body battery the next morning. What most often gives me high stress is illness (I have the flu now, it gives me high stress both day and night), stress at work (stress that comes from a lack of control) and after a run (stress a few hours afterwards). Mostly I have a lot of rest and high battery.

I see that my friends get a lot of stress from a couple of glasses of wine. I myself have to drink 4-5 glasses of wine, possibly red wine, before I go to bed to get the same result (which I rarely do). I often drink 2-3 glasses of wine, but do not eat or drink in the last hours before going to bed. The question is: Do I have too high a tolerance for alcohol?

Answer: Hey you, can we switch? That sounds enviable. I would love to be like that! It probably shows that the tolerance for alcohol is different for all of us. And without having any scientific evidence, I would assume that it is also better in terms of health to be in your situation. You don’t mention anything about it, but I assume you don’t feel bad after drinking alcohol either. This is something I have observed with friends and acquaintances who get little stress from alcohol. They also don’t feel as diminished the next day.

In any case, it is probably wise to limit alcohol to the “most important” occasions, the ones you prioritize in a social setting. Often we might as well have a cup of tea or another non-alcoholic drink. In those cases, I would opt for this.

Regards, Dr. Torkil