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 Many years ago, I was chatting to a taxi driver in London. When asked what I did I explained that I wrote diet books and presented fitness videos. He laughed, slapping his very ample tummy, saying ‘I’m past being helped! I drink 12 pints of Guinness every night!’ I was aghast, on every level…! Should he even be driving?
So, what is your favourite tipple? Hopefully it will be a more modest one. Mine is a glass of Chardonnay whilst my co-author of this weekly Newsletter, Mary, really enjoys a G&T. Let’s face it, after a busy day there is nothing nicer than sitting down with your other half and having a relaxing glass of something cool. The big question, however, is how much is too much?
The idea of counting alcohol units was first introduced in the UK in 1987 to help people keep track of their drinking. I can remember the days when men were allowed 28 units and women 21, then it reduced to 21 for the guys and 14 for the ladies. Now the NHS recommends that both men and women should not consume more than 14 units a week.
Drinking too much alcohol is something to be taken seriously.
The body sees alcohol as a poison which it will work very hard to eliminate and does so ahead of digesting the food we eat. This can give rise to the all-too-familiar effects of a hang-over, such as dehydration, headache, dizziness, diarrhea and so on. However, in the long term, the side effects of alcohol can cause or exacerbate much more serious health problems.
As well as containing ‘empty’ calories, which means it offers no nutrients, too much alcohol when taken on a regular basis can seriously affect our health by contributing to conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease and digestive problems to name just a few. It can also lead to cancer of the breast, mouth, throat, oesophagus, voice box, liver and bowel. But there’s more… it also weakens our immune system, increasing the chances of falling victim to viruses and infections as well as leading to memory problems including dementia.
This is really serious stuff and slightly scary but it is good to face up to the facts and take appropriate action if we are to live a long and healthy life.
How many units are in what?
- One unit equals 10ml or 8g of pure alcohol. Thankfully we don’t have to do this calculation as it is usually stated on cans and bottles.
- The number of units in a drink is based on the size of the drink, as well as its alcohol strength. For example, a pint of strong lager contains 3 units of alcohol, whereas the same volume of lower-strength lager has just over 2 units.
- A 750ml bottle of red, white or rosé wine provides 10 units, so sharing a bottle with our spouse on a regular basis is significant. It doesn’t help that wine glasses today are noticeably bigger than they used to be and quantities served in pubs and restaurants are often 175ml which equates to 2.1 units compared with the 125ml measure we used to have which is 1.5 units.
If you are going to drink spirits, and if you are trying to watch your weight, be sure to ask for a slimline mixer or diet coke so you can save yourself some unwanted calories.
I worked out my weekly consumption of Chardonnay: I generally drink about a bottle and a half over four nights, so that tots up to 15 units. I now realise that I need to cut back a bit. Writing this piece this week has really brought the facts home to me so I am committed to drinking less.
The NHS recommends these guidelines:
- men and women are advised not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis
- spread your drinking over 3 or more days if you regularly drink as much as 14 units a week
- if you want to cut down, try to have several alcohol-free days each week
So, when the NHS suggests we limit our alcohol intake, it makes sense to follow their guidelines if we want to live longer, healthier and happier.
You will love reading Mary’s account of how she has addressed this so let’s all try and re-evaluate and amend our drinking habits, stay healthy and still have a great time.
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| Type of drink |
Number of
alcohol units |
| Single small shot of spirits (25ml, ABV 40%)
(Gin, rum, vodka, whisky, tequila and sambuca etc)
|
1 unit |
| Alcopop (275ml, ABV 5.5%) |
1.5 units |
| Small glass of red/white/rosé wine (125ml, ABV 12%) |
1.5 units |
| Bottle of lager/beer/cider (330ml, ABV 5%) |
1.7 units |
| Can of lager/beer/cider (440ml, ABV 5.5%) |
2.4 units |
| Pint of lower-strength lager/beer/cider (ABV 3.6%) |
2 units |
| Standard glass of red/white/rosé wine (175ml, ABV 12%) |
2.1 units |
| Pint of higher-strength lager/beer/cider (ABV 5.2%) |
3 units |
Large glass of red/white/rosé wine (250ml, ABV 12%)
A 750ml bottle of red, white or rosé wine (ABV 13.5%) |
3 units
10 units |
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Serves 4
Per serving 395 kcal/2% fat
Preparation time 10 minutes
Cooking time 20 minutes
4 x 100g lean pork steaks
8 tbsps live natural yogurt
1 tbsp mild curry powder
2 tbsps mango chutney
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
freshly ground black pepper to taste
220g (dry weight) basmati rice
- Preheat the grill to high.
- Remove any visible fat from the pork steaks and place in a shallow heatproof dish.
- Combine the other ingredients in a bowl to make the sauce.
- Spread both sides of the pork steaks with the sauce and place under the grill for 8 - 10 minutes per side.
- While the steaks are under the grill, cook the rice in a pan of boiling water with a vegetable stock cube, and drain.
- Serve the steaks with the boiled rice and a salad.
(not suitable for freezing)
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Fun, Facts & Fitness from Mary Morris MSc.
When I declared last week that I was told off for exceeding 14 units of alcohol a week at my recent Health Review, I had no idea I would have to explain myself further the following week! The offshoot of telling my health reviewer that I drank more like 20 units a week resulted in me being labelled a binge drinker!
This came as a bit of a shock as I do not drink at all for 3 days a week (as recommended I might add). It also brought my biological (health) age to 70. My chronological (real) age is 72 but I had expected them to say I had the ‘health age’ of a 50-year-old! My Health Reviewer explained it was my alcohol result that brought it up to that level, despite everything else on the test - my fitness level etc - being way better than average.
Now I have to admit that this got me thinking, particularly when I started looking at exactly what a unit is. I thought I had a good idea of the number of units, but on delving into it further, I was deluding myself.
My one gin and tonic of an evening is free-poured rather than measured, and so tends to be very generous, and is probably more likely to be 3 units than one. Then there is the half bottle of wine shared with my other half which turns out to be at least 4 more units per bottle than I thought, depending on the alcohol percentage (always on the label on the back of the bottle); and a small 330ml bottle of beer, which I deemed to be less than a unit, is in fact almost 2 units. So, I decided to put myself on a Challenge... as you know, I do love a Challenge!
I decided I would find out what it is like to stick rigidly to the rule of 14 units. Here is a list of things that I did to achieve this:
- I bought a measure, so I could pour an exact single-shot 25ml of gin, and a 125ml glass of wine. An eye-opener! The G&T tasted exactly the same and because I had set myself one glass of wine, I did not feel deprived.
- I was used to 3 days without alcohol so stuck with that and decided that on the remaining four days I would have 2 units on the first day (Thursday) and 4 units per day on the other three days (Friday, Saturday, Sunday).
- I ditched the small bottles of proper beer and for the first time tried the alcohol-free beers. I have been pleasantly surprised at how good they are.
- I bought an alcohol-free white wine but didn’t take to it. However, I will keep looking for one that I like. They are useful for when you simply need to chill with a wine glass in your hand!
The week was a complete success and I ended up having only 12 units instead of the 14 recommended maximum. Also, this new awareness has made me promise myself that I will always try to generally stick to around 14, except of course on special occasions.
We did have a bit of a social event with some friends during my Challenge week and I found I enjoyed myself as much as ever, without consuming much alcohol. My alcohol-free beers did the trick and a couple of glasses of Prosecco at only 11% alcohol kept me on track. My friends had no idea that I was doing anything different, the only downside was that my hubby expected to be the one to drive home!
This Challenge made me think of an episode of 'Come Dine with Me' where the host served alcohol-free booze all evening and didn't tell his fellow diners. As the evening progressed, they still all began to act very tiddly! Just shows alcohol-free drinks make a great placebo!
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This Week's Fitness Challenge
- If you have not already done it set up (or ask someone to set up for you) the 'Active 10' app on your phone. Then set how many 10-minute brisk walks you plan to do per day. I suggest 2 to start with so that your 30-minute daily walk has at least 20 minutes of 'brisk' walking. It does not record it if you are going too slowly! If you have already set it, why not add another 10 minutes?
- Do some stretching every day this week, particularly around the legs and hips. Post Walk Stretches will do the trick. Sitting for too long is bad news for your back, hips, knees and ankles and stretching regularly helps keep you supple and flexible.
- Strength exercises are vital to keep your whole body strong. This week commit to 3 sessions:
- Do some strength exercises for your upper body and abs.
- Then a session for lower body and abs.
- Then do the Advanced Whole Body Strength Programme.
Then you will have covered everything!
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Did you know...
Up until metrication, the standard single measure of spirits (gin, vodka, whisky etc) in an English pub was 1⁄6 gill (23.7 ml). In Scotland it was 1⁄5 gill (28.4 ml) or 1⁄4 gill (35.5 ml) which still remains the standard measure in pubs in Ireland. A spirit measure in the Isle of Man is still defined as 1⁄5 gill.
A gill was equal to a quarter of a pint. Half of a gill is a jack or an eighth of a pint. But in northern England, a quarter pint could also be called a jack or a noggin and, in some areas, a half pint could be called a gill, particularly for beer and milk. Confusing!
In Scotland, there were additional sizes:
- big gill = 1+1⁄2 gills (213 ml)
- wee gill = 3⁄4 gill (107 ml)
- wee half gill = 3⁄8 gill (53 ml)
- nip=1⁄4 gill (36 ml)
After metrication, this was all simplified with spirits generally being sold in shots of 25 (or occasionally 35) millilitres.
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And finally...
We all want to live a long and active life and sometimes we have to tweak our lifestyle habits to ensure we keep as healthy as possible. Let’s all make the effort to do our very best to make any changes we need to. The great thing is, we will feel much better if we do. Honestly!
Have a great week.
With love and best wishes,
Rosemary Conley CBE DL
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LIVE LONGER | LIVE HEALTHIER | LIVE HAPPIER
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