All Things in Moderation, Including Government Reports.

I suspect that most of us think of ourselves as moderate drinkers. Naturally we struggle at times to decide what exactly constitutes moderation. Particularly we Americans who spend the first 21 years of our lives being told that alcohol is flat-out bad for us tend to carry around certain anxieties. It's not easy to let go of them.

Anyway, there is some very thought-provoking stuff here from Jay Brooks, the USDA, and the anti-alcohol Marin Institute. It includes a possible definition of moderate drinking: no more than four drinks daily for men or three daily for women.

Obviously moderation can't be so easily quantified. Drinking all four of those drinks in 15 minutes would not be particularly moderate. And annoyingly, we humans come in all shapes and sizes and tendencies. But it's just a guideline, after all. Not a recommendation.

The rest is up to us.