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Alcohol Abuse
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At what point do you know if you're drinking too much?
Like most people, I enjoy the occasional tipple but am worried that I may be overdoing it. I know that doctors specify drinking between 1 and 2 bottles (*ahem*) of red wine per day is actually healthy for you, but I am more prone to not drinking during the week and then binge-drinking at the weekend. But how can I get out of this nasty habit without affecting my social life?
Like most people, I enjoy the occasional tipple but am worried that I may be overdoing it. I know that doctors specify drinking between 1 and 2 bottles (*ahem*) of red wine per day is actually healthy for you, but I am more prone to not drinking during the week and then binge-drinking at the weekend. But how can I get out of this nasty habit without affecting my social life?
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(2-part post):
The recommended safe limits are 21 units of alcohol per week for women and 28 units of alcohol per week for men. (You might find some websites which quote 14 and 21 units respectively but the guideline figures have been revised upwards since these sites were created).
There are also recommended daily maximum figures. These are 2-3 units per day for women and 3-4 units per day for men.
There are many misconceptions about what constitutes a unit. Half a pint of 'ordinary strength' bitter contains about 1 unit of alcohol. However, half a pint of a strong bitter or a premium lager, such as Stella Artois, contains about 1.4 units.
It used to be said that a single spirit measure contains 1 unit of alcohol. However most bars have changed from serving 25cl measures to 35 cl measures. This means that a single measure now contains about 1.4 units of alcohol.
A typical red wine contains about 1.6 units per 125ml glasss. These are the glasses which give you 6 servings per bottle. However most pubs now serve wine in glasses holding 175ml. Therefore each of these glasses holds 2.2 units of alcohol. The largest (250ml) wine glasses found in pubs each contain about 3.2 units of alcohol.
The equivalent figures for white wine are about 1.2 units for the small glasses, 1.7 units for most pub glasses and 2.4 units for the very large glasses.
Combining these figures with the recommended maximums we get the following. Figures are for men (with the figures for women in brackets):
The recommended safe limits are 21 units of alcohol per week for women and 28 units of alcohol per week for men. (You might find some websites which quote 14 and 21 units respectively but the guideline figures have been revised upwards since these sites were created).
There are also recommended daily maximum figures. These are 2-3 units per day for women and 3-4 units per day for men.
There are many misconceptions about what constitutes a unit. Half a pint of 'ordinary strength' bitter contains about 1 unit of alcohol. However, half a pint of a strong bitter or a premium lager, such as Stella Artois, contains about 1.4 units.
It used to be said that a single spirit measure contains 1 unit of alcohol. However most bars have changed from serving 25cl measures to 35 cl measures. This means that a single measure now contains about 1.4 units of alcohol.
A typical red wine contains about 1.6 units per 125ml glasss. These are the glasses which give you 6 servings per bottle. However most pubs now serve wine in glasses holding 175ml. Therefore each of these glasses holds 2.2 units of alcohol. The largest (250ml) wine glasses found in pubs each contain about 3.2 units of alcohol.
The equivalent figures for white wine are about 1.2 units for the small glasses, 1.7 units for most pub glasses and 2.4 units for the very large glasses.
Combining these figures with the recommended maximums we get the following. Figures are for men (with the figures for women in brackets):
Someone who drinks 'ordinary' bitter shouldn't drink more than 14 (10.5) pints per week and no more than 2 (1.5) pints per day.
A Stella Artois drinker shouldn't drink more than 10 (7.5) pints per week and no more than 1.5 (1) pints per day.
A spirits drinker shouldn't drink more than 20 (15) single measures per week and no more than 3 (2) singles per day.
A red wine drinker (drinking from the 175 ml glasses commonly found in pubs) shouldn't drink more than 12 (9) glasses per week or 2 (1) glasses per day.
A white wine drinker (175ml glasses) shouldn't drink more than 16 (12) glasses of wine per week and no more than 3 (1-2) glasses per day.
The evidence for the health benefits of drinking red wine has been challenged recently. There is no firm evidence that red wine has substabtial health benefits. Even those who maintain that it does have such benefits usually refer to one or two small glasses per day. (i.e. about 2 bottles per week).
Information about the hazards of binge drinking can be found here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1930417.stm
and in far more detail, by following the links, here:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/th ehealthnews.html?in_article_id=302531&in_page_id=179 7
How do you continue to enjoy your social life while cutting downonthe booze? Try switching to drinks with which you can gradually reduce the amount of alcohol. e.g. if you drink spirits with mixers, you could start by drinking double vodka + orange juice one week, then swictch to single vodka + orange juice the foolowing week. By week three you could be drinking mainly orange juice with just the odd vodka in
A Stella Artois drinker shouldn't drink more than 10 (7.5) pints per week and no more than 1.5 (1) pints per day.
A spirits drinker shouldn't drink more than 20 (15) single measures per week and no more than 3 (2) singles per day.
A red wine drinker (drinking from the 175 ml glasses commonly found in pubs) shouldn't drink more than 12 (9) glasses per week or 2 (1) glasses per day.
A white wine drinker (175ml glasses) shouldn't drink more than 16 (12) glasses of wine per week and no more than 3 (1-2) glasses per day.
The evidence for the health benefits of drinking red wine has been challenged recently. There is no firm evidence that red wine has substabtial health benefits. Even those who maintain that it does have such benefits usually refer to one or two small glasses per day. (i.e. about 2 bottles per week).
Information about the hazards of binge drinking can be found here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1930417.stm
and in far more detail, by following the links, here:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/th ehealthnews.html?in_article_id=302531&in_page_id=179 7
How do you continue to enjoy your social life while cutting downonthe booze? Try switching to drinks with which you can gradually reduce the amount of alcohol. e.g. if you drink spirits with mixers, you could start by drinking double vodka + orange juice one week, then swictch to single vodka + orange juice the foolowing week. By week three you could be drinking mainly orange juice with just the odd vodka in
Grrr! I hate it when AB does that!
To continue:
. . .with just the odd vodka in it. By week 4 you might find that you can just stick to orange juice.
By the way, there are several warning signs if you're drinking too much. One is (unsurprisingly) getting a hangover. Another is NOT getting a hangover when you think you ought to have one. (This suggests that your body is becoming accustomed to abuse). A final sign of alcohol abuse is if you ever find that either the presence, or absence, of alcohol is affecting your quality of life. (e.g. if you find that you're 'grumpy' the morning after drinking alcohol or if you find that you can't get to sleep because you haven't had a drink).
Chris
To continue:
. . .with just the odd vodka in it. By week 4 you might find that you can just stick to orange juice.
By the way, there are several warning signs if you're drinking too much. One is (unsurprisingly) getting a hangover. Another is NOT getting a hangover when you think you ought to have one. (This suggests that your body is becoming accustomed to abuse). A final sign of alcohol abuse is if you ever find that either the presence, or absence, of alcohol is affecting your quality of life. (e.g. if you find that you're 'grumpy' the morning after drinking alcohol or if you find that you can't get to sleep because you haven't had a drink).
Chris
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