How much alcohol is safe for Indians? 

Many countries across the world have a national alcohol policy, that recommends safe levels and guidelines on drinking and driving and so on.  But in India data is still not sufficient to recommend any safe limit, although the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) says Indian adults should drink “moderately” while not specifying the amount for men and women.  India also does not have a national alcohol policy and most studies on the impact of alcohol are from other countries.

However, a study was conducted in Mumbai by Healis Sekhsaria Institute for Public Health and University of Waterloo, Canada.  About 35,102 men aged 45 years or more who consumed alcohol at different amounts were followed up after five-and-a-half years.

The study found that higher alcohol consumption was associated with 22 % increase in mortality.  Three pegs a day (100 ml) was associated with a higher risk of death in comparison to those who did not drink.  The increased risk was due to  higher probability of contracting liver disease, TB, diseases related to heart, respiratory, kidney and digestive systems.   Also, 40 % of road crashes occur in India and a majority are due to drunken driving.

The chairman of National Diabetes, Obesity and Cholesterol Foundation, Dr. Anoop Mishra believes that since Indians have more body fat percentage as compared to Western counterparts, and also a higher fat content in the liver, metabolising any amount of alcohol is difficult for Indians and even 60 ml once or twice a week cannot be recommended, although may be safe.  Indians also have a tendency to develop high cholesterol , triglyceride and LDL levels, all of which make any recommendation impossible, according to medical experts.

Alcohol content of some spirits

A standard drink is 30 ml of one peg of hard liquor (whiskey/rum/vodka) or 350 ml of beer or 150 ml of wine. All of these contain the same amount of alcohol in those amounts.

Spirits       Amount                Calories          Alcohol %

Beer                350 ml            155                   3 – 10 

Light beer      350 ml                    103                     4-5

champagne       105 ml                 87                   10 - 15

Mojito               1 glass                    217                      17

Vodka/whiskey/rum 30 ml              64                      40

Wine                  150 ml             124          10 - 15

Less is more

According to the World Health Organisation's Global status report on alcohol and health which conducted studies in 100 countries,  62 million people consume alcohol , the average consumption in a year being 22.25 litres (23.93 litres among men and 10.35 litres among women).  This is a higher than other countries in South Asia. Hard liquor is preferred by 88 % of Indians, while only 10 % drink beer.

The bottomline :abstinence is still the best practice!  Restrict drinking to special occasions only.  If you must drink, stick to not more than 60 ml once or twice a week, along with adopting an active lifestyle with regular exercise and balanced, healthy meals , provided you have normal cholesterol levels and a healthy liver.  Remember:  Beer is not “lighter” or “safer “ than alcohol, since 250 ml of beer contains the same amount of alcohol as one peg of hard liquor, and any perceived health benefits of alcohol can be better obtained from exercise, fruits, vegetables, green or black tea and a wholesome balanced diet !