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Health insurance
- Australian Health Insurance: The top 10 things you need to know
- Don't cancel your health insurance
- Private Health Insurance Explained
- I’m young and healthy, why do I need health insurance?
- The Costs of Pregnancy
- How to Select a Health Insurance Provider
- Osteo vs. Chiro: What’s the Difference?
- What Private Health Insurance is Right for Me?
- Your handy checklist to Private Health Insurance
- Getting Health Insurance for the first time
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Health, Food & Diet
- Sugar content in alcohol - best & worst
- Coconut oil: the science
- Guilt free snacks
- 5 Post workout recipes
- Losing Weight Without a Fad Diet
- Cheat Days: Worth it?
- Light Milk: Healthier than Full Cream?
- Protein Shakes – Do they really work?
- All About the IIFYM Diet
- 8 Superfoods You’ve Never Heard Of
- 5 Surprising Facts About Coffee
- The Changes Your Body Goes through When you Quit Sugar
- Does Detoxing Actually Work?
- Delicious Sugar Free Recipes
- The Low-Down on Artificial Sweeteners
- The Health Benefits of Smoothies
- Breaking Sugar Addiction
- Organic vs Non Organic Foods
- 7 Healthy Kids Lunchbox Snacks
- The Great Weight Debate
- Fast or Feast? The Guide to the 5:2 Diet
- Medical Spotlight: Heart Disease
- Healthy Fast Food Options
- Salt – Friend or Foe?
- Spotlight on Sugar – how much sugar is in your favourite drinks?
- Are saturated fats and cholesterol really the bad guys?
- Nutritional Truths About Sushi
- What are Macrobiotics?
- Feeding fitness: Eating and exercise tips for breastfeeding mums
- The Raw Food Diet
- Foods and Asthma
- Kids and Food Allergies
- The Lowdown on Homeopathy
- Happy Valentines Day, Every Day! The Benefits of Chocolate
- Don’t worry – Eat happy! 5 mood enhancing foods
- Five foods for a healthy brain
- Minimize the Effects of Alcohol on Your Health
- Weight-loss TV, patience is not its virtue
- Parenting & children
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Sports & Fitness
- HIIT – Train Smarter, Not Harder!
- Crossfit – What’s all the hype about?
- This Year’s Hottest Fitness Trends
- Body Weight Workouts
- Training for a Triathlon – Where to Start
- Physical Culture: Let’s Get Physical
- Exercise at home
- Tips to get your kids moving
- Pregnancy and Exercise: Is it safe?Pregnancy and Exercise: Is it safe?
- 5 Ways to Train like an Olympic Athlete
- 3 Reasons To Stand Up At Work
Minimize the Effects of Alcohol on Your Health
The French, wine connoisseurs at heart, continue to top the wine consumption charts, polishing off, on average, 50-60 litres per person per year in 2011. Australians, come in 8th, consuming on average, 30 litres per person per year (2011).
In France, drinking wine is a cornerstone of a healthy lifestyle, as noted in the essence of toasting – “à la vôtre”-which literally translates as, “to your health!” You’ve heard about the benefits of moderate consumption of red wine, but what about other forms of alcohol? Can alcohol be part of a balanced lifestyle without causing great health risks?
The research is mixed about what levels of alcohol consumption constitute low-risk, but following the most recent national guidelines for alcohol consumption (www.alcohol.gov.au) as developed by the National Health and Medical Research Council, will help you minimise potential harm from drinking, whilst continuing to enjoy the social aspects of conviviality. For starters:
Remember, alcohol affects everyone differently, based on factors such as medical conditions, gender, age, and mental health, so recommendations for low-risk consumption are never one-size-fits- all.
Health risks are cumulative, meaning they increase progressively. So, the more you drink, the more at risk you become for impairment of liver function, heart disease, high blood pressure, various forms of cancer, and brain damage.
In general, follow these simple guidelines when you choose to drink.:
- Drink slowly
- Eat before and while you are drinking
- Drink water or other non-alcoholic beverages in-between rounds
- Set limits for yourself and stick to them
- The national guidelines suggest that for healthy men and women, drinking no more than 2 standard drinks on any day reduces your risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury over a lifetime.
But, don’t be fooled, standard serving sizes might be much less than you think!
Beer
- Glass – 1.1 – 285ml – 4.8% alc. vol
- Glass – 1.6 – 425ml – 4.8% alc. vol
- Bottle – 1.4 – 375ml – 4.8% alc. vol
- Can – 1.4 – 375ml – 4.8 % alc. vol
Wine
- Glass – 1.4 – 150ml – average restaurant serve sparkling wine – 12% alc. vol
- Glass – 1.6 – 150ml – average restaurant serve red wine – 13.5 % alc. vol
- Glass – 1.4 – 150ml – average restaurant serve white wine – 11.5% alc. vol
Spirits
- Bottle – 1.2 – 330ml – full strength, ready-to-drink – 5% alc. vol
- Glass – 1 – 30ml – high strength, spirit nip – 40% alc. vol
- Can – 1.5 – 375ml – full strength, pre-mix spirits – 5% alc. vol
If you or someone you know needs support and treatment to reduce your alcohol intake, you should contact:
- Your doctor
- Your local community health service
- An alcohol or other drug helpline in your state/territory
Contact numbers below:
- ACT (02) 6207 9977
- NSW (02) 9361 8000 (Sydney), 1800 422 599 (NSW country)
- NT (08) 8922 8399 (Darwin), 1800 131 350 (Territory wide)
- QLD 1800 177 833
- SA 1300 131 340
- TAS 1800 811 994
- VIC 1800 888 236
- WA (08) 9442 5000 (Perth), 1800 198 024 (WA country)