Why unwind without alcohol?
What do you do at the end of a long week...perhaps unwind with a beer or wine? Kick back, relax with friends, have 'one more' and 'just one more' after that to release the stress of the week?
What are the recommended guidelines and how are they shown?
Women are generally recommended to drink less than men, because they metabolise alcohol in a different way to men due to a higher body fat composition.
The recommendations are presented as units, where one unit = 10 grams of alcohol, however I have read here (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015) that the U.S. guidelines take a standard unit to be 14 grams of alcohol so...not sure what to say about that, except that it is best to research the advice for your particular country to be sure.
The number of units recommended varies from country to country actually, and those variations are really surprising! As a guide of what a standard drink actually equates to, a small (125 ml) glass of wine is 1.6 units, a bottle of wine is about 10 units, a 25 ml shot of spirits is 1 unit, and a pint of beer is 2.3 units (Change for Life, 2016).
Here's the breakdown for Australia, the U.K., and the U.S.A. in 2022.
Australia:
Women = 14
Men = 14
* and no more than 4 standard drinks at any one time.
U.K.: The Guidelines were changed after the doco was made:
Women = 14 units or less per week
Men = 14 units or less per week
U.S.A.:
Women = 7 units or less per week (in Australian/U.K. terms that works out to almost 10 standard drinks)
Men = 14 units or less per week (almost 20 standard drinks in the Australian/U.K. equivalent)
*Note that the U.S. measurement of a unit is higher than that of the U.K. or Australia so I've given the rough equivalent above. Here's a link (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015) to more on this.
So what does this mean for you?
Can you see yourself cutting your intake back a little?
A lot?
For many it is not as easy as just saying you will stop or cut back and hey presto it's done. There are many factors that need to be considered before making a commitment to cut back. In my one-on-one coaching sessions, I help you to identify the areas you need to address in your life in order to make the changes you want to make. For example, it may be that you need to work on improving or changing your habits in the area of relationships, or how you deal with stress, before you can tackle the goal of reducing alcohol. Together we can identify the areas where you are stuck and build a strategy towards change. Making huge commitments in short periods of time runs the risk of rebound and bingeing even more, so I encourage you to start slow and build up as your confidence grows.
Please contact us for an obligation free chat about your workplace wellbeing strategy.
References:
Arnett, G. 2016 'How do the UK's new alcohol guidelines compare with the rest of the world's?', The Guardian, 8 January 2016, viewed 29 January 2016, <http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2016/jan/08/how-do-the-uks-new-alcohol-guidelines-compare-with-the-rest-of-the-worlds>
Australian Government National Health and Medical Research Council, 2015 Alcohol Guidelines: Reducing the Health Risks, NHMRC, viewed 29 January 2016, <https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/health-topics/alcohol-guidelines>
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015, Alcohol and Public Health: Frequently Asked Questions, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, viewed 29 January 2016, <http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/faqs.htm>
Change For Life, 2016, Alcohol Units and Guidelines, Change for Life, viewed 29 January 2016, <http://www.nhs.uk/change4life/Pages/alcohol-lower-risk-guidelines-units.aspx>
Hello Sunday Morning, 2016, Hello Sunday Morning, viewed 29 January 2016, <https://www.hellosundaymorning.org/>
Disclaimer: This blog post is intended to share publicly available information and assist you in making informed choices for improved health. It in no way replaces the guidance of your GP or health provider. If you feel your alcohol intake is unsafe or dangerous, or that you are suffering from alcohol addiction, please see your GP for medical assistance right away.