By Joy Stephenson-Laws, JD, Founder Like many of you, I was riveted by the testimonies in the recent U.S. Senate hearing to confirm a new Supreme Court Justice. At one point during the proceedings, I found myself wondering why a man would say he loves beer 30 times over the course of a few hours.
- And, as a woman, I began to wonder what about beer would generate such intense loyalty and enthusiasm among some men to where they can be as passionate about their “brew” as they are about their sports teams.
- According to a recent poll, 62% of American men say beer is their preferred choice of an alcoholic beverage.
So as it turns out, the love affair between men and their beer may be a bit complex. Men tend to enjoy beer more than women, and they may sometimes go on and on when extolling its virtues. And when you consider the psychological benefits that beer offers, it’s not surprising that men would love beer.
Male Bonding : One of the most common reasons that men love beer is that it plays a key role in male bonding and creating a sense of community. This socializing has been shown to release endorphins, which improve mood. Mood improvement is so powerful that one study showed that smiles are contagious in a group of men sitting around drinking alcohol. Interestingly, beer did not have a similar effect on women.
Dopamine Rush : The ingredients in beer have been shown to release dopamine in the brain. This is the same chemical that helps give runners their “runners high” and that certain foods and activities release in a man’s (and a woman’s) brain. Apparently, hordenine, a substance present in beer, is able to stimulate a dopamine receptor and may cause a prolonged effect in the reward center of the brain. Once this link between drinking beer and feeling better is established, it usually remains for a long time. This would help explain why research shows that even smelling or tasting beer can trigger the release of dopamine which, in turn, can improve a man’s mood. As an added bonus, beer also tends to be high in vitamin B6, which helps the body produce serotonin, which is a mood stabilizer.
Beer Buzz : Beer is usually lower in alcohol than other alcoholic beverages, so it takes a lot more to cross the line between having a “buzz” and getting drunk. This means that men can drink longer in a social setting, which most find appealing and attractive.
Masculinity : If you ever wondered why men prefer beer over a wine spritzer, the answer is that beer is seen as “masculine” and “manly,” especially when compared to “girly drinks.” Do you think most men want to hold a strawberry daiquiri or a fruity drink with an umbrella? This masculine aspect of beer can be so compelling that some men will drink beer even if they don’t necessarily like the taste, in order to be perceived as “real men.” This link between masculinity and beer is reinforced in popular culture in any number of ways, but especially in advertising which often depicts men enjoying beer while at or watching a sporting event. A popular beer commercial circulating now stars rugged “Jurassic Park” star Chris Pratt. Justification of Drinking Behaviors : Since beer doesn’t pack the punch of “hard” alcohol, it is not seen as being as “bad” as other distilled beverages. How often have you heard someone respond to “Have you been drinking?” with the answer, ” I only had a couple of beers.” You very rarely will hear someone say,”I only had a few martinis.”
The Health Benefits and Risks There are some reported health benefits of drinking beer in moderation. These include improved heart health and kidney function. It also has been said to help cognitive function and reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease,
One of the key ingredients in beer, called hops, has also been shown to be a powerful antioxidant, which is associated with brain protection. There are studies which suggest that having a few beers may increase creativity and problem solving. Memory has also been shown to benefit from beer. Drinking to the point of inebriation or drinking too frequently, however, does negate these benefits, so “I want to be more creative” or “I want to have better memory” won’t justify drinking beer in excess.
The Risks On the other hand, beer does have some health and physical drawbacks, some of which may be especially important for men to know about it. One is that hops, which also give beer flavor, contain high levels of plant estrogen, which is a female hormone.
Drinking too much beer, according to some research, can promote the development of female physical characteristics, such as larger breasts. Maybe all this time, “man boobs” was really referring to “beer boobs!” It also can contribute to what is euphemistically called “brewer’s droop,” or erectile dysfunction.
Some men also experience premature aging, sluggishness and the all-too-common beer belly. Too much brew can also damage the liver as well as other organs. Other health issues from drinking too much beer may be the loss of critical nutrients, like water, vitamins, minerals, including iron, selenium and magnesium, which alcohol depletes from our bodies if we overdo it.
Staying Hydrated: While beer can be quite refreshing, it, as does alcohol in general, promotes dehydration, which carries its own set of health risks. So, it’s important to have your beer with a water chaser and make sure that you keep your water intake adequate. Don’t Mix Beer with Sports: Just as beer does, sports are a way that many men bond. Combining the two seems like the perfect combination, but there are health risks in doing so. The combo of the two could lead to accelerated dehydration from both drinking alcohol and sweating. It may also affect physical performance and cause a slower muscle recovery. And let’s face it, if you are feeling that beer buzz you may be more likely to injury yourself while playing that sport. Maximize Antioxidant Value: The more hops used in the beer, the more antioxidants there are. Also, be careful with “light” beers, which may be higher in calories and carbohydrates then you may think.
The bottom line is that the love affair between men and their beer is not going to end and nor should it. There are many social and perhaps health advantages of sharing a brew with your buddies. But if you drink beer, think about doing it in moderation and be proactive about maximizing the benefits and minimizing the risks.
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Contents
Is it normal for a man to drink beer everyday?
Are There Benefits to Drinking Beer? – In moderation, drinking beer may offer some health benefits, including:
Lowering your risk of diabetes A decreased risk of heart disease Increased bone density in menA lowered risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia (due to the ingredient silicon, and higher estrogen levels )
Moderate drinking is defined as one drink a day for women, and up to two drinks a day for men. So, that daily (or twice daily) beer isn’t an issue for most people, as long as you can stick to it. Keep in mind that if you’re drinking heavily, many of the positives above become negatives.
- For instance, moderate beer drinking might reduce your risk of developing diabetes, but heavy drinking will increase that risk.
- And while moderate drinking might lower your risk of dementia, heavy beer drinking puts you at risk for early dementia,
- In summary, if you’re wondering how many beers a day is safe, the answer for most people is one to two.
Drinking more than that on a regular basis can put you at risk, and often reverse any health benefits of drinking beer. It’s a fine line to walk. If you’re having trouble cutting back on beer, we have solutions.
How many beers makes a man an alcoholic?
How Much is Too Much Beer? – To put into perspective, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) defines two potentially problematic drinking patterns around the excessive use of alcohol:
Heavy drinking means drinking four or more drinks per day for men or three or more drinks per day for women Binge drinking means consuming five or more drinks for men or four or more drinks within two hours.
A standard drink in the U.S. is defined as a 12 ounce of % beers, 5 ounces of 12% wine, or 1.5 ounces of 40% 80-proof distilled spirits. What’s more is that heavy drinking or binge drinking can increase the risks of developing alcohol use disorder (AUD), also referred to as alcoholism.
Why do men like to get drunk?
A lcohol is a very simple molecule with incredibly complex effects. Although I already knew a bit about the neurobiology of alcohol, I just spent an afternoon reading a dense journal article that described roughly 50 different neural mechanisms it affects.
- After which I felt like I needed a drink.
- It’s widely known that alcohol reduces stress temporarily, and many people use it for just that purpose.
- It reduces stress by increasing the uptake of a neurotransmitter called GABA, the brain’s primary inhibitory molecule.
- And by “inhibitory” I don’t mean that it makes you feel inhibited.
Quite the opposite, of course.) By sending more GABA to your brain cells, alcohol works much like common tranquillising drugs such as Valium and Xanax. That’s why you start to stumble and slur if you drink too much. But alcohol acts on many other neurotransmitters too.
- I’ll mention three important ones and show how they contribute to the joys of inebriation.
- While alcohol increases GABA, it reduces the uptake of glutamate, the brain’s premier excitatory molecule,
- Less excitation and more inhibition? That sounds like simple summation, but GABA and glutamate have different effects on different brain regions, and that’s where things get complicated.
In the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain you use for thinking and planning, the net effect is inhibition. That’s why your judgment is flawed, your decision-making is set to “whatever” and your ability to see things from any perspective other than your own approaches nil.
- The remarkable side effect of this general dimming is that your thoughts seem amazingly clear – which is nice – while in reality they are just amazingly limited.
- Meanwhile, GABA is also busy turning off the brakes on a system that releases dopamine, the molecule that takes centre stage in all varieties of addiction.
What’s that again? Well, when you take off the brakes, the car starts to move. So what you get is a stream of dopamine coursing into the striatum (or reward system), the brain part that generates desire, anticipation and (once you’ve finally brought the glass to your lips) pleasure.
- So far, you’ve got physical relaxation, which diminishes stress, reduced judgment, allowing you to talk and behave however you want, and stimulation of the brain’s reward system, which makes you feel like something nice is about to happen.
- But the fourth neurotransmitter tops the bill: opioids.
- Sometimes called endorphins or internal opiates, they get released by alcohol too.
Everyone knows that opiates feel good, but did you know that you can get your opiates legally by downing a stiff drink? The American martini – which consists of three ounces of gin and little else – feels particularly nice for a very simple reason. The faster the alcohol goes in, the more internal opiates get released. Aaaaaahhhh! A dry martini, with its three ounces of gin. Photograph: Alamy Given all the things that make up an alcohol high, it shouldn’t be surprising that inebriation feels different to different people, feels different from the first to the last drink, and definitely feels different once it becomes hard to stop.
People who carry around a lot of stress drink to relax. People who spend a lot of energy controlling their impulses drink in order to let themselves go. The first drink of the night excites you, the last drink of the night sedates, and that isn’t nearly as much fun. College kids indulge in binge-drinking because they’re still bright-eyed novices when it comes to taking chemicals that alter their mood – the more the merrier.
Twenty years later, they may drink to feel less, not more, because life has become oppressive, and anxieties seem ready to spring from every train of thought. But once people become addicted to alcohol, as many do, the fun of the high is eclipsed by two opposing fears.
- The fear of going without, versus the fear of being unable to stop.
- That clash of concerns comes from several sources.
- First there are the unpleasant bodily effects that plague big drinkers when they stop for a few hours or, worse, a few days.
- Add to that the emotional emptiness, depression, and increased stress responsiveness that overcome the drinker’s mood at the same time.
Taken together, these effects make up what George F Koob calls the dark side of addiction, But I think the real bogeyman, the unbeatable Catch-22 when it comes to alcohol and other drugs, is the realisation that the thing you rely on to relax is the very thing that stresses you out the most.
- It’s hard to find a way out of the recurrent cycle of anxiety and temporary relief, over and over, and that’s the epitome of a losing battle.
- People like to get drunk because alcohol smacks your brain around in a number of ways that feel pleasant, or at least different, or at the very least better than going without.
And that’s really how all mood-altering drugs work. Which is generally OK, because recreational drug use, including drinking, doesn’t lead to addiction for most people, But for those who get caught, the fun soon disappears. When the fun stops. Photograph: Alamy Drugs, including alcohol, fashion neural habits: get it, take it, lose it, then get it again. And those habits narrow the brain’s focus to a very singular goal, at the expense of everything else. The striatum – the brain’s reward system – is responsible, not just for pleasure, but more seriously, for feelings of desire.
And desire isn’t fun, unless you’re just about to get whatever it is you want. Then, the more you get it, the more your striatum gets tuned by that surge of dopamine, modifying its synaptic wiring a little bit at a time until other goals just don’t count for much. But alcohol has one advantage over drugs like heroin and cocaine.
It’s legal, and socially sanctioned. In fact drinking has become deeply enmeshed with themes of social engagement, joyful celebrations and all the rest of it. Drinking doesn’t make you a bad person – in fact it seems to put you in good company and thereby make you a good person – if you can resist its addictive lure.
What percentage of men like beer?
The following feature is excerpted from TIME Beer: The Story of the World’s Most Celebrated Drink, — A trip to Munich’s annual Oktoberfest comes with a few guarantees. Food will be in abundance: sausages, baked pretzels, punchy sauerkraut and buttered noodles.
The crowd-puller will host gaggles of costumed guests, decked in lederhosen for men and dirndls (bodiced Bavarian dresses) for women. Music and parades will provide constant entertainment. And most important: there will be beer. Dating back to 1810, the harvest festival was begun to mark the nuptials of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese.
The traditional beer, called Marzen, was brewed in large quantities in March and consumed throughout the summer. Celebrators finished the brew at Oktoberfest. Today the two-week event attracts about 6 million visitors a year, who down more than 7 million liters of the cold stuff.
- At Munich’s Oktoberfest, only six local brewers are permitted to sell beer: Hacker-Pschorr, Paulaner, Löwenbräu, Hofbräu, Spaten and Augustiner.
- A good Oktoberfest beer is a masterpiece of balance and integration, delicious without being extravagant,” wrote New York Times critic Eric Asimov when he visited the festival in 2008.
“It does its job in the background, refreshing the palate with enough flavor to pique the interest without interfering with the conversation.” The world’s largest beer festival draws in a hefty sum of money for Munich. Tourists coming in to sample the brews need places to stay, spend money on other restaurants and need taxis to get around.
Those kinds of expenses add up to more than 1 billion euros a year for the city. But beer’s impact on Munich is not isolated. The brew has impacted the way people unite and interact with their communities since the beginning of time. People have been celebrating with beer (and other booze) for millennia.
When archaeologists traced the origins of human civilization, they found that communities centered on alcohol. The Göbekli Tepe site in southeastern Turkey, dated to more than 10,000 years ago, shows evidence of beer brewing at ancient feasting sites.
Production and consumption of alcoholic beverages is an important factor in feasts facilitating the cohesion of social groups, and in the case of Göbekli Tepe, in organizing collective work,” Oliver Dietrich, an archaeologist for the German Archaeological Institute, told LiveScience. When people gather to toast, they form a community, which, in turn, can be good for one’s health.
A recent study conducted by the beer-advocacy group Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) found that having a regular watering hole helps improve social skills, which increases overall life satisfaction. According to the study, people who patronized a local or -community-type pub or bar had a wider support system of close friends, which also meant that they were more trusting of others and more engaged with the community than those who did not support a local bar (nondrinking patrons can find community in social spaces such as a place of worship or a gym ).
- Friendship and community are major factors in health and well-being, as many studies have shown direct correlations between strong social ties and better health.
- Making and maintaining friendships, however, is something that has to be done face-to-face; the digital world is simply no substitute,” said Oxford University professor emeritus Robin Dunbar, the evolutionary psychologist who led the study.
“Given the increasing tendency for our social life to be online rather than face-to-face, having relaxed accessible venues where people can meet old friends and make new ones becomes ever more necessary.” But why is beer such a communal brew when compared with wine or liquor? With far less alcohol per ounce than other drinks, beer can be the drink of moderation.
Different types of alcohol trigger emotions in unique ways, and the feelings that come with a cold pint may lead to a more positive bar experience than a night spent saying “make it a double.” A 2017 study published in the British Medical Journal’s BMJ Open found that while beer drinkers more often felt less energized and less sexy than bar patrons drinking liquor and wine, beer brought fewer of the downsides associated with a bad night out,
The study surveyed more than 26,000 participants across 21 countries, and all respondents sampled each type of alcohol for the study. Beer lovers felt remarkably less aggressive than those drinking spirits—less than 7% became that way, compared with nearly a third of the participants drinking hard alcohol.
- And only 17% of beer drinkers reported feeling ill, compared with nearly 48% of those drinking -liquor.
- These figures show that beer is a versatile option when it comes to drinking at social events, and could explain why beer is the most popular drink for Americans.
- More than 6 in every 10 American adults drink alcohol, and among those people, beer is consistently a clear favorite.
In a 2017 Gallup poll, 40% of participants preferred beer, versus 30% for wine and 26% for liquor. Although devoted ale drinker Queen Elizabeth I could reportedly outdrink any man in her court, beer has been a sharply more popular drink for men than for women.
- That same poll found that 62% of the male drinkers surveyed chose beer, compared with 19% of women.
- The popularity among men may have to do with one of America’s favorite pastimes: sports.
- For many, a beer in a plastic cup at a stadium feels like the American thing to do.
- According to a University of Minnesota study, 48% of fans drink at sporting events.
Of those fans who reported that they drank, only 18% tailgated, but 82% of those tailgaters had at least two alcoholic drinks. A recent Harris poll asked Americans what beverage came to mind with the mention of certain sports. Beer took the gold, with 75% associating it with football and 70% with baseball.
- Clearly, the sports industry is critical to beer distributors.
- Anheuser-Busch InBev locked in a $1.4 billion deal with the NFL in 2011 to make Bud Light the league beer sponsor through 2022.
- Although other brands may advertise with the league, only Bud Light can use the NFL shield in its ads and the logos of each of the league’s 32 teams on its cans.
The company pays Major League Baseball about $40 million per year for a similar setup. With beer conglomerates funneling so much cash into American sports, it’s no wonder that the nation has had such a long–standing love affair with the brew. “There is nothing which has yet been contributed by man, by which so much happiness is produced as a good tavern or inn.” Samuel Johnson was on to something when he wrote that in 1776.
Getting together for a beer has done more than just create a sense of community; it helps sustains physical ones. City planners agree that local bars and pubs hold unique social value when included in a neighborhood. An essential element to sustainable communities is the presence of a “third space.” The term, coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg, refers to “places where camaraderie and joviality occurred, where we can enjoy one’s company outside of home (the ‘first’ space) and work (the ‘second’ space).” These brick-and-mortar locations level out social hierarchies and help forge connections.
“It’s a place where you are neither family nor co-worker, and yet where the values, interests, gossip, complaints and inspirations of these two other spheres intersect. It’s a place at least one step removed from the structures of work and home, more random, and yet familiar enough to breed a sense of identity and connection.
- It’s a place of both possibility and comfort, where the unexpected and the mundane transcend and mingle,” wrote Mike Hickey, a community–development consultant, in his article “In Praise of (Loud, Stinky) Bars” for Shelterforce, a -community-planning publication.
- And nine times out of 10, it’s a bar.” Hickey explained that among common third spaces, such as bookstores and cafés, bars provide a unique option for lower-income and blue-collar patrons.
“Bars work in their scruffy way by offering a place to get away from an overcrowded apartment or a squalid loft or a grimy job,” he wrote. “They are a place where someone with little to spare can go for a change of pace.” Some of the brains at LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), the most widely utilized green rating system, agree that a bar as a third space is a community asset.
Kaid Benfield, co-founder of LEED for Neighborhood Development—one of the primary raters of neighborhood -sustainability in the U.S.—and director of the Sustainable Communities and Smart Growth program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, wrote in his Citylab feature “Why a Good Bar Is Essential to Sustainable Communities” that “the more complete our neighborhoods, the less we have to travel to seek out goods, services and amenities.” And less travel means less emissions, a key factor in sustainability.
But there are other critical elements. “People enjoy hanging out in bars, and especially if they are in walking distance of homes, we can also reduce the very serious risks that accompany drinking and driving,” wrote Benfield. The way we drink beer is evolving.
Beer lovers are expanding beyond the corner bar and into the local brewery. A 2017 study of the craft-beer industry, backed by Nielsen, showed that 30% of trips to a brewery taproom replaced a trip to a bar. “A high percentage of our members now have taprooms, and they are becoming as important to local communities as pubs are,” says Mike Benner, the chief executive of the Society of Independent Brewers.
“They have always existed but are making a comeback because today consumers are very much into the idea of independence and local beer.” The expanding craft-beer industry contributed $55.7 billion to the U.S. economy in 2014. According to Bart Watson of the Brewers Association trade group, 80% of Americans live within 10 miles of a brewery.
- A successful brewery or beer business is a lucrative addition to a community.
- Like tourists traveling to Munich for Oktoberfest, drinkers around the world will travel and spend for a brew.
- The latest data from New York indicated that 3.66 million people went to craft breweries in the state in 2013 and spent $450 million on the beverage.
The following year, craft beer generated $1.2 billion and 10,000 jobs for North Carolina, according to Margo Metzger, former director of the North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild. At the time, the state had a little more than 100 breweries; that number has more than doubled since.
- I’ve spent my whole life here, and suddenly you see breweries in forgotten eastern North Carolina towns such as Rocky Mount and Tarboro,” Metzger told Curbed in 2017.
- It gives people a public house and a reason to want to live there.
- But more importantly, it makes people feel like they’re in a relevant place.
It’s something new, beyond the old story of a fading town they’ve heard of for decades.” Our ancient ancestors were on to something when they settled down to ferment grain into beer. Whether we’re meeting over cups at a sports stadium, bottles at a local watering hole or glasses in an up-and-coming craft brewery, getting together to drink beer has a long-standing role in connecting cultures and building communities.
Is 4 beers a day too much for a man?
Heavy Alcohol Use: –
NIAAA defines heavy drinking as follows:
For men, consuming more than 4 drinks on any day or more than 14 drinks per week For women, consuming more than 3 drinks on any day or more than 7 drinks per week
SAMHSA defines heavy alcohol use as binge drinking on 5 or more days in the past month.
Do guys mean what they say when drunk?
Yes, sometimes people mean what they say when they are drunk. But most of the time, people say whatever comes to mind when drinking without any concern if it’s genuinely how they feel. Alcohol lowers inhibition and makes people feel talkative, extroverted, and emboldened.
Why do drunk guys fight?
How alcohol contributes to aggression – The impact of drinking alcohol on aggressive or violent behaviour is complex.3,4,5 Many people who drink are never violent and even those who do become aggressive won’t do so all the time. But there is strong evidence of a link between alcohol and aggression. There are several ways that alcohol affects your body that can contribute to aggression: 6,7
Alcohol can narrow your attention and stop you seeing the big picture You may miss social and environmental cues that help you to interpret situations rationally (known as ‘alcohol myopia’), and give less attention to the wider consequences of immediate actions.8,9 This means someone who’s drunk might ‘rise to the bait’ rather than thinking of the consequences, and become angry or violent, even over something they would normally shrug off. The way you process information is affected by drinking alcohol After drinking alcohol, you are more likely to misinterpret other people’s behaviour.10 This could be the reason why drunken fights can start over little more than bumping into someone at a bar. Alcohol supresses inhibition, making it harder to think straight Drinking affects your brain chemistry. Small amounts of alcohol can cause initial feelings of relaxation, but what’s actually happening is that alcohol is suppressing activity in parts of the brain associated with inhibition.11 Any warning signals that may normally kick in (‘inhibition’) are less likely to work, and you may be more likely to find yourself in confrontational or even dangerous situations. The more you drink the higher the chance it can cause feelings of tension and anxiety (because of effects on brain chemicals including ‘GABA’).12,13
Tools to reduce your drinking
Why do guys like beer more?
January 19, 2022 “Beer is Best” say our happy male (and female) customers. Check out our top 3 selling beer gift boxes, ready to be shipped delivered NZ wide today ! 
Ever wondered the psychology behind men liking beer? Turns out there are studies which reveal why drinking beer is appealing to men, perhaps more so than it is appealing to women. According to pH lab, one of the first reasons relates to socialising with other men and the connection brought about when men sit with each other and drink beer.
What gender drinks the most beer?
Only 17% of women drink beer at least once a week (compared to 53% of men). Male oriented advertising is one of the three main barriers for over a quarter (27%) of women drinking beer – rising even higher for the 18-24 year-old female group to almost half (48%).
What happens if you drink a beer everyday?
04 /6 Your kidneys may suffer – Two drinks per day for men and one for women is considered as moderate drinking. Going beyond this limit may have harmful repercussions. Drinking beer high in alcohol content can put you at the risk of hypertension and kidney diseases.
How many beers can a man drink per day?
What are the U.S. Dietary Guidelines on alcohol consumption? – The U.S. Dietary Guidelines 7 recommends that for healthy adults who choose to drink and do not have the exclusions noted above, alcohol-related risks may be minimized, though not eliminated, by limiting intakes to:
- For women —1 drink or less in a day
- For men —2 drinks or less in a day
The 2020-2025 U.S. Dietary Guidelines makes it clear that these light to moderate amounts are not intended as an average, but rather the amount consumed on any single day. The latest and most rigorous research casts some doubt on past studies that linked light to moderate drinking with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and indicates that protective effects were overestimated.8 Earlier study methods made it difficult to conclude whether positive cardiovascular outcomes were due to low alcohol consumption or instead, for example, to diet, genetics, health history, or behavioral differences between people who do and do not drink.
Recent studies also suggest that that even drinking in moderation increases the risk for stroke, 9 cancer, 10 and premature death.11,12 In short, current research indicates that: (1) for those who drink, the less, the better; 13 (2) those with a strong family history of cancer or AUD may wish to minimize risk by abstaining; 11 and (3) those who don’t drink alcohol shouldn’t start—as noted in the U.S.
Dietary Guidelines —”for any reason.” 7
How many beers a week is OK for men?
What’s Important to Know? – If you choose to drink alcohol, drink in moderation. Women and everyone over age 64 should drink no more than 1 standard drink per day (and not more than 7 standard drinks per week). Men aged 64 and under should drink no more than 2 standard drinks per day (and not more than 14 standard drinks per week). One standard drink is equivalent to:
12 oz. regular beer, usually about 5% alcohol or 8-9 oz. malt liquor, or 5 oz. table wine (12%), or 1.5 oz.80-proof hard liquor
Drinking too much alcohol, or “binge drinking,” can lead to a higher risk of health problems such as liver damage, pancreatitis, or other issues. Binge drinking is defined as:
More than 3 drinks on one occasion for women and adults over age 64 More than 4 drinks on one occasion for men
For many adults, drinking small amounts of alcohol does not cause serious health problems. Women who drink no more than 1 standard drink per day (and not more than 7 standard drinks per week) and men who drink no more than 2 standard drinks a day (and not more than 14 standard drinks per week) are at low risk for developing problems with alcohol use. Back to top