It’s Thursday and I should be at my volunteer counselling placement, but the school is closed to pupils because of the election so I have a day of work instead, lucky me! I thought therefore I’d post something helpful before the bank holiday weekend – lets call it Thursday’s thought.
Do you know how much alcohol you’re drinking? I thought I knew roughly but I was surprised even at how much the alcohol content of wine varies depending on the type and ABV. Here a rough guide.
Wine
One 125ml glass of wine is not 1 unit it’s 1.5 and contains about 90 calories. We don’t drink small glasses though do we ladies? A large 250ml glass is 3 units and roughly 180 calories, if you regularly polish off a bottle at the weekend (or even in a night) that’s 9 units and 531 calories minimum. Really important here that’s for a bottle of wine at 12%. If you go up to 14% ABV then it’s nearly 11 units and 630 calories. So the lower the ABV per bottle the less calorific it is – good to note.
Champagne
We all like a little fizz in our lives. A 12% ABV 125ml glass of Moët is 1.5 units but more calories than wine at 95. So a bottle of fizz on a night out is still 9 units but 40 calories more than a bottle of wine.
Beer
A pint of Carling, John Smiths, Guinness or Foster’s at 4% ABV will set you back 2.3 units and 180 calories. A bottle of Grolsh, Bud, Beck’s or Peroni at 5% ABV is 1.7 units per bottle and 134 calories. So going out for a ‘few’ pints is 25% of a the daily recommended calorie intake.
Cider
A pint of cider such as Magners or Strongbow is 2.6 units and 216 calories, ouch, higher than beer.
Spirits
A 25ml measure of Gin, Vodka or Bacardi is 0.9 units and 52 calories. Depending on what you mix it with, it can be a low unit and low calorie option it’s certainly not a reason to drink more. Dark spirits such as Captain Morgans rum at 40% alcohol is a full unit and 61 calories.
Hope that’s been useful and remember the recommended limit is 14 units per week.
www.drinkaware.co.uk – visit the website and download the app to track and calculate units.
STAY SAFE AND DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE
