Alcohol Consumption

• Rethinking Drinking: Alcohol and Managing Your Weight

  Learn about calories in alcohol, and decide how alcohol fits into your weight management plan.

• Drinking More During the Pandemic?

  This topic helps readers assess whether they may have a drinking problem.

• Alcohol: The Space It Takes Up in Your Life

  Learn the signs of possible risky use of alcohol and think about the role alcohol plays in your life.

• Alcohol: Time for a Change?

  Hear how others found the motivation to change their relationship to alcohol.

• Diabetes and Alcohol

  How does alcohol affect diabetes? When you have diabetes, you need to be careful with alcohol. If you take medicine for diabetes, drinking alcohol may cause low blood sugar. Too much alcohol can also affect your ability to know when your blood sugar is low and to treat it. Drinking alcohol can make you feel...

• Drinking and Your Health

  Alcohol can be a safe and enjoyable part of life. If you choose to drink alcohol, the key is to keep your drinking at low to moderate levels. People who drink too much are hurting their health. Heavy drinking can cause all kinds of problems, from stomach and sexual problems to stroke and liver disease. It can also...

• Coronary Artery Disease and Alcohol

  Low to moderate alcohol use (no more than 2 drinks a day for men, 1 drink a day for women) might lower the risk of coronary artery disease. If you drink alcohol, drink in moderation. But if you do not drink alcohol, do not start drinking to try to lower your risk of heart disease. You have many other options that can...

• Form for Identifying Reasons to Cut Down On or Stop Alcohol Use

  If changing your alcohol use is a goal, then knowing what you'll gain by cutting back on or not drinking can help keep you motivated. Take a moment to fill out the form. Be honest. You may find that you have good reasons to cut back or quit-whatever your goal is. Put a check next to the statements that you agree with...

• Ideas to Help You Cut Back On or Stop Using Alcohol

  If you think you might have alcohol use disorder, talk with your doctor before trying to stop drinking. If you have alcohol use disorder, you should stop drinking, not just cut back. If you are physically dependent, you might develop severe withdrawal symptoms if you stop drinking on your own. Whether you have...

• Alcohol Increases the Risk of Cold Injury

  Drinking alcohol may increase the risk of injury from cold exposure. Alcohol: Changes your body's ability to regulate body temperature. Changes your judgment. For example, a person may not put on more clothing when it is needed if his or her judgment is changed by alcohol. Can cause blood vessels in the skin to get...

• Assess Your Substance Use

  The following questions are about your use of alcohol and other drugs. Count the number of "yes" answers you have. How you figure your results is provided at the end of the questions. During the past 6 months: 1. Have you used alcohol or other drugs (such as wine, beer, hard liquor, pot, coke, heroin or...

• Saying No to Alcohol and Drugs

  Alcohol is part of many traditions and is often served at parties and other functions. And although many drugs are illegal or legal only with a prescription, people may offer them to you. If you're in a situation where someone is offering you alcohol or drugs, try this: Look the person in the eye. In a firm voice...

• Quick Tips: Cutting Back On Drinking

  Experts say that for the best health, men should have no more than 2 alcoholic drinks a day. And women should have no more than 1 drink a day. Tips about changing your habits Know your reasons. Write down your reasons for wanting to cut back (for example, to lower blood pressure or to lose...