New Alcohol Consumption Guidelines

This month, I wanted to highlight Canada’s NEW Guidance on Alcohol and Health Recommendations (based on research, of course) that have been updated effective January 2023. This is a very recent publication and those that have peeked at the new recommendations have noticed some eye-opening changes.

Consider reviewing these recommendations and think about the affects it may pose to your personal health relative to your own consumption. Just food for thought…

The risk of negative outcomes begins to increase with any alcohol use, and consuming more than 2 standard drinks per occasion is associated with a significant increased risk of harms to self and others.

“The physiological differences between females and males at low levels of alcohol use have only a small impact on lifetime risk of death. However, it is unequivocal that above the upper limit of the moderate risk zone for alcohol consumption (above 6 standard drinks per week), the health risks increase more steeply for females than for males. Enzymes, genes, lean body weight and size, organ function and metabolism are important in processing alcohol and are affected by sex-related factors. These biological factors enhance the impact of alcohol on females, causing higher blood alcohol levels, faster intoxication, more risk for disease, including breast cancer, and more long-term harm, such as liver damage and injury.”

Review the full summary of the new guidelines:

Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health | Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (ccsa.ca)