Did you keep a count of how many drinks you had the last time you drank? If you’re drinking a lot, it can be easy to lose track. Drinking plays a big part in our culture, especially in the Bluegrass state, home of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Whether you’re unwinding after work or celebrating with friends, knowing how many drinks is too much can help you stay healthy and in control.
At Altruism Counseling Services, we’ve seen how much drinking can alter a person’s life. We know how important it is to inform the public about safe drinking practices. Keep reading to learn what counts as a standard drink, where the limits lie, and when it’s time to reconsider your drinking habits.
What do you think of when you think of a drink, say a glass of wine? Is that glass half full? Is it filled to the brim? To understand how many drinks are too many, you must first know exactly what counts as a standard drink.
In the U.S., a standard drink contains about 14 grams of alcohol, or .6 fluid ounces. But what does that look like? A standard drink differs depending on the type of alcohol you’re consuming.
The standards are as follows:
Understanding how much alcohol is in a standard drink gives you a frame of reference for how many drinks are too many.
Keeping track: Jotting down each drink helps you see when you’ve had too many.
Now that you know how to measure a standard drink, how do you know when you’ve had too many of them? Too much alcohol is any amount of alcohol that negatively affects your health. Let’s review some standards that use hard and fast numbers, because if you’ve ever wondered how much is too much to drink, these guidelines will help.
U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend 1 or fewer standard drinks a day for women and 2 or fewer standard drinks a day for men. This recommendation is intended for people looking to reduce their risk of developing long-term health complications due to alcohol use. They also recommend that people with a family history of alcohol use disorder (AUD) or cancer do not drink at all.
Avoiding heavy drinking is also recommended for anyone looking to reduce their health risks related to alcohol. Heavy drinking is defined as more than four drinks in a single day or 8 drinks a week for women. For men, heavy drinking is considered to be 5 or more drinks a day or 15 drinks a week. So if you’re asking how many drinks a day is too much, these numbers lay it out clearly.
For people who have been heavy drinkers, these numbers are often surprising. Reduced alcohol intake can help you improve your health and avoid further complications in the future.
According to U.S. Dietary Guidelines, regularly exceeding one standard drink per day for women or two for men can increase your risk of liver disease, certain cancers, and cardiovascular problems. If you find yourself going above these limits on most days, it may be time to track your intake more closely or reach out for support to protect your long-term health.
Talking it through helps you explore how much alcohol is too much for your health.
It’s also important to understand binge drinking—a good way to think about how many drinks is too many in one sitting. Binge drinking is considered to be 4 drinks or more in under 2 hours for women and 5 drinks or more in under 2 hours for men. In Lexington, binge drinking is fairly common. In 2021, 17% of adults in Fayette County self-reported taking part in binge drinking.
Blood alcohol content, or BAC, is another way to measure binge drinking. BAC can be a better indicator for people who aren’t measuring out their drinks. BAC is measured using grams of alcohol per 100 mL of blood. Binge drinking 4 drinks for women or 5 drinks for men over a two-hour period will put you at about .08% BAC, which by law is considered binge drinking.
You cannot legally drive once you have a .08% BAC or higher. When you binge drink, the quantity of alcohol in your system has a serious effect on your body—your reflexes slow, your decision-making skills are impaired, and your vision can blur. You’ll also begin slurring your words and struggling to focus.
Binge drinking is also a sign that your alcohol consumption is no longer casual. While not everyone who binge drinks has AUD, regular binge drinking is a strong indicator that it’s time to re-evaluate how much alcohol is too much in your routine.
One of the biggest dangers of having too much to drink in one sitting is alcohol poisoning. This happens when you have more alcohol in your body than it can handle.
Alcohol poisoning begins between .30% and .40% BAC. This is nearly 4 times more alcohol than the baseline amount of alcohol for binge drinking. To get their BAC that high, most people would need to have a dozen or more drinks in a two-hour period.
While this sounds like a lot of drinks, alcohol poisoning can happen much more easily than most people realize. Often, alcohol poisoning occurs when you’re not keeping track of how much you’re drinking. Drinking straight from the bottle and using large cups or shot glasses is an easy way to drink more than you realize. Drinking games are another way that people end up drinking more than they can handle in a short period.
Friends enjoying a night out—know your limits before you raise a glass.
Sometimes, there is a slight delay between a person’s last drink and the onset of alcohol poisoning. This is because the alcohol has to make its way into the bloodstream.
Common signs of alcohol poisoning include:
Alcohol poisoning is a serious medical emergency — it isn’t something that you or someone you know can simply "sleep off." The first thing you should do if you’re with someone who has overdosed on alcohol is call 911.
While you’re waiting for emergency responders, there are 5 simple steps you can take to help:
When emergency personnel arrive, tell them what the person has been drinking and how much of it they’ve had. Also, be honest and communicate if they have taken any other substances. Let them know what measures you’ve taken since you called.
Alcohol poisoning is life-threatening, but with prompt treatment, medical professionals can reverse the effects of an alcohol overdose.
Not everyone who drinks heavily has AUD; however, regular, heavy drinking is often a sign. There is no specific number of drinks that a medical professional looks for when diagnosing AUD. The condition occurs when you have a physical and psychological dependence on alcohol.
Common signs of AUD include:
It’s vital to know how many drinks is too much and how much alcohol is safe to drink. Heavy drinking can lead to poisoning or AUD, but alcoholism treatment can empower you to live free of alcohol. Whether you’ve been drinking heavily for years or just noticed your habits slipping, you can succeed in recovery.
Altruism Counseling Services is located in Lexington, KY. We are rooted in AA and believe in the power of the 12 steps. For certain clients recovering from AUD, we understand that medication-assisted treatment is effective, and we will work with you on that treatment option. We also provide DUI classes at some of the lowest rates in the state. For more information, call us at 859-310-6505.
