Preventing alcoholic liver disease

Average rating:

You are very unlikely to develop liver problems caused by alcohol if you drink within the recommended safe limits. That is:

Men should drink no more than 21 units of alcohol per week (and no more than four units in any one day).
Women should drink no more than 14 units of alcohol per week (and no more than three units in any one day).
Pregnant women. The exact amount that is safe is not known. Therefore, advice from the Department of Health is that pregnant women and women trying to become pregnant should not drink at all. If you do chose to drink when you are pregnant then limit it to one or two units, once or twice a week. And never get drunk.

In general, the more you drink above the safe limits, the more harmful alcohol is likely to be. And remember, binge drinking can be harmful even though the weekly total may not seem too high. For example, if you only drink once or twice a week, but when you do you drink 4-5 pints of beer each time, or a bottle of wine each time, then this is a risk to your health.

One unit of alcohol is 10 ml (1 cl) by volume, or 8 g by weight, of pure alcohol. For example:

One unit of alcohol is about equal to:

- half a pint of ordinary strength beer or cider (3-4% alcohol by volume), or
- a small pub measure (25 ml) of spirits (40% alcohol by volume), or
- a standard pub measure (50 ml) of fortified wine such as sherry or port (20% alcohol by volume).

* There are one and a half units of alcohol in:
- a small glass (125 ml) of ordinary strength wine (12% alcohol by volume), or
- a standard pub measure (35 ml) of spirits (40% alcohol by volume).

But remember, many wines and beers are stronger than the more traditional 'ordinary' strengths. A more accurate way of calculating units is as follows. The percentage alcohol by volume (% abv) of a drink equals the number of units in one litre of that drink. For example:

Strong beer at 6% abv has six units in one litre. If you drink half a litre (500 ml), just under a pint, then you have had three units.
Wine at 14% abv has 14 units in one litre. If you drink a quarter of a litre (250 ml), two small glasses, then you have had three and a half units.