How Much Alcohol is Too Much

Jake was having some trouble lately. He really wanted to know what quantity of alcohol, was considered too much, and why. The reason for this being his wife, Jenny. Jenny had started pestering him a lot recently. She suspected Jake to suffer from alcoholism. He drank an average of 5 beers everyday and a little bit more on weekends. No matter what plans they had, the beer never took a back seat. She asked around a little and found out that Jake's quota might actually be a little more than what is considered safe drinking and might lead to alcohol intolerance even. After all, safe drinking isn't risk free drinking as well. Jake, on the other hand refused to agree to the fact that this was a lot. Together, they decided to find out exactly how much alcohol is considered too much.

Before we proceed to the exact figures that will help us, let us first read a little bit on the topic. The effects of alcohol are huge and we must know them to want to quit drinking. Alcohol units for safe drinking differ from state to state and country to country. So, what we might look at right now, might be different for other countries and regions of the world. However, all figures are very close and there isn't much difference. In this article, we shall see what exactly are considered units for safe drinking and alcohol overdose as well. After that, we shall have a look at what is safe drinking per day and per week as well.

The Units
We know that to measure anything, we need units. Similarly, if you want to know how much alcohol is too much, we need to have units to measure. The following table will tell you the approximate units that are stated to measure an individual's alcohol intake. These also help in determining the different types of alcoholism. This units, as I have said before, will differ from region to region but the difference isn't much. To be exactly sure, you can approach your state office for the rules and regulations regarding alcohol intake.

Approximate Alcohol Units
Average Strength Beer	Half Pint/250ml
Wine with 8% ABV	125ml
Spirits	25ml
Fortified Wine	25ml

* The above figures are approximate and should not be considered legally abiding for any state.

How Much Alcohol is Too Much to Drive?
The alcohol intake limits before driving, differ for men and women. While men can have no more than 3-4 units per day, for women it is 2-3. Anything more than this is usually considered a case of drunk driving. You should also avoid alcohol for 48hours after the last time you got drunk. Alcohol content while driving is measured by Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) which in turn is measured as following-

Milligrams of alcohol/100 milliliters of blood

How Much Alcohol is Too Much for The Liver?
In 2005, 8 million people in the UK were affected by alcohol problems according to the Charity Alcohol Concern. Individuals who drink more than the said capacity of alcohol can develop three major types of alcohol problems. These are liver cirrhosis, fatty liver and hepatitis. A fatty liver is when there is fat concentrated in the liver. This condition can be reversed if you stop alcohol intake completely. Hepatitis is basically inflammation of the liver. This can range from mild to severe. Severe conditions can cause jaundice, coma, complete liver failure and also be fatal. Cirrhosis is when the tissue in the liver is replaced by scar (fibrosis) tissue. This is a serious condition and thus heavy drinking is absolutely not recommended. Thus, liver damage from alcohol is something we all should be worrying about.

How Much Alcohol is Too Much Per Day?
For me, occasional alcohol consumption is perfectly alright and then, the quantity is something I don't worry about. But, my occasions are once a month or so. For those, who think everyday is an occasion or have a really active social life, you need to be careful. It is said that for men, three units of alcohol is the daily limit. For women, it is two units per day. We have seen the units above and thus, you can now calculate where exactly you stand at the moment. This is not all. It is also said that you should have at least two days a week where you don't consume alcohol at all. Now, you have the perfect figures for your daily and weekly intake.

Now that you know what quantity of alcohol is considered too much, and why, you need to start keeping yourself in control if you are exceeding any limit mentioned here and stop drinking alcohol. We must understand that everything has a threshold and crossing or even reaching that, is never a good thing. Anything more than that, will be termed as addiction. Alcohol addictions, we all know are difficult to get rid of. Also remember that safe drinking doesn't mean it is risk free. Share these figures with friends. Help them too. Till then, take care.