Recommended limits

Not many people know the recommended daily consumption of alcohol, for men and women these days and are generally surprised to hear, they are most likely to be one of the 10 million drinking above the Government's recommended limits.

A recent nationwide 'Know Your Limits' campaign was launched by the Department Of Health and it included some shocking statistics.

For example, did you know...

• Between 15,000 and 20,000 premature deaths in England and Wales each year are associated with alcohol misuse.
• Alcohol can be fattening. If you were to add three or four gin and tonics to your usual daily diet, you could put on 4lbs over four weeks!
• Children learn their behaviour largely from their parents, so how you drink may affect how they drink too, both now and in the future.

The NHS recommends men should not regularly drink more than 3-4 units a day and women should not regularly drink more than 2-3 units a day. 'Regularly' in this context means drinking at this sort of level every day or most days of the week.

To find out more on drinking myths, advice on cutting down and a handy unit calculator visit the Alcohol, "Know Your Limits" website by clicking here.

Here is a guide to the units in some alcoholic beverages - from the Office for National Statistics. For more detailed information on rates of absorption and affects on both your body and your brain visit the BUPA website by clicking here.