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The Health Compass hot tips on alcohol

● Questionnaire: do you have a drink problem?

● How many calories in your drink?

● Blowing alcohol myths out of the water

For more help, information and advice about alcohol, including how to make a plan to cut down or stop drinking, take a look at the Health Compass book

Do you have a drink problem?

Have a look at the questionnaire below to discover if your drinking is a problem. This does not rely solely on how much you drink, but also includes how and why you drink.

• Do you suffer with withdrawal symptoms such as shakes, agitation, sweats or vomiting if you can’t have a drink?

• Do you drink to get rid of the shakes?

• Does your drinking make you late for work?

• Do you drink alone when you are angry or sad?

• Do you ever crave a drink?

• Do you ever have a drink after saying you won’t?

• Do you have your first drink before lunch?

• Do you hide the amount you drink

• Do you drink so that you have blanks in your memory?

• Does your drinking worry your friends and family?

If you answer yes to any of these questions, you could have a drinking problem.

If you would like help with your drinking, contact your GP or Alcoholics Anonymous at:

www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk

telephone 0845 769 7555

For more information on alcohol and how to reduce your consumption take a look at the Health Compass book.

How many calories in your drink?

The daily calorie requirement for women is about 2,000 calories and for men about 2,500. Alcohol is very dense in calories and has no nutritional value.

If you are having trouble losing weight, take a look at what you are drinking, as fluids tend not to fill you up and can be extremely high in calories. It may be that all you need to do to lose weight is cut out some of your sugary drinks.

Soft drinks and mixers

Coke 200ml                                         84 kcal

Can of coke 330ml                              139 kcal

Lemonade 200ml                                82 kcal

Orange juice concentrate 200ml        88 kcal

Tonic water 200ml                              80 kcal

Ginger ale 200ml                                 80 kcal

To reduce the calorie count of mixers, try using just a splash of juice to give your drink flavour or use low calorie or diet drinks       

Beers, lager and cider per pint (575ml)

            Lager                                                   200 kcal

            Bitter                                                    100 kcal

            Sweet cider                                         250 kcal

            Dry cider                                             200 kcal

Wines, small glass (125ml)

This will vary slightly according to the % alcohol. The higher strength, the greater the calories.

            Red wine                                             85

            Rose wine                                           89

            Sweet white wine                                118

            Dry white wine                                     83

            Medium white wine                             94

            Champagne                                        80

Spirits small shot (25ml)

Gin                                                       50

Vodka                                                  50

Whiskey                                              50

Southern Comfort                               70

Baileys                                                80

Blowing alcohol myths out of the water

Myth

White wine is better to drink than spirits if you want a light drink, as it contains less alcohol.

Myth buster

Alcohol whether it is in wine, beer or spirits, is alcohol and will get you drunk in whatever form you drink it, if you drink too much. A small glass of wine (12% 125ml) contains more alcohol (1.5 units) than a shot (25ml) of spirit (1 unit).

Myth

Mixing your drinks will make you more drunk.

Myth buster

No, mixing your drinks will just make you sicker. It is the quantity of alcohol that is important.

Myth

Fresh air, a cold shower or coffee will sober you up.

Myth buster

The only thing that will get you sober is time. Someone once said that the only thing you get when you give a drunk a coffee is a wide awake drunk!

Myth

Alcohol picks you up

Myth buster

Alcohol is a depressant and lowers mood. It decreases

your skills, thinking and reaction time.

Myth

Alcohol improves sex

Myth buster

Although alcohol causes dis-inhibited behaviour it results in difficulty in getting an erection and in coming in men and can cause a reduced sex drive in women. There is an increase in sexually transmitted infections and in pregnancy in women under the influence of alcohol as it is easy to forget to use a condom when intoxicated. The most common weapon used in drug facilitated rape is alcohol.

Myth

I will lose friends if I stop drinking.

Myth buster

Friends that rely on you being drunk probably weren’t

good friends in the first place.

Myth

You drive better after a drink

Myth buster

Your driving is affected after only one drink. Even this causes a delay in thinking and reaction time. The legal limit for alcohol is 80mg alcohol in 100ml blood. If you are involved in an accident and the police think that drinking contributed to it, you can be prosecuted even if you are not over the limit. The safest thing is not to drink and drive at all

Myth

You only drink if your parents do

Myth buster

Statistics show that the highest rates of heavy drinkers are in offspring of parents who either drink heavily or who do not drink at all. It seems that extremes of behaviour are the deciding factors.