Facts about moderate drinking

We may not have adequately controlled for all confounding factors as the data were obtained through either self-report or the EHR, which has been noted to be a source for the observed protective association of alcohol consumption [40]. Incident stroke was defined using ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes found in the EHR, and some events may have been missed. However, we would not expect differential outcome ascertainment with respect to alcohol consumption due to the prospective nature of our study. We also did not find a difference in the number of imaging visits between those who were never or moderate drinkers that may have resulted in the better ascertainment of stroke cases in the exposed vs. unexposed. Furthermore, Veterans who seek care in community settings may not have been included in this study which is another potential source of selection bias. We did not have a large enough sample of women and younger individuals to make strong inferences about the association of alcohol consumption in these sub-groups.

• Keep in mind that alcohol contains calories and may cause weight gain.
• In January, Canada issued new guidelines warning that no amount of alcohol consumption is healthy, and urged people to cut drinking as much as possible.
• Whether you carry a physical card in your wallet or use your smartphone, try tracking your drinks to get a better handle on your consumption.
• As a result of these physiological differences, the same number of drinks will result in different BALs in a 140 lb woman and a 140 lb man, or in a 20-year-old man and a 60-year-old man with identical body weights.
• More time at home may have contributed to less peer pressure to drink, less time in a “wet” culture, and lifestyle changes that might support a shift towards moderation.

Consider talking with someone who has had a problem with drinking but has stopped. They tend to be wealthier, are more likely to exercise and to eat a healthy diet, and are less likely to be overweight. Moderation offers a path to sobriety without completely eliminating drinking. Limiting the amount of alcohol you drink, or taking breaks from drinking alcohol, are ways to get your alcohol problem under control while providing space for you to address the issues that power your drinking. If you use alcohol to manage stress or self-medicate, fear of how you’ll cope without alcohol might hamper your efforts to regain control of your drinking. If you consider alcohol as a coping strategy, then it makes sense why heading straight to abstinence would be terrifying.

Moderate Drinking Guidelines

Therefore, even putting them on a https://ecosoberhouse.com/ program may not help much. Even when a definition of moderate drinking has been developed, that definition may not apply equally to all people or under all circumstances. For example, although it may not be harmful for a party’s host to consume three or four drinks during the evening, the same amount of alcohol when consumed by a guest who plans on driving home could place the guest at risk for being in a car crash. Similarly, a healthy woman will likely experience no negative effects from drinking one drink per day; however, if the woman is pregnant, the same drinking level may lead to adverse effects (i.e., fetal impairment). Not surprisingly, given the variability in the definitions of one drink, the numerous approaches to assessing alcohol consumption, and the subjective interpretation of the word “moderate,” definitions of “moderate drinking” vary considerably among researchers.

Ethyl alcohol, or ethanol, is an intoxicating ingredient found in beer, wine, and liquor. Alcohol is produced by the fermentation of yeast, sugars, and starches. The investigators reported in the journal BMC Medicine that people who drank from 2 to 7 glasses of moderate drinking wine per week were much less likely to be diagnosed with clinical depression. According to the Office of Alcohol and Drug Education at the University of Notre Dame, IN, a woman’s body absorbs 30 percent more alcohol than a man’s after drinking the same amount.

Long-Term Health Risks

Drinking in moderation means you’ll likely need to turn down a drink now and again. Planning exactly how you’ll say no—in a quick, polite, and convincing way—can make it easier for you to stick with your convictions and avoid a spiral of uncomfortable excuses. If drinking less or less often than you typically do is something you’re committed to, pull out a pen and paper and write down some concrete goals for yourself.

Safe drinking can also be influenced by other factors other than the type of drink. The internet is full of misinformation about the risks of alcohol intake. But here’s what the experts have to say about drinking in moderation — the good, the bad, and the ugly — and your health. Drinking too much alcohol too frequently is unhealthy and can lead to liver disease, weight gain, and alcohol use disorder (AUD). Alcohol consumption may also play a role in certain mental health conditions, like depression and dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.

What does it mean to be above the legal limit for drinking?

There is inconsistent evidence from observational studies in the general population where some have reported an 8–29% lower risk of stroke risk with moderate alcohol consumption [5,6,7], while others have observed no association [8,9,10]. Furthermore, the relation of alcohol intake with stroke risk among U.S. Veterans, who have lower health status [11, 12] and higher alcohol assumption [13], is not well known. The primary aim of this study is to estimate the association of moderate alcohol consumption compared with never drinking on the risk of incident stroke using among U.S Veterans. The secondary aim is to assess whether, among moderate drinkers, beverage preference of wine, liquor, or beer has a different association on stroke risk compared to consuming a relatively even mixture of all types.

• Alcohol use disorder can include periods of being drunk (alcohol intoxication) and symptoms of withdrawal.
• There are regulatory restrictions on sharing patient-level data used in these analyses, even if it is de-identified.
• Ark Behavioral Health offers 100% confidential substance abuse assessment and treatment placement tailored to your individual needs.
• The TLFB is a structured interview in which participants receive calendar-based memory cues to assist them in constructing a chronological report of their alcohol use.
• Unhealthy alcohol use includes any alcohol use that puts your health or safety at risk or causes other alcohol-related problems.