Author: Alex Thompson

Women and Wine: How Many Drinks Are OK?

Over time, regular drinkers will need more and more alcohol before they feel its effects. And some people just naturally have a higher baseline tolerance than others. The effects of alcohol on your health will depend on how much you drink.

They had lower rates of heart disease and heart attacks and lived longer. Moderate drinkers also had lower rates of diabetes, another important risk factor for heart disease (although this result is less definitive). The study authors themselves point out that their findings don’t mean people who don’t drink should start a nightcap habit. These nondrinkers might have a higher disease risk than light drinkers because medical reasons keep them from drinking to start with.

1. One drink is 12 fluid ounces of beer, 5 fluid ounces of wine, or a mixed drink with 1.5 fluid ounces liquor with 40% alcohol.
2. In fact, 40 percent of money spent on alcohol for home consumption is spent on wine.
3. The majority is knocked back on its own, with light snacks or while preparing a quick meal.

Not everyone who excessively consumes alcohol has alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, heavy and binge drinking can increase a person’s risk of developing this condition. “For women, heavy drinking is eight standard drinks a week or more,” says Dr. Wakim-Fleming, “While for men, it’s 15 drinks a week or more.” And, yes, multiple binges within a week do equal heavy drinking. Any alcohol consumption can have negative effects on a person’s health. However, experts encourage people who choose to drink alcohol to do so in moderation. Patterns of heavy drinking can put a person at a higher risk of developing alcohol use disorder (AUD) or experiencing other harms that have an association with drinking excess amounts of alcohol.

“What we need to keep in mind is that alcohol is dangerous”

Or try mixing up a mocktail or sampling the ever-expanding array of nonalcoholic liquors, wines and beers. The official recommendation from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans is for women to drink no more than one drink a day. Never drink four or more drinks in the span of a few hours, as this is considered binge drinking. One drink is 12 fluid ounces of beer, 5 fluid ounces of wine, or a mixed drink with 1.5 fluid ounces liquor with 40% alcohol. “For so many women, having wine at the end of a long day has become as typical as dressing their salads at dinner,” says Julie Barnes, a psychologist who specializes in addiction issues.

Lifestyle Quizzes

This is mumsnet, where half a glass of wine a month is considering a raging lush. Over time, though, excessive amounts of alcohol do far more damage to your brain, resulting in consequences beyond just an unpleasant morning after. “You can end up with alcohol dementia and a type of nerve damage we call neuropathy,” cautions Dr. Wakim-Fleming. You may not realize it, but the most common consequence of overconsumption of alcohol — the hangover — is the alcohol directly affecting your brain.

Drinking – It’s different for women

In the immediate aftermath, your hangover can include poor concentration, lagging reflexes, headache, nausea and vomiting. While major American brands of beer have a 5% ABV measurement, many popular craft beers have higher alcohol content. That IPA you love might have an ABV of 7% or higher, so keep an eye on it when you’re knocking them back at your next summer barbecue. Even when we have the best of intentions, we can tend to overindulge in … well, everything.

It is important to note that many people who drink heavily or excessively do not have AUD or a dependence on alcohol. However, this behavior can increase the risk of developing either of these. Christ, well we must have a massive problem in our house as we get through 2 bottles a night, not including the pre-dinner G&Ts grin. We are on our holidays admittedly (teachers) but get through a bottle of gin a week and a few bottles of wine. I think when it’s a couple of bottles a day, every day, that’s a problem (although there seem to be many people who function OK, at that level of intake, so they would argue it’s fine).

Health Challenges

Judging whether what you’re drinking is healthy based on what other people drink is always going to be flawed. You’ll either think you’re a Puritan or a raging alcoholic depending on who you’re talking to. Dr. Wakim-Fleming says excessive drinking is essentially the same as binge drinking. The CDC also includes underage drinking and drinking by women who are pregnant. Though men are more likely to have a drinking problem, there are unique physical and emotional factors that can lead women to have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. “People tend to think, ‘If what I’m drinking doesn’t hit me that hard, it’s probably not a problem,’” Dr. Schneekloth says — but this doesn’t account for increasing tolerance.

Regularly drinking more than 14 units of alcohol a week risks damaging your health. The surge of social media has also given us extra permission to indulge at home—or at least to not feel so guilty about it, says Thompson. “I’m sure there were people drinking a bottle of wine in front of the TV before Facebook came around, but you didn’t know about it,” he says. Wine has always served as a social lubricant of sorts, but recently it’s moved away from restaurants and bars. In fact, 40 percent of money spent on alcohol for home consumption is spent on wine.

The one article you need to read to keep your cancer risk from alcohol to a minimum. Megan’s therapeutic approach is multifaceted, drawing from narrative, feminist, and existential therapy modalities. By employing these frameworks, Megan empowers her clients to confront their realities and comprehend the tangible impact of systemic factors on their lives.

What’s considered heavy drinking?

Wine has only recently gained more traction in terms of being crowned the most popular beverage, which by the way, beer still holds the title. However, there is a surge in popularity for wine, more specifically among millennials, bolstered by increased availability and variety. According to a Wine Market Council report, in 2015, millennials accounted for 42% of all wine consumption.

She has worked in behavioral health since graduating with her bachelor’s degree in 2019. Jordan developed her clinical approach in various inpatient, hospital, outpatient, and private practice settings. Jordan continued her studies and earned a master’s in clinical and mental health counseling.