Ive Been Known to Drink a Beer or Two but Then Again Ive Been Known to Do a Lot of Things
Drinking can be fun, let'southward be honest. But likewise much alcohol can pb to injury, accidents, serious embarrassment and long-term health problems. Even drinking small amounts of alcohol increases your cancer risk.
Follow this advice to drink safely.
1. Understand both how much alcohol you lot are having and how much y'all should take
Drinking tin be role of a healthy lifestyle as long equally you lot learn every bit much every bit you can almost the furnishings of alcohol on the body - and follow the Australian Guidelines.
The Australian Guidelines recommend healthy adults should drink no more than 10 standard drinks a week, and no more than 4 standard drinks on any one mean solar day, to cutting the lifetime risk of damage from booze-related disease or injury.
A standard drink contains about x grams of ethanol (alcohol), which is the amount your body can process in 1 hr. How much alcohol y'all can handle depends on your historic period, weight, gender and how you feel at the fourth dimension.
Drinking more than your daily dose can increase your risk of accident, injury or hangover. Drinking also much regularly also increases your risk of developing a long-term chronic condition like eye disease, cancer, liver disease, mental illness or brain damage.
Learn more nearly how alcohol affects your health here.
two. Eat before (and during) drinking sessions
Alcohol enters your bloodstream through your breadbasket and minor intestine. If your stomach'due south empty when you showtime drinking, the booze volition enter your bloodstream more rapidly.
So it'southward a good idea to eat before y'all down your first drinkable, and while yous are drinking. To get the best out of mixing food and alcohol:
- Beverage enough of water.
- Don't mix alcohol with sugary or energy drinks.
- Avoid salty snacks - they will make you thirsty and likely to drink more.
3. Count your drinks
It'due south piece of cake to drink more than than you realise. A standard drink is a can or bottle of mid-forcefulness beer, 100ml of vino or a 30ml shot of spirits. Drinks served in bars or restaurants oft comprise more than than ane standard drink.
Set yourself a drinks limit and stick to information technology. Avoid drinking in rounds (particularly with friends who drink likewise much). Try to finish your drinkable before you lot starting time another, rather than topping up your drinking glass.
Use this Standard drinkable estimator from Drinkwise to piece of work out how much you lot are drinking
iv. Ho-hum your intake with alcohol-gratuitous drinks
The amount of booze in your blood (claret alcohol concentration, or BAC) influences how alcohol affects you. The college your BAC, the more than at take a chance y'all are of injury or overdose.
Your body tin only process 1 standard beverage per 60 minutes. The faster you lot potable, the higher your BAC.
To go along safe, slow down your drinking to 1 drink per 60 minutes. You lot can do this by:
- drinking not-alcoholic drinks likewise equally alcoholic drinks
- drinking water to quench your thirst earlier you lot start drinking alcohol
- opting for low-alcohol drinks
- sipping rather than gulping
5. Skip the drinking games and shots
When you binge drinkable (potable more than 4 drinks in 1 session) and go drunk, you're more likely to get hurt, put yourself in a dangerous state of affairs, embarrass yourself, or even suffer booze poisoning.
Try to avoid drinking games, shots, skolling races or annihilation that aims to get y'all intoxicated fast. Play pool, dance or debate about reality Goggle box instead. Do anything merely endeavour to keep up with your friends.
Don't mix alcohol with free energy drinks, as this tin make you drink more than. Be careful about how much you potable if yous've taken whatsoever other drugs or medicines.
Don't exist an amateur — watch this video from DrinkWise on how to drink properly.
6. Don't drink and drive
It's against the police in Australia to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) above 0.05. Learner (L) and probationary (P) drivers must accept a BAC of 0.00 (that's zero!).
Nevertheless, in that location is no safe level of alcohol if you are driving. The more drinks you lot put abroad, the more than probable you are to accept a road blow - and that blow could involve another person, not just you.
Instead of drinking and driving:
- Plan how you lot're going to become home before you go out.
- Decide with your friends who volition be the 'designated driver'.
- Brand sure y'all reserve plenty coin for a taxi dwelling house.
- Apply public transport.
seven. 'Just say no' if you're...
Very young, pregnant, planning a pregnancy, breastfeeding, on meds or feeling depressed.
Drinking alcohol can exist more harmful for some people. The safest choice for children and immature people under 18 is not to potable any booze at all.
If you lot're pregnant or breastfeeding, it's safest for your babe if you don't drink.
It'south also best to avert alcohol if you're taking any medicines or recreational drugs since when mixed with booze, they can have an unpleasant result. Likewise, information technology's non a practiced thought to drink when you lot're feeling depressed considering booze can brand you lot feel worse.
Source: https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/top-7-tips-for-safe-drinking