A Dietitian’s Guide to Alcohol Consumption

Using data from a national survey of U.S. adults on their drinking habits that found that excessive drinking (such as binge drinking) increased by 21% during the COVID-19 pandemic… does this surprise you?[1] 

A cross-sectional study with 832 participants found that the reasons for increased drinking included increased stress (45.7%), increased alcohol availability (34.4%), and boredom (30.1%).[2] 

Although I don’t promote drinking (everyone has a different relationship with alcohol), I think that this is an important topic to cover, especially during the holidays where there may be more social gatherings and increased stress than the rest of the year. 

In today’s blog post, I’m going to cover alcohol guidelines, the negative effects it can have from a nutrition standpoint, and how to approach alcohol consumption in an intuitive way!  

First things first…what is considered one drink of alcohol?

Each of these drinks contains the same amount of alcohol:

• Regular beer, 5% alcohol: 341 mL (12 oz)
• Cider, 5% alcohol: 341mL (12 oz)
• Wine, 12% alcohol: 142 mL (5 oz)
• Spirits or liquor such as rum or vodka, 40% alcohol: 43 mL (1.5 oz)

What are the guidelines for consumption limits? 

For women: 

• 2 standard drinks per day
• 10 standard drinks per week
• 3 standard drinks on special occasions

For men: 

• 3 standard drinks per day
• 15 standard drinks per week
• 4 standard drinks on special occasions

It’s a good idea to check-in on your weekly consumption, it can add up quickly! 

Alcohol effects on digestion and appetite

Alcohol lowers the hormone that makes you hungry, ghrelin, so food sounds less appealing and your hunger cues are less dependable. Additionally, without any food in your stomach, alcohol is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream to travel to all your organs. That’s why you may notice you start to feel intensified side effects of your drink when you haven’t eaten. 

This would be a time where you eat out of self care and eat something even if you’re not hungry to make sure your stomach isn’t empty. You’ll avoid a hangover and the intense hunger that comes the next day! 

How mommy wine culture is normalizing alcohol

Wine mom culture, despite being a relatively new concept, refers to the rising number of "wine moms'' who encourage drinking to unwind from the stresses of parenthood. Unfortunately, wine has become normalized, expected and then reinforced by social media. On Instagram, there are countless hashtags that are associated with the wine mom culture, such as #WineMom (91,100 posts), #MamaNeedsADrink (41,500 posts), and #MommyJuice (58,200 posts). Many of these pictures feature mothers holding glasses while making jokes about how they need booze to unwind after a busy day.

Although consuming one or two glasses of wine each night is considered “low-risk”, it’s not “no-risk”. Any amount of alcohol consumption can have risks to your health and it’s important to realize that. I really enjoy red wine, but it’s still important to be aware of the normalization of alcohol in our society. For many people, it can be a problem or develop into a problem. 

How to approach alcohol consumption in an intuitive way? 

Although alcohol is different from food, what if we approached booze with the same intuitive mindset? What if we allowed ourselves the freedom to drink alcohol in a mindful way without judgment and without restricting calories before, during or after drinking? 

Having an intuitive approach to drinking means NOT skipping meals or restricting calories before drinking in order to “save” calories. It means adequately nourishing yourself before and during consumption. 

It means NOT only going for the low-calorie options but listening and honoring your cravings and allowing yourself to choose the drink you want. Keeping in mind that more sugar can equal a worse hangover… is that something you want to consider? 

We also want to take into account how we feel and look out for our future self. How does drinking make you feel the next day? Should you limit your drinks in order to feel good tomorrow? 

My favorite combos (my taste preferences are for less sweet drinks): 

• water, vodka and a splash or pineapple or cranberry juice
• tequila, soda and lime OR a good ole’ margarita 
• gin, soda and lime

If you have digestive issues or experience bloating after certain drinks, the drinks above are generally tolerated better. Alcohol is difficult on digestion, so keep this in mind if you have digestive issues. Decreasing consumption in this case can be very helpful. 

Bottom line: If you don’t drink, don’t start. If you drink alcohol, make sure to follow the drinking guidelines and ask yourself why you’re choosing to drink. Is it to numb out emotions, relieve stress, cope, fit in, etc.? If the answer is yes, you may want to evaluate your consumption and look  for healthier strategies that will help you. 

References: 

1. Brown, N. Alcohol consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic projected to cause more liver disease and deaths. Massachusetts General Hospital. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
2. Grossman, E. R., Benjamin-Neelon, S. E., & Sonnenschein, S. (2020). Alcohol consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional survey of US adults. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(24), 9189.