How much have you had to drink?
In Australia, a standard drink contains 10 grams of alcohol. On average, this is how much your body can process in one hour. Most alcohol is broken down in your body by your liver.
But even with this as a guide, it can be hard to keep track of how much you’ve consumed. This is because alcoholic drinks come in different strengths and serving sizes and may contain more than one standard drink.
You also need to think about other factors such as your age, weight, sex, fitness levels, fatigue, the health of your liver and how much you’ve eaten – as these can all affect how your body processes alcohol.
What does a standard drink look like?
In Australia, all bottles, casks and cans of alcoholic beverages must show the number of standard drinks they contain on their label.
It’s important to remember that one alcoholic beverage doesn’t always equal one standard drink.
The DrinkWise Standard Drinks Calculator has been designed to give you a quick and simple way to understand what a standard drink is and how many standard drinks are in your favourite beverage (based on an average restaurant serving size) . The calculator uses average sizes for cans, bottles etc., however please be aware that these vary between products. The calculator is for educational purposes, and shouldn’t be relied upon to predict blood alcohol level (BAC) or any other measure.
While alcohol affects each of us differently, there are things you can do to help you reduce your drinking. You can read more about things you can do to reduce your drinking here.
The DrinkWise Standard Drinks poster provides a handy guide to understanding the number of standard drinks in different types of alcohol. It’s free to download.
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) provides guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol, to help you make informed decisions about alcohol consumption. Read about the guidelines here.
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