Think about your drink in April

April is Alcohol Awareness Month and a good opportunity for adults to be thinking about their drinking. Enjoying a beer, glass of wine or cocktail can be part of a balanced lifestyle for most adults, but moderation is essential. Moderate drinking is defined as consuming up to one standard drink per day for women, and up to two drinks per day for men. A critical piece of information for practicing moderation is knowing what constitutes a standard drink of alcohol.

According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a standard drink is 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits at 40 percent alcohol-by-volume (ABV), five ounces of wine at 12 percent ABV, 12 ounces of regular beer at 5 percent ABV, or 12 ounces of a ready-to-drink canned cocktail at 5 percent ABV. Each of these drinks has the same amount of alcohol in them and research has shown that the effects on the body are the same regardless of the beverage type.

To learn more, check out StandardDrinks.org, which includes a helpful, easy-to-use calculator that allows consumers to see how their beverage measures up to one standard drink. This April, and throughout the year, remember: when it comes to drinking alcohol, there is no beverage of moderation, only the practice of moderation.

Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RDN, LD

Advisor, Distilled Spirits Council of the United States