Health – Re-thinking alcohol intake

Humans and alcohol have been getting together for a long time. Presumably, the process of fermentation of starches was discovered accidentally, but it really took off when we embraced an agricultural lifestyle and had a bit of barley left over to experiment with. 

It didn’t take long to realise that alcohol brings both pleasure and danger, on one hand “gladdening the heart” and on the other fuelling aggression and folly. In New Zealand, our attitude to it is quite conflicted. 

Alcohol is a socially acceptable mind-altering drug, strongly associated with celebration, companionship and relaxation, but a recent report says alcohol-related harms cost us nine billion dollars in 2023, taking into account domestic violence, accidents, illness, lost productivity and the huge burden of fetal alcohol syndrome. 

Attempts to ban alcohol (prohibition) have been spectacular failures, at least in Western countries, so we are left to manage it in other ways. Hence, public health education is focused on high-risk situations, such as pregnancy, drink-driving and the appeal of alcohol to young people. But in the end, individual responsibility is a big factor and for that to work, people need practical guidelines regarding safe drinking. 

We measure alcohol intake in terms of “standard drinks”. Even though these appear on every bottle and can, I suspect not many people would have an intuitive understanding of what a standard drink is. Even less helpful is the knowledge that an SD is 10g of pure alcohol. 

“Low-risk drinking” is different for men and women. Women are advised to limit themselves to two SDs a day and 10 SDs in a week. Men can tolerate a bit more: three SDs a day and up to 15 per week. In addition, everyone is encouraged to have at least two alcohol-free days per week, something which many people who consider themselves responsible drinkers baulk at.

These guidelines automatically rule out binge drinking, which for some young men in particular is their favourite weekend activity. I still can’t figure out how a night that you can’t remember can be such a great experience, but sadly it is incredibly popular. 

There are, of course, people who shouldn’t drink at all, given a history of dependency or misuse, or in combination with medical issues and certain prescription drugs. 

So how does an SD relate to our commonest alcohol choices? A standard bottle of wine at 13 per cent alcohol contains 7.7 SDs. Not a snappy number to remember, but in effect a third or half a bottle is your daily allowance. Obviously, a low alcohol wine, at about nine per cent, gives you more freedom. But beware of the top-ups which can quickly make you lose track.

Beer is mostly four to five per cent, which means a 330ml can or bottle equals one SD. 

If you are into top shelf, a litre bottle of spirits can contain up to 37 SDs!

So have a little think about the recommendations.

Nat King Cole sang that summer was a time for “soda and pretzels and beer”.  Maybe throttle back on the last one?