The good news is that a few beers with your mates won’t likely harm your health. It all boils down to how much and how often you use alcohol.
It’s obvious that consuming a lot of alcohol is dangerous. However, there is some evidence that drinking little amounts of alcohol can be beneficial to your health. Drinking a few of drinks may help your heart.
This article discusses how much alcohol guys can consume safely. You’ll also learn about the potential health benefits and risks of alcohol consumption.
How Much Alcohol Is Safe?
First and foremost, if you do not drink, do not begin. It’s true that alcohol use has some health benefits. However, there are healthier alternatives to achieve the same results, such as exercising.
If you do decide to drink, the American Dietary Guidelines urge that you do it in moderation.
1 This is a phrase you’ve undoubtedly heard before. But what exactly does it imply?
Moderate drinking is defined as two “standard” drinks or less per day for men. A standard drink contains 14 grams of pure alcohol (also known as drink-equivalent). 1
Don’t worry, figuring out how much you can drink doesn’t require any complicated arithmetic. One normal alcoholic beverage equals:2
- 12 ounces of beer containing 5% alcohol
- 8 ounces of malt liquor containing 7% alcohol
- A small, 5-ounce glass of wine containing 12% alcohol
- A shot of spirit or liquor (1.5 ounces) containing 40% alcohol
Certain drinks, whether a cocktail or a pint of beer, will be counted as multiple standard drinks. It counts as two standard drinks if your cocktail contains two shots of liquor. A pint of craft beer with 7% alcohol content is about equivalent to two standard drinks.
Just because you can drink up to two drinks a day in moderation doesn’t mean you should do so every day. Furthermore, it does not imply that you may “store up” several days’ worth of drinks and consume them all in one sitting.
In fact, it is at this point that moderate drinking becomes binge drinking or heavy drinking. Heavy drinking is defined as having more than 14 drinks per week for men. 2
Recap
If you choose to drink alcohol, drink in moderation. Men should have no more than two standard drinks a day, and less than 15 drinks a week. Keep in mind that your drink might count as more than one standard drink.
Health Benefits of Alcohol
Wine, beer, champagne, or liquor are all options. Moderate drinking, whatever your preference, may have some health benefits. 3
Alcohol use can raise HDL (good) cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. That’s why some scientists believe that moderate drinking is good for your heart.
According to several studies, those who drink one or two alcoholic drinks per day had a lower risk of dying from heart disease than those who do not.3
Dangers of Alcohol
When you have more than a couple of drinks every day, the advantages fade. 3 In certain situations, consuming alcohol might cause far more harm than good.
Drinking heavily can have serious consequences for your brain, heart, liver, and pancreas.
The following are some of the potential adverse effects of excessive alcohol consumption:4
- Mood and behavior changes
- High blood pressure
- Stroke
- Cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver
- Fatty liver disease
- Pancreatitis
- Cancers of the mouth, esophagus, throat, liver, and breast
Summary
The consequences of alcohol on your health are entirely dependent on how much and how often you consume it. Moderate drinking may help protect your heart. For men, moderate drinking is defined as one or two standard drinks per day.
However, excessive drinking might be harmful to your health. For men, heavy drinking is defined as 15 or more drinks per week. Certain malignancies, liver illness, and heart disease can all be exacerbated by this. If you’re concerned about how much you’re drinking, talk to your doctor.
