How much drinking is healthy

Moderate alcohol use for healthy adults generally means up to one drink a day for women and up to two drinks a day for men. However, eating a healthy diet and being physically active have much greater health benefits and have been more extensively studied. Keep in mind that even moderate alcohol use isn't risk-free. For example, even light drinkers those who have no more than one drink a day have a tiny, but real, increased risk of some cancers, such as esophageal cancer. And drinking and driving is never a good idea.

While moderate alcohol use may offer some health benefits, heavy drinking — including binge drinking — has no health benefits. Heavy or high-risk drinking is defined as more than three drinks on any day or more than seven drinks a week for women and for men older than age 65, and more than four drinks on any day or more than 14 drinks a week for men age 65 and younger.

Binge drinking is defined as four or more drinks within two hours for women and five or more drinks within two hours for men. In certain situations, the risks of alcohol may outweigh the possible health benefits. For example, check with your doctor about drinking if:.

If you don't drink alcohol, don't start because of potential health benefits. However, if you drink a light to moderate amount and you're healthy, you can probably continue as long as you drink responsibly. Be sure to check with your doctor about what's right for your health and safety. There is a problem with information submitted for this request. Sign up for free, and stay up-to-date on research advancements, health tips and current health topics, like COVID, plus expert advice on managing your health.

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A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. See more conditions. Healthy Lifestyle Nutrition and healthy eating. Products and services. Alcohol use: Weighing risks and benefits Moderate alcohol use has possible health benefits, but it's not risk-free.

By Mayo Clinic Staff. Thank you for Subscribing Our Housecall e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest health information. Please try again. Drinking too much can harm your health. Excessive alcohol use led to approximately 95, deaths and 2. In the United States, a standard drink contains 0. Generally, this amount of pure alcohol is found in. Excessive drinking includes binge drinking, heavy drinking, and any drinking by pregnant women or people younger than age The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults of legal drinking age can choose not to drink, or to drink in moderation by limiting intake to 2 drinks or less in a day for men or 1 drink or less in a day for women , on days when alcohol is consumed.

By adhering to the Dietary Guidelines , you can reduce the risk of harm to yourself or others. Excessive alcohol use has immediate effects that increase the risk of many harmful health conditions.

These are most often the result of binge drinking and include the following:. Over time, excessive alcohol use can lead to the development of chronic diseases and other serious problems including:. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Alcohol and Public Health. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate.

Alcohol Use and Your Health. Minus Related Pages. What is a standard drink? Short-Term Health Risks. Deaths and years of potential life lost from excessive alcohol use — United States, — MMWR ;— Contribution of excessive alcohol consumption to deaths and years of potential life lost in the United States.

It's a good idea to drink a glass of water:. Drinking too much water is rarely a problem for healthy, well-nourished adults. Athletes occasionally may drink too much water in an attempt to prevent dehydration during long or intense exercise.

When you drink too much water, your kidneys can't get rid of the excess water. The sodium content of your blood becomes diluted. This is called hyponatremia and it can be life-threatening. There is a problem with information submitted for this request. Sign up for free, and stay up-to-date on research advancements, health tips and current health topics, like COVID, plus expert advice on managing your health.

Error Email field is required. Error Include a valid email address. To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information and to understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your e-mail and website usage information with other information we have about you. If we combine this information with your PHI, we will treat all of that information as PHI, and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our notice of privacy practices.

You may opt-out of e-mail communications at any time by clicking on the Unsubscribe link in the e-mail. Our Housecall e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest health information.

Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. Any use of this site constitutes your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy linked below.

A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. See more conditions. Healthy Lifestyle Nutrition and healthy eating. Products and services. Water: How much should you drink every day?

By Mayo Clinic Staff. Thank you for Subscribing Our Housecall e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest health information. Please try again. Something went wrong on our side, please try again. Show references Office of Patient Education.

The heat is on! Precautions for people with diabetes during the summer months. Mayo Clinic, Auerbach PS, et al. Dehydration and rehydration. In: Auerbach's Wilderness Medicine. Elsevier;