Alcohol is a depressant, which means it slows down your body’s responses in all kinds of ways. Just enough can make you feel sociable; too much will cause you to have a hangover the next day; and excessive alcohol in a single session could put you in a coma or even kill you.
This section covers binge drinking, the risks of alcohol, tips on cutting down, alcohol limits and more.
Is your drinking making you fat?
A pint of beer contains as many calories as a packet of crisps. Find out how many calories are in your drink and get tips on avoiding weight gain.
Did you know a standard glass of wine can contain as many calories as a piece of chocolate, and a pint of lager has about the same calorie count as a packet of crisps?
The average wine drinker in England takes in around 2,000kcal from alcohol every month.
Drinking five pints of lager a week adds up to 44,200kcal over a year, equivalent to eating 221 doughnuts.
Many drinkers add to their calorie count by having snacks, such as crisps, nuts or pork scratchings, to accompany their tipple.
A heavy drinking session is often followed by an unhealthy breakfast to help cope with a hangover, which again helps to pile on the pounds.
Going for a fry-up instead of your usual bowl of cereal can add an extra 450kcal to the calorie count from the night before.
The findings are based on an online survey of nearly 2,000 adults in England in March 2009 by YouGov for the Department of Health.
Regularly drinking more than the NHS recommends can have a noticeable impact on your waistline as well as cause less obvious but more serious health problems.
Many women don’t realise that two large glasses of white wine not only puts them over the recommended daily limit for regular alcohol consumption, but also provides them with nearly 20% of their recommended daily calorie intake, at approximately 370kcal in total.
Most people would baulk at consuming a full glass of single cream, but wouldn’t think twice about the calorie content of a couple of pints. But the calorie content is similar and, over time, excess alcohol intake can easily contribute to gaining weight.
Wine, beer, cider, spirits and all our favourite drinks are made from natural starch and sugar. Fermentation, and distillation for certain drinks, is used to produce the alcohol content. This helps explain why alcohol contains lots of calories – seven calories a gram in fact, almost as many as a gram of fat. And, of course, additional calories can be present in added mixer drinks.
Tips to avoid weight gain
To reduce the chances of gaining weight from drinking alcohol, follow these tips from the British Nutrition Foundation:
- Stick to your daily recommended units – men should not regularly drink more than 3-4 units of alcohol a day; women should not regularly drink more than 2-3 units a day. As an indication, a pint of lager (ABV 5.2%) and a 250ml glass of wine (ABV 12%) both contain 3 units of alcohol.
- Alternate an alcoholic drink with a glass of water – this will help to prevent you becoming dehydrated.
- Don’t drink on an empty stomach. If you do reach for snacks while drinking, opt for a healthier option – choose a sandwich instead of crisps or chips, or choose a chicken burger without mayonnaise instead of a kebab with garlic sauce.
- Drinking in rounds can mean you end up drinking more than you intended. Opt out and drink at your own pace.
- Try cutting down with a friend, as you’ll be more likely to stick to it with moral support.
- Eat a healthier dinner before you start drinking. Order or cook before you start drinking so you’re not tempted to go for the less healthy options.
- Pace yourself by taking small sips.
- Avoid “binge drinking” – some people are under the misapprehension that they can “save up” their units to splurge at the weekend.
- If you’re drinking white wine, why not add a splash of soda water to help the same number of units last longer?
How many calories are in your drink?
With a pint of beer the same as a packet of crisps, and a standard bottle of alcopop, the same as a three teacakes, the calories from alcohol soon add up.
| Drink | Calories (kcal) | Food equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| A standard glass (175ml) of 12% wine | 126 | 1 Cadbury Heroes miniature bar |
| A pint of 5% strength beer | 170 | 1 packet of McCoys salted crisps |
| A glass (50ml) of (17%) cream liqueur | 118 | 1 Milky Way bar |
| A standard bottle (330ml) of 5% alcopop | 237 | 3 Lees teacakes |
| A double measure (50ml) of 17.5% fortified wine | 65 | 1 Asda bourbon biscuit |
The risks of drinking too much
Most people who have alcohol-related health problems aren’t alcoholics. They’re simply people who have regularly drunk more than the recommended levels for some years.
Regularly drinking more than the recommended daily limits risks damaging your health.
There’s no guaranteed safe level of drinking, but if you drink less than the recommended daily limits, the risks of harming your health are low.
And it’s certainly not only people who get drunk or binge drink who are at risk. Most people who regularly drink more than the NHS recommends don’t see any harmful effects at first.
Alcohol’s hidden harms usually only emerge after a number of years. And by then, serious health problems can have developed.
Liver problems, reduced fertility, high blood pressure, increased risk of various cancers and heart attack are some of the numerous harmful effects of regularly drinking more than the recommended levels.
The effects of alcohol on your health will depend on how much you drink. The more you drink, the greater the health risks.
Drinkers can be divided into three risk categories:
- lower-risk drinkers
- increasing-risk drinkers
- higher-risk drinkers
Read about alcohol units to work out how much alcohol there is in your drinks.
Lower-risk drinkers
Lower-risk drinking means that you have a low risk of causing yourself future harm.
However, drinking consistently within these limits is called “lower-risk” rather than “safe” because drinking alcohol is never completely safe.
To be a lower-risk drinker, the NHS recommends that:
- Men should not regularly drink more than 3-4 units a day.
- Women should not regularly drink more than 2-3 units a day.
“Regularly” means drinking this amount every day or most days of the week.
Even drinking less than this is not advisable in some circumstances. Drinking any alcohol can still be too much if you’re going to drive, operate machinery, swim or do strenuous physical activity.
Pregnant women or women trying to conceive should avoid alcohol altogether. When you drink, alcohol reaches your baby through the placenta. Too much exposure to alcohol can seriously affect your baby’s development.
If you’re pregnant and choose to drink, do not drink more than 1-2 units of alcohol once or twice a week, and do not get drunk. This will minimise the risk to the baby. Read more on pregnancy and alcohol.
People who drink should aim to be in the lower-risk category to minimise the health risks.
Increasing-risk drinkers
Drinking at this level increases the risk of damaging your health. Alcohol affects all parts and systems of the body, and it can play a role in numerous medical conditions.
Increasing-risk drinking is:
- regularly drinking more than 3-4 units a day if you’re a man
- regularly drinking more than 2-3 units a day if you’re a woman
If you’re drinking at around these levels, your risk of developing a serious illness is higher than non-drinkers:
- Men are 1.8 to 2.5 times as likely to get cancer of the mouth, neck and throat, and women are 1.2 to 1.7 times as likely.
- Women are 1.2 times as likely to get breast cancer.
- Men are twice as likely to develop liver cirrhosis, and women are 1.7 times as likely.
- Men are 1.8 times as likely to develop high blood pressure, and women are 1.3 times as likely.
If you’re an increasing-risk drinker and you drink substantially more than the lower-risk limits, your risks will be even higher than those above.
At these levels of drinking, you may already have alcohol-related problems, such as fatigue or depression, weight gain, poor sleep and sexual problems.
Whatever your age or sex, you’re probably in worse physical shape than you would be otherwise. Also, you could easily have higher blood pressure due to your drinking.
Some people argue a lot when they drink, which can negatively affect their relationships with family and friends.
Higher-risk drinkers
If you’re in this group, you have an even higher risk of damaging your health compared with increasing-risk drinkers.
Higher-risk drinking is:
- regularly drinking more than 8 units a day or 50 units a week if you’re a man
- regularly drinking more than 6 units a day or 35 units a week if you’re a woman
Again, alcohol affects the whole body and can play a role in numerous medical conditions. You have a much higher risk of developing alcohol-related health problems. Your body has probably suffered some damage already, even if you’re not yet aware of it.
Compared to non-drinkers, if you regularly drink above higher-risk levels:
- You could be 3-5 times more likely to get cancer of the mouth, neck and throat.
- You could be 3-10 times more likely to develop liver cirrhosis.
- Men could have four times the risk of having high blood pressure, and women are at least twice as likely to develop it.
- You could be twice as likely to have an irregular heartbeat.
- Women are around 1.5 times as likely to get breast cancer.
The more you drink above the higher-risk threshold, the greater the risks. So some of the health risks can be even higher than those above. You’re likely to have the same problems as increasing-risk drinkers: feeling tired or depressed, or gaining extra weight.
You may be sleeping poorly or having sexual problems. And, like increasing-risk drinkers but possibly more so, you’re likely to be in worse physical shape than you would be otherwise, whatever your age or sex. You could also have high blood pressure.
At these levels, your drinking may make you argumentative, which might damage your relationships with family and friends.
Read about alcohol support to find out who can help you with problem drinking.
Binge Drinking
Binge drinking usually refers to drinking lots of alcohol in a short space of time or drinking to get drunk.
Researchers define binge drinking as consuming eight or more units in a single session for men and six or more for women.
However, this definition does not apply to everyone because the tolerance and the speed of drinking in a session varies from person to person.
When drinking, try to pace yourself, avoid drinking more than you are used to and avoid drinking so much that you get drunk.
This is even more important if you are out in risky or unfamiliar circumstances. You can be at risk from others, and may not be able to look after your friends.
You can easily lose control of what you do or say and may make risky decisions, thinking you’re invulnerable.
Binge drinking increases the risk of heart attack. It could cause you to vomit and if you’re sick when very drunk you could breathe in your own vomit and suffocate.
Drink-by-Drink Guide
Below is a drink-by-drink guide, based on a standard (175ml) 12% volume glass of white wine and 4% strength pint of lager, showing how quickly alcohol can affect your mind and body.
One glass of white wine or a pint of lager (approximately two units):
Your self-confidence increases.
Driving ability is already impaired, which is why it is best to drink no alcohol if you’re driving.
Two glasses of white wine or two pints of lager (approximately four units):
You feel less inhibited and your attention span is shorter.
You start dehydrating, one of the causes of a hangover.
Three glasses of white wine or three pints of lager (approximately six units):
Your liver has to work harder.
Your sex drive may increase, while your judgement may decrease.
Four glasses of white wine or three and a half pints of lager (approximately eight units):
You’re noticeably emotional.
Your sex drive could now decrease and you may become less capable.
The NHS recommends:
- Men should not regularly drink more than 3-4 units of alcohol a day
- Women should not regularly drink more than 2-3 units a day
- If you’ve had a heavy drinking session, avoid alcohol for 48 hours
“Regularly” means drinking this amount every day or most days of the week.
Bear in mind that some people (including women, young people and those with smaller builds) may experience the effects after drinking smaller amounts of alcohol.
If you have developed a tolerance to alcohol you may find that some of these effects do not apply to you.
In that case, consider whether it is time to cut back on your drinking or whether you need to seek help.
Tips on cutting down
If you regularly drink more than the recommended limits, try these practical and simple tips to help you cut down.
- Make a plan
Before you start drinking, set a limit on how much you’re going to drink. - Set a budget
Only take a fixed amount of money to spend on alcohol. - Let them know
If you let your friends and family know you’re cutting down and that it’s important to you, you could get support from them. - Take it a day at a time
Cut back a little each day. That way, every day you do is a success. - Make it a smaller one
You can still enjoy a drink but go for smaller sizes. Try bottled beer instead of pints, or a small glass of wine instead of a large one. - Have a lower-strength drink
Cut down the alcohol by swapping strong beers or wines for ones with a lower strength (ABV in %). You’ll find this information on the bottle. - Stay hydrated
Drink a pint of water before you start drinking, and don’t use alcohol to quench your thirst. Have a soft drink instead. - Take a break
Have the odd day each week when you don’t have an alcoholic drink.
Benefits of cutting down
The immediate effects of cutting down include:
- feeling better in the mornings
- being less tired during the day
- your skin may start to look better
- you’ll start to feel fitter
- you may stop gaining weight
Long-term benefits include:
- Mood
There’s a strong link between heavy drinking and depression, and hangovers often make you feel anxious and low. If you already feel anxious or sad, drinking can make this worse, so cutting down may put you in a better mood generally. - Sleep
Drinking can affect your sleep. Although it can help some people fall asleep quickly, it can disrupt your sleep patterns and stop you from sleeping deeply. So cutting down on alcohol should help you feel more rested when you wake up. - Behaviour
Drinking can affect your judgement and behaviour. You may behave irrationally or aggressively when you’re drunk. Memory loss can be a problem during drinking and in the long term for regular heavy drinkers. - Heart
Long-term heavy drinking can lead to your heart becoming enlarged. This is a serious condition that can’t be completely reversed, but stopping drinking can stop it getting worse. - Immune system
Regular drinking can affect your immune system. Heavy drinkers tend to catch more infectious diseases.
Drinking guidelines
- Men should not regularly drink more than 3-4 units of alcohol a day
- Women should not regularly drink more than 2-3 units a day
- If you’ve had a heavy drinking session, avoid alcohol for 48 hours
“Regularly” means drinking this amount every day or most days of the week.
Alcohol – Safe Drinking
We’re supposed to be keeping an eye on how much we drink, but how many of us really know what a unit of alcohol is?
With so many different drinks and glass sizes, from shots to pints – not to mention bottles – it’s easy to get confused about how many units are in your drink.
The idea of counting alcohol units was first introduced in the UK in 1987 to help people keep track of their drinking.
Units are a simple way of expressing the quantity of pure alcohol in a drink. One unit equals 10ml or 8g of pure alcohol, which is around the amount of alcohol the average adult can process in an hour. This means that within an hour there should be, in theory, little or no alcohol left in the blood of an adult, although this will vary from person to person.
The number of units in a drink is based on the size of the drink as well as its alcohol strength. For example, a pint of strong lager contains 3 units of alcohol, whereas the same volume of standard lager has just over 2 units.
See the table below for more examples of drinks and units
Calculating units
Using units is a simpler way of representing a drink’s alcohol content, which is usually expressed by the standard measure ABV, which stands for alcohol by volume.
ABV is a measure of the amount of pure alcohol as a percentage of the total volume of liquid in a drink.
You can find the ABV on the labels of cans and bottles, sometimes written as “vol” or “alcohol volume” or you can ask bar staff about particular drinks.
For example, wine that says “12% ABV” or “alcohol volume 12%” means that 12% of the volume of that drink is pure alcohol.
You can work out how many units there are in any drink by multiplying the total volume of a drink (in ml) by its ABV (which is measured as a percentage) and dividing the result by 1,000.
- Strength (ABV) x Volume (ml) ÷ 1,000 = units.
For example, to work out the number of units in a pint (568ml) of strong lager (ABV 5.2%):
- 5.2 (%) x 568 (ml) ÷ 1,000 = 2.95 units
To make things easier, use the units calculator to quickly calculate units and download a drinks tracker to your phone to keep on top of your drinking and get personalised feedback.
Drinks and units
A 750ml bottle of red, white or rose wine (ABV 13.5%) contains 10 units.
See the guide below to find out how many units are in your favourite tipple.
*Gin, rum, vodka, whisky, tequila, sambuca. Large (35ml) single measures of spirits are 1.4 units.
Photo supplied by NHS Choices Website.
The NHS recommends:
- Men should not regularly drink more than 3-4 units of alcohol a day
- Women should not regularly drink more than 2-3 units a day
- If you’ve had a heavy drinking session, avoid alcohol for 48 hours
“Regularly” means drinking this amount every day or most days of the week.
For more advice and information on safe drinking – Click here: ‘Change 4 Life’
Track your drinking
Use the NHS Choices interactive tools to calculate alcohol units, assess your drinking levels and track your drinking over time from your smartphone or computer.
Self-assessment
Are you drinking within recommended limits? Use the drinking self-assessment tool to find out if you’re drinking too much.
It’ll help you to assess the effects of your drinking and, if you are drinking too much, suggest ways of cutting down.
Unit Calculators
Use the alcohol unit calculator to find out how many units there are in a single drink or in a number of drinks.
If you’re on the move, you can also text Units to 64746 to access the NHS units calculator on any smartphone.
iPhone Tracker
If you have an Android phone, iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, you can download the Change4Life Drinks Tracker for free.
The Drinks Tracker makes it easy to:
- Track your drinking over weeks and months
- Calculate the units in your drinks
- Get daily tips and feedback
- Share with friends via Facebook or Twitter
No smartphone? No problem. You can track your drinking on a desktop or via our handy downloadable PDF.
The app allows you to calculate units in your drinks, track your drinking over months and get personalised feedback.
Desktop Tracker
The desktop tracker lets you calculate units, keep a drinks diary on your desktop and provides personalised feedback on your drinking.
Available to both Windows and Mac users.
Drinks Diary
Keeping a drinks diary for a week can be a real eye-opener to people who don’t realise how much they’re drinking.
Download the drinks diary leaflet (PDF, 697kb) to work out your alcohol intake over a week.