[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"article-detail":3},{"lang":4,"article":5,"alternate":19,"related":24,"latest":33},"en",{"id":6,"slug":7,"title":8,"content":9,"summary":10,"thumbnail":11,"metaDescription":12,"metaKeywords":13,"created":14,"modified":14,"author":15,"authorEn":15,"categoryId":16,"commentCount":17,"thumbnailToContent":18},12750,"baijiu-emotion-middle-aged-qstk","Baijiu and Emotion: Why Middle-Aged Men Still Drink","\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">First, understand one thing: the real job of smoke, alcohol, sugar, tea, and coffee is to regulate emotion. Once that is clear, the baijiu habit of middle-aged men stops being a mystery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2 style=\"color:#111;font-size:21px;line-height:1.4;margin:28px 0 12px;\">\u003Cstrong>The Real Job of Smoke, Alcohol, Sugar, Tea and Coffee\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">Western countries have high alcoholism rates. Think of American TV: men and women alike, before bed, pour a whiskey — a cheap one, by our standards — and drink it straight. It tastes terrible, so they cut it with ice or water. That is why cocktails exist: Western wines and spirits are hard to enjoy with a meal and hard to drink neat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">Red wine, for many, is basically what people called \"enzyme drink\" a few years back — something between wine and vinegar (because the brewing is poor; Western vinegar is mostly grape-based, and the alcohol content of those \"vinegars\" is inconsistent — check imported vinegar, or you might fail a breathalyzer). Hence the food pairings: red wine covers the bloodiness of beef, white wine keeps seafood from staining its own color, and acidity cuts the greasiness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">I have been to many foreign cocktail parties and dinners, and I often wondered what junk I was drinking. Foreign dinners have a spoon clinking glasses, a toast beside the host, and rows of forks and knives from outside in. Chinese table manners are already simpler — at most two sets of chopsticks on your right. But in every country, a drinking session is a social occasion; the fancier ones are arenas of status. That is the same everywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fattachment\u002F20261007\u002F3f29bc9195d24855b5f8a29ed2c49c21.webp\" alt=\"img_01.webp\">\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2 style=\"color:#111;font-size:21px;line-height:1.4;margin:28px 0 12px;\">\u003Cstrong>Why the Young Are Being Controlled\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">Why drink at all? The older you get, the harder controlling your emotions becomes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">The sad part: today's young people are being controlled by Red Bull, Monster, high-sugar milk tea, and coffee. We now look exactly like America forty or fifty years ago, when coffee was just becoming popular.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">So my advice to the young, for future health — especially mental health: do not drink much coffee, eat less sugar, and drink tea moderately, light tea is good for you. Not for any other reason than that when your hormone levels drop, pressure rises, your body recovers slowly, and pains appear, you will need something to fill the gap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">Drinking is the worst of the options at that moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2 style=\"color:#111;font-size:21px;line-height:1.4;margin:28px 0 12px;\">\u003Cstrong>If You Drink, Drink Less and Better\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">If you do drink, baijiu is the recommendation — start around the 400-yuan level. A light buzz, and the next day genuinely feels comfortable. Control the amount.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fattachment\u002F20261007\u002F810a6c44953f4a2699197be238fb5c9c.webp\" alt=\"img_03.webp\">\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">Red wine? You would be better off with six-year-aged Zhenjiang vinegar, honey, and purified water — the same \"softening blood vessels\" effect, no alcohol, better with food, and healthier as a dipping sauce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">Whiskey dulls your palate. It is for Western alcoholics — most \"alcoholism\" means this kind. I keep Scotch and Japanese bottles around, untouched. If you are young, skip this trend, and do not touch cigars either; I do not understand the appeal of the new cigar bars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">Beer: drink big brands. Avoid small-brewery craft beers — their fusel oils and aldehydes are not properly removed and are more harmful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">Vodka — that potato liquor — is for Russian alcoholics. Don't drink it. As for Japanese and Korean spirits, wiping your mouth with an alcohol disinfectant wipe has the same effect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2 style=\"color:#111;font-size:21px;line-height:1.4;margin:28px 0 12px;\">\u003Cstrong>The Coffee and Sugar Trap\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">Coffee: I was an early owner of a De'Longhi machine at home and a commercial one at the office. Back then options were limited; the good domestic beans were mostly illy, and I drank only espresso. But I kept thinking: America started its coffee wave forty or fifty years ago, and its psychological problems and demand for soft drugs rose along with it. We all get older. I have tapered off coffee myself. My advice: do not form the habit of relying on caffeine to wake up — use exercise, hiking, swimming to regulate mood instead. Many milk teas and coffees today are loaded with sugar and caffeine; drink fewer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fattachment\u002F20261007\u002F8d1344b90c7f47a3a2706b70b30a0ab3.webp\" alt=\"img_02.webp\">\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">Tea: as you age, your taste changes and plain water tastes like nothing. Add a little good tea, and you drink much more water every day. That is genuinely good for you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">Why Qingfen 20? Maotai is too expensive; I store my own, and once you get used to the sauce aroma, strong and light aromas taste like water — which is also why Wuliangye sales drop whenever sauce-aroma baijiu gets popular. I drink light teas (Mingqian green tea and some Wuyi black tea, steeped only about 20 seconds) and Qingfen 20 to keep a consistent palate. Recently Qingfen 20 changed its packaging and I suspect fakes are everywhere, so I drink less of it now. Cognac was my father's generation's drink in the 1990s; few drink it now, and it has lost its value.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">The \"red wine softens blood vessels\" story: decades ago, when red wine entered China, \"good for the heart, softens blood vessels\" was one of the marketing lines. Later research found vinegar had a similar effect, which is why China had its fruit-in-glass-jar \"enzyme\" craze. Just think of red wine as vinegar. My recommended six-year Zhenjiang vinegar is about 40 yuan a bottle — quite good among domestic vinegars, and by that method it tastes better than red wine, with no alcohol. Do remember: mainstream Western grape vinegars mostly contain alcohol — because the fermentation is incomplete, their alcohol content is inconsistent — so non-alcoholic grape vinegar is specially labeled and costs more than ordinary wine. Using red wine as vinegar is a money saver, which is why decent Western wine costs only a few euros. If I must serve red wine, I use Changyu's 200-400 yuan Cabernet Gernischt for foreign guests — far better than ordinary imported wine, though domestic drinkers snub Chinese wine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">Sugar: sweet treats have long been popular in East Asia and have exploded in China recently. Twenty years ago, my first trip to Korea — from the airport to Myeongdong, the streets were lined with coffee-and-doughnut shops, completely overturning my impression of Korean light eating. We should not repeat Korea's path. Foreign pharma companies have expanded production lines for diabetes, asthma, and overweight drugs in China — all tied to high sugar. Eat less sugar while young and you avoid a lot of problems. Sugar also lifts mood, which is why cutting it is harder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2 style=\"color:#111;font-size:21px;line-height:1.4;margin:28px 0 12px;\">\u003Cstrong>The Bottom Line\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">Once a habit of high sugar and high caffeine is formed, when you face pressure, emotional and mental problems, and body pain in later years, it is much harder to control. Because of drunk-driving laws, after-work drinking restrictions, and social attitudes toward alcoholism, quitting sugar and coffee is actually harder than quitting alcohol.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">If you disagree with any point, write it out point by point — I am glad to discuss. As for mockery: many things are hidden from you by a young body and light life pressure. Thinking back to my own twenties, I considered none of this. So in one sentence: youth is wonderful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">I often think that if I had seen something like this when I was young, I might have spent less money and taken fewer detours. Consider this a letter to my younger self.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">Curious what the cells that carry emotion regulation look like under a microscope? \u003Cstrong>WWAI\u003C\u002Fstrong> is an AI-powered biology encyclopedia with an online microscope, including a \u003Cstrong>nerve cell specimen where the cell body, dendrites and axon are clearly visible\u003C\u002Fstrong>. Search \"WWAI\" in your app store and download it today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cdiv class=\"dp-template-card\" style=\"border-radius:8px;box-shadow:0 2px 8px rgba(0,0,0,0.1);margin:10px 0;max-width:100%;overflow:hidden;width:100%;\">\n \u003Ca style=\"display:block;text-decoration:none;\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fyun-hub.chat\u002Flink\u002F?app=wwai&clickid=stellarx&dplink=specimenid%3D1042\" target=\"_blank\">\u003Cimg class=\"image_resized\" style=\"display:block;height:auto;max-width:100%;width:100%;\" src=\"\u002Fattachment\u002F20260824\u002F5ba5dd3c38404fe785f43c44423830de.png\" alt=\"5ba5dd3c38404fe785f43c44423830de\">\n  \u003Cbutton style=\"align-items:center;background-color:#1f983e;border-radius:0 0 25px 25px;border-style:none;color:#ffffff;cursor:pointer;display:flex;font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:19px;height:40px;justify-content:center;padding:0;width:100%;\">EXPLORE NOW\u003C\u002Fbutton>\u003C\u002Fa>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Ch2 style=\"color:#111;font-size:21px;line-height:1.4;margin:28px 0 12px;\">\u003Cstrong>References\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">All illustrations are AI-generated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"color:#111;margin:28px 0 8px;\">\u003Cstrong>Related reading\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 20px;\">\u003Ca style=\"color:#111;text-decoration:none;\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fstellarx.tech\u002Farticle\u002Fchinese-baijiu-aldehydes-fermentation-xqzn\">\u003Cimg class=\"image_resized\" style=\"border-radius:8px;display:block;height:auto;margin-bottom:6px;max-width:520px;width:100%;\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.banyunjuhe.com\u002Fattachment\u002F20261002\u002F63d23d7674ef46629714587ff77d694b.webp\" alt=\"Why Baijiu Burns: Aldehydes, Not Alcohol\">\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cbr>\u003Ca style=\"color:#0b6cb0;text-decoration:none;\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fstellarx.tech\u002Farticle\u002Fchinese-baijiu-aldehydes-fermentation-xqzn\">\u003Cstrong>Why Baijiu Burns: Aldehydes, Not Alcohol\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 20px;\">\u003Ca style=\"color:#111;text-decoration:none;\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fstellarx.tech\u002Farticle\u002Fmethylmercury-baby-label-mvwp\">\u003Cimg class=\"image_resized\" style=\"border-radius:8px;display:block;height:auto;margin-bottom:6px;max-width:520px;width:100%;\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.banyunjuhe.com\u002Fattachment\u002F20261001\u002F769f4d5710ab40a6859313db8e10a824.webp\" alt=\"Mercury in 'Baby Cod': A Toddler's Label Trap\">\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cbr>\u003Ca style=\"color:#0b6cb0;text-decoration:none;\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fstellarx.tech\u002Farticle\u002Fmethylmercury-baby-label-mvwp\">\u003Cstrong>Mercury in 'Baby Cod': A Toddler's Label Trap\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 20px;\">\u003Ca style=\"color:#111;text-decoration:none;\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fstellarx.tech\u002Farticle\u002Fdolphin-kleptoparasitism-nwrz\">\u003Cimg class=\"image_resized\" style=\"border-radius:8px;display:block;height:auto;margin-bottom:6px;max-width:520px;width:100%;\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.banyunjuhe.com\u002Fattachment\u002F20261001\u002F04919717aabb4489b0252cb2f783eec9.webp\" alt=\"Dolphin Makes Fish Vomit to Steal Food\">\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cbr>\u003Ca style=\"color:#0b6cb0;text-decoration:none;\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fstellarx.tech\u002Farticle\u002Fdolphin-kleptoparasitism-nwrz\">\u003Cstrong>Dolphin Makes Fish Vomit to Steal Food\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>","","\u002Fattachment\u002F20261007\u002F6c90f83d6c8a4018ae90a8eb21644598.webp","Smoke, alcohol, sugar, tea and coffee regulate emotion. A veteran drinker explains why middle-aged men still drink baijiu and how to drink less badly.","stellarx, wwai, baijiu, alcohol and emotion, middle-aged men, alcohol health, coffee, sugar","2026-10-07 19:24:20","Science Guide Wwai",77,0,false,{"id":20,"slug":21,"title":22,"lang":23},12765,"homochirality-life-mirror-hmls","同手性是什麼？2026 諾貝爾化學獎得主解開生命之謎","zh",{"prev":25,"next":29},{"id":26,"slug":27,"title":28,"categoryId":16},12751,"china-diabetes-carb-diet-pznh","Why Does China Have So Many Diabetics? 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