{"id":1296,"date":"2022-04-26T00:18:47","date_gmt":"2022-04-25T22:18:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medicallib.co.za\/health-info\/?p=1296"},"modified":"2023-02-03T20:44:42","modified_gmt":"2023-02-03T18:44:42","slug":"units-of-alcohol-measurement-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medicallib.co.za\/health-info\/units-of-alcohol-measurement-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Units of Alcohol Measurement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.17.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-31px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.17.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-31px|auto||auto||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.17.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.17.3″ _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#000000″ text_font_size=”16px” text_line_height=”2em” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]

There are lots of benefits<\/a> <\/span><\/strong>associated with alcohol. But you can only get these benefits if you know the right quantity of alcohol to drink per week or per day. This can be achieved if you know the different ways in which alcoholic content is measured or expressed. <\/span>The alcoholic content in a drink can be expressed in different units. Units used to express alcoholic content includes alcohol by volume<\/strong> (ABV<\/strong>), unit <\/strong>(or alcohol unit<\/strong>), standard drink<\/strong> and pint <\/strong>(or alcohol pint<\/strong>). Each unit represents a measure of the amount of alcohol in your drink.
The aim of expressing alcoholic content in different units is to provide consistency across different beverage types, to provide drinking guidelines and advice, and to interpret the science behind drinking and health into a message that can be understood.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.17.3″ _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#000000″ text_font_size=”16px” text_line_height=”2em” header_2_text_color=”#0C71C3″ global_colors_info=”{}”]

ABV measurements<\/span><\/h2>\n

ABV (alcohol by volume) is a measure of the percentage (%) of pure alcohol in a given volume of drink. For example, a 500 mL alcoholic drinks which reads “5 % ABV”, “5.0% ALC\/VOL” or “alcohol volume 5 %” implies 5 % of the total volume of that drink is pure alcohol. In our case, 5 % of 500 mL will give us 25 mL. This means 25 mL of 500 mL is pure alcohol calculated as:<\/span><\/p>\n

[(5\/100) X 500 mL]<\/strong><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.17.3″ _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#000000″ text_font_size=”16px” text_line_height=”2em” header_2_text_color=”#0C71C3″ header_3_text_color=”#E09900″ header_3_line_height=”2.5em” global_colors_info=”{}”]

ALCOHOL AS A UNIT<\/h2>\n

Alcohol content can also be expressed in terms of unit. A unit of alcohol estimates the amount of pure alcohol in a drink and gives an idea of how strong a drink is. One unit of alcohol is equals to 8.0 g or 10 mL of pure alcohol.
The number of units in a drink depends on its size and strength. To calculate the number of units in a drink, simply multiply the size of the bottle and the strength of the alcohol and then divide this by 1000 as shown below:
<\/span><\/p>\n

Percentage of alcohol\u00a0 X Volume of alcohol (mL) \u00f7 1000 = Units<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

For example a 440 mL of a 5 % alcohol will be 5<\/strong> X 440<\/strong> \u00f7 1000<\/strong> = 2.2 units<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In an adult, it takes about 1 hour for your liver to breakdown or process one unit of alcohol. Time taken to completely break down 1 unit of alcohol will be affected by your weight, gender, age, rate of metabolism, how empty your stomach is, the type of alcohol you drank and any medication you might be taking.
One of the major aim of expressing alcohol as a unit is to help people keep track of their drinking. Generally, it is recommended not to drink more than 2 to 3 units per day or more than 14 units of alcohol per week.<\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.17.2″ _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#000000″ text_font_size=”16px” text_line_height=”2em” header_2_text_color=”#0C71C3″ global_colors_info=”{}”]

MEASURING ALCOHOL AS A STANDARD DRINK<\/h2>\n

According to the\u00a0national institute of health (NIH<\/span>), <\/a><\/span>a standard drink<\/strong> also called an alcoholic drink-equivalent<\/strong> is any drink which contains about 0.60 fluid ounce (fl oz) or 14 grams (g) of pure alcohol. It is calculated based on the percentage of alcohol and its volume. The fomulars below can be used depending on whether your alcohol volume is in mL or fl oz.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1 standard drink = Volume (fl oz) X ABV content (%) \u00f7 100\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 OR<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

1 standard drink = Volume (mL) X ABV alcohol (%) \u00f71774.41<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Example 1:<\/strong>\u00a0 A 12 fl oz of a 5 % alcohol will be 0.6 fl oz (or 1 drink) calculated as “12 fl oz X 5 \u00f7100”.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Example 2:<\/strong> A 750 mL of a 12 % alcohol will be 5 drinks calculated as “750 mL X 12 \u00f7 1774.41”.<\/p>\n

The definition of a standard drink unlike a unit of alcohol varies across countries.<\/p>\n