Moderate drinking and how to keep it that way

The direct association between red wine consumption and cardiovascular health remains inconclusive, and the same beneficial nutrients found in red wine can be obtained from sources such as grapes and various fruits. My book Take Control of Your Drinking (2nd ed, 2021) helps the reader decide whether to try to moderate drinking or instead strive for abstinence. The Alcohol Use Disorder book lays out specific strategies for success, whichever path is decided on. Finally, this experiment with not drinking will give you the opportunity to recognise the times when you have a strong urge to drink. In turn, this offers insight into the role that drinking may be playing in your life – and what you need to do to manage without it. For example, if you feel like drinking after a stressful day at work, you will know that you need to develop other ways to manage those feelings.

Keep track of your drinking.

You will likely also find that you sleep better, feel more rested, or are more alert, which will strengthen your decision to address your drinking. Alcohol is not inherently bad or harmful and can be appreciated for the art and beauty of its craft. What makes alcohol a problem is what we do with it, how we use it, and how we present ourselves under its influence. A mindfulness approach can help us increase awareness of all these factors. Being beautiful as a woman (who chooses to drink) means we learn to take care of ourselves. It means ensuring we have safe transportation from one place to the next.

How to Drink in Moderation

• Drinking your favorite spirit in this manner can keep you from consuming too much, too fast—and, without the sugary, high-carb mixers, you’re cutting empty calories.
• By following this marker of moderate drinking, you can mentally take note and pace yourself when alcohol is involved.
• They feel better about themselves, and more self-confident, knowing that they are in control of their drinking.
• If you’re looking to enjoy more than one drink in a sitting, diluting your drinks is a great way to stretch a smaller amount of alcohol.
• Naltrexone makes moderation possible for most people because it works by blocking the endorphins (pleasurable feelings) alcohol typically releases, breaking the cycle of craving and overconsumption.

Our approach empowers you to reduce or eliminate drinking at your own pace—without any pressure to quit entirely. Moderate drinking is not recommended for individuals who are physically dependent on alcohol, have physical conditions aggravated by alcohol, or who identify as alcoholics. The medication naltrexone (commonly sold under the brand names Revia, Depade, and Vivitrol) has been found to help people learn how to drink in moderation by blocking the pleasurable effects of alcohol. This reduces cravings for alcohol when used consistently (i.e., each and every time the person drinks). “Moderate consumption” is limited to one to two alcoholic drinks per day for healthy men and one alcoholic drink per day for healthy women. One drink is equivalent to 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits.

Strategies to Cut Back on Drinking

If you keep a lot of alcohol around, you may be tempted to go over the drinking limit you set for yourself when you’re at home. If you have a bad day or are feeling angry, don’t reach for a drink. Certain health problems — like depression or anxiety, sleep problems, and chronic pain — can put you at a higher risk for alcohol use disorder. These four common guidelines can help you stay hydrated no matter what kind of lifestyle you have.

• As in other situations, holding off on having your first alcoholic drink when you enter a social scene is a helpful way to slow down your drinking.
• Practitioners like us see a very skewed sample of drinkers– mostly those with severe alcohol problems that cause severe consequences.
• The adequate intake is 15.5 cups (3.7 liters or 125 ounces) for men and 11.5 cups (2.7 liters or 91 ounces) for women.
• Planning exactly how you’ll say no—in a quick, polite, and convincing way—can make it easier for you to stick with your convictions and avoid a spiral of uncomfortable excuses.

You might also want to stop pretending that it’s the same bottle being poured from, even thought there’s a warm empty bottle wedged in an empty cornflakes box in the recycling. You will need to be prepared to be constantly aware, on guard, and actively moderating, every day, and every time you find yourself with an opportunity to drink. Try to complete the log below for each day, making one entry per day.

How to Drink Moderately: Finding Your Drinking Sweet Spot

A systematic review and meta-analysis published in March 2023 also concluded that not even low to moderate alcohol consumption provided any healthy benefits, despite past research suggesting so. Another tip to consider when exploring how to drink in moderation is setting attainable goals. These can range from limiting how much you drink per day or week to designating a window of time when you refrain from drinking altogether, such as No Alcohol November or Dry January. Whatever you’re determined to tackle, setting goals can help us reflect on past behaviors, and be intentional about what we want to change. By being conscious of your drinking habits, you can find what helps you drink responsibly and practice pacing yourself. Moderate drinking isn’t something that occurs overnight, but can be rewarding as you begin to change your relationship with alcohol.

• The direct association between red wine consumption and cardiovascular health remains inconclusive, and the same beneficial nutrients found in red wine can be obtained from sources such as grapes and various fruits.
• Thankfully, there are many ways to cut down on your drinking to a more modest place.
• At any stage of life, we’re here to help you stay healthy or feel healthier.
• John C. Umhau, MD, MPH, CPE is board-certified in addiction medicine and preventative medicine.

Moderate drinking – and how to keep it that way

And if and when you do decide to have a drink, DO NOT get behind the wheel. I work with female clients on looking at the reasons they might be overconsuming alcohol, and here are some tips I offer as a general approach and practice for moderate drinking. While drinking in moderation can look different for different people, there is a clearly defined line for when it tips over into binge drinking. Binge drinking is well defined and something we should all strive to avoid for best health and safety. Sign up and instantly access our private, at-home program built on a treatment with over 30 years of proven success in helping people reduce and moderate their drinking.

Issues with past studies on moderate alcohol use and health

You will need be prepared to constantly swim against the tide of addiction. This is because the way addictive drugs affect humans is by confusing our minds and bodies into ‘needing’ to take more of it over time. The fundamental way it cons our minds is that the last drink we had causes stress hormones to be released into our bodies. This feeling of stress caused by the last drink is partially relieved by the next drink. Hence the ‘aaaah’ sigh of relief when you get that glass in your hand. Drinking alcohol is a little bit like the relief we get at the end of the day from taking off a really tight and uncomfortable pair of shoes, only to put them on again.