Greatness in few bottles..... Know your units.

On the 1st of January 2007, a popular beer brand started a campaign aimed at improving sales. The main message of the campaign was “Greatness in every bottle”, which translates to “a drop of greatness in every man". This campaign increased sales by 18 per cent.

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The rate at which beer is consumed is increasing every day. While this is good news for the marketers of this beverage, most health professionals are not comfortable with this increase.

Several drinks aside beer, contain significant quantities of alcohol. However, beer is the most widely consumed alcoholic beverage. Following water and tea, it is the third-most popular drink overall.

Alcoholic drinks are divided into three general classes; beers, wines and distilled beverages (spirits).

The aim of this post is not to tell you to stop drinking alcohol, even although this is desirable; it is practically impossible (think of what will happen to the beer industry and all the people employed by it).

The aim of this post is to drink safely.

What is the difference between drinking alcohol safely and alcoholism?

Drinking alcohol safely, involves limiting the intake of alcohol to the recommended quantity that minimizes that health risk associated with alcohol intake. This recommended quantity is measured using ‘alcohol units’. How to calculate the units of alcohol in each bottle of beer would be explained below.

Alcoholism on the other hand, is a broad term for any drinking of alcohol that results in mental or physical health problems. Alcoholism involves alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence.

A simple way to know when you are now dependent on alcohol is to answer 4 questions, which are known as the CAGE questions. Two or more positive answers could indicate a problem of dependency.

The CAGE questions are;
• C- Have you ever felt the need to CUT DOWN your alcohol consumption?
• A- Have you ever felt ANGRY at others for criticizing your drinking?
• G- Do you ever feel GUILTY about excess drinking?
• E- Do you ever drink in the mornings (EYE-OPENER)?

How do I determine the units of alcohol I am consuming?

To determine the units of alcohol, you need to know the volume of alcohol you are drinking and the amount of alcohol present in each volume.

The volume of alcohol is measured in millilitres (mls). Most beer bottles are about 600mls. 1 pint is 568mls. 1 standard glass is 175mls. The volume of the drink should be written on the container of the drink, simply look for it.

The amount of alcohol is known as the percentage of Alcohol By Volume (ABV). The ABV is also written on the container of each alcohol containing drink. It is written as a percentage, e.g 5% ABV.

To calculate the units of alcohol, multiply the volume of the drink (in mls) by its ABV (in %), then divide the result by 1000.

I want to take a can (330mls) of Orijin, with an ABV of 6%. 330 x 6 = 1980. Divide 1980 by 1000= 1.98.

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This means that for each can of Orijin I consume, I have taken 1.98 units of alcohol.
You can use this formula to calculate the units of alcohol for your favourite alcoholic beverages. This would help you keep track of the volume of alcohol you can safely take.

Alcohol intake needs to be controlled, as the volume of alcohol required to get you ‘high’, increases as you keep drinking on a regular basis. This is because the substance (enzyme) in our body that breaks down alcohol is only produced in large quantities when we drink alcohol regularly. In non-drinkers of alcohol, the enzyme is very low. In heavy drinkers, the enzyme is very high. This is why people who drink regularly, can finish 6 bottles of alcohol and not feel intoxicated, while a non-drinker gets intoxicated by just one bottle. The quantity of enzyme also varies depending on your genes; this is seen in some families who say they can drink large volumes of alcohol and not feel intoxicated. Women also have a lesser quantity of this enzyme.

The whole story above means you are likely to continually increase your alcohol intake over time, so as to get the same effect of ‘highness’ or intoxication. When we withdraw from alcohol for some time, the level of our alcohol enzyme decreases, and lesser quantities of alcohol get us intoxicated. Therefore, spreading the volume of alcohol we can safely take in a week over many days is good practice. For example, if you are to drink 3000mls of drink per week, you can divide the 3000 into 3 portions, over 3 days (Monday, Thursday and Friday), with a large volume reserved for weekends.

The recommended alcohol intake is, no more than 14 units per week, for both men and women. This doesn't mean you should drink 14 units of alcohol every week, but it means you shouldn't drink more than 14 units per week.

Alcoholism is associated with several diseases, which include liver disease, kidney disease, heart disease, hypertension and stroke.

Development of diseases depend on several factors, therefore some people may drink for many years and not develop alcohol-related diseases, while others would develop them. This doesn't mean we should gamble with our health, by drinking and hoping not to develop complications.

I hope this post would be able to guide you as you drink safely. However, avoiding alcohol is the surest way to avoid the health risk associated with drinking alcohol.