How much booze is too much

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And benefits from alcohol? She says the evidence is not firm. The experts who compiled the new guidelines examined thousands of research papers from around the world on the harms and benefits of alcohol, and their recommendations were reviewed by another expert committee. What an Australian standard drink of 10 grams of pure alcohol looks like. Alcohol persists in breast milk in a similar way to blood so - depending on how much you drank - the alcohol could stay in breast milk for hours.

One way to get around that issue, Banks says, is to express plenty of milk before you begin drinking, and then use that milk to feed the baby until you have no alcohol left in your system. Between and , the proportion of ex-drinkers in Australia grew from 7. At the start of the pandemic, online alcohol sales soared, and in May, a longitudinal study from the ANU found But young people seem less interested in drinking these days.

The number of young adults aged between 18 and 29 who abstain from drinking has more than doubled long-term. One in 10 people aged between 18 and 24 were reported as abstaining from alcohol in ; by , it was one in five. In , of people aged between 25 and 29, about one in 10 were abstaining - by the proportion was one in four.

But the older people are, the more likely they are to drink daily. The survey found that Announcing the guidelines, Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly highlighted the fact that alcohol still costs the country a lot.

One in two women who are pregnant still, despite all the warnings and the guidelines over many years, consumed alcohol during their pregnancy. Instead, she hopes the new health-consciousness prompted by the pandemic helps us make the best choices.

If you or anyone you know needs support, call Lifeline or Beyond Blue If you'd like some expert background on an issue or a news event, drop us a line at explainers smh. Read more explainers here. Now we know more, how much booze is too much? The answers seem to change depending on who you ask.

And, hey why should you care? Well, unfortunately, alcohol is one of those "fine line" substances; once you start to get out of balance, trouble awaits: alcoholism, cirrhosis of the liver, hypertension, stroke, type 2 diabetes, cancer of the upper gastrointestinal tract and colon and cognitive impairment.

And, there is genuine cause for anxiety about some emerging correlations between breast cancer and alcohol consumption. This is where my frustration comes injust after scaring the wits out of me, almost in the same breath, the guidelines state: moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

Moderate alcohol consumption also is associated with reduced risk of all-cause mortality among middle-aged and older adults and may help to keep cognitive function intact with age.

What is a wine lover to do? Wine, more so than other forms of alcohol, has added perks. Moderate consumption can yield positive effects on overall heart health. Some argue the polyphenols in wine can ward off bacterial infections.

Of course there is my own personal favorite: Champagne and sparkling wine can improve memory and slow aging. Wine is as old as dirt. Jesus and his disciples even enjoyed some at the Last Supper, and possibly that should be the guiding light no pun intended dear reader : enjoy some, not a lot, every day with food. We all spend far too much time obsessing about how to enjoy food and how to enjoy alcohol.

We all intuitively know the difference between moderate and not moderate. Alcohol, as anyone who has been affected by alcoholism will tell you, has a dark side; there should be no shame in your enjoyment. At its heart the libation is meant to be a shared experience, a tonic to celebrate food, gathering and togetherness…of course, in moderation.

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