Important Basics Food Charts 10:  ALCOHOL:

The usual alcohol present in food and beverages is called ethanol. It is made by fermentation of carbohydrate. It is virtually never found in freshly collected food. It has an energy value of 7 kilocalories or 29 kilojoules per gram. But, with high alcohol intakes, proportionately less of the alcohol is used to produce useful energy.

There is some evidence that a small amount of ethanol may actually protect against coronary heart disease. However, depending on other lifestyle factors, there may be a 'trade-off in that any quantity of ethanol increases blood pressure to some extent, which increases the risk of strokes.

ALCOHOL INTAKE

When the average intake of ethanol exceeds 80 grams per day, disease of one sort or another is in due course inevitable. This situation is one of alcohol abuse. The adverse effects are seen on brain, liver, heart, muscles, blood, gut, nerves, pancreas (leading to diabetes or pancreatitis) and nutritional status. Alcohol abuse can lead to deficiencies of vitamins, including vitamin B-1, vitamin B-2, niacin, vitamin B-6, folacin and vitamin C, and to element (mineral) deficiencies, which include zinc and magnesium. These deficiencies will arise for various reasons such as failure to eat food containing these nutrients, decreased absorption or interference with nutrient usage. For some individuals, an average daily alcohol intake of 40 grams per day will adversely affect health. Probably the safest level of alcohol intake is one to two drinks a day, equivalent to 8 to 20 grams of ethanol.

The safe range of alcohol intake is: 8-20 grams of ethanol per day.

	Important Basics
	-	Energy
	-	Water
	-	Dietary Fibre
	-	Protein
	-	Phenylalanine
	-	Carbohydyrate
	-	Fat
	-	Cholesterol
	-	Saturated and Unsaturated Fat
		Alcohol

Also on this page:
-  Alcohol Intake
-  Safe range of intake
-  Alcohol content (pics)
-  Figure 49: Alcohol content
   of beverages

The Alcohol Content of Beverages (STANDARD GLASSES)
	Fortified Wine GLASS: 60ml ALCOHOL CONTENT: 10.ml - 17.5%			Beer GLASS: 285ml ALCOHOL CONTENT: 11.4ml - 4%
	Wine GLASS: 100ML ALCOHOL CONTENT: 11.5ml - 11.5% . .			Spirit GLASS: 200ML ALCOHOL CONTENT: 11.4ml - contains one 30ml nip of spirits (38%)

FIGURE 49:
THE ALCOHOL CONTENT OF BEVERAGES

BEVERAGE	AVERAGE ALCOHOL CONTENT
	(grams per 100 grams)	(millilitres per 100 millilitres)	(grams per 100 millilitres)
Beer:
bitter	3.9	4.9	3.9
reduced alcohol (light)	1.6-2.6	2.0-3.3	1.6-2.6
Cider:
dry	3.8	4.8	3.7
sweet	3.7	4.6	3.7
Port:	15.9	19.6	15.6
Sherry:
Dry	15.7	19.3	15.3
Medium	14.8	18.2	14.4
Sweet	15.6	19.2	15.2
Spirits:   700 proof (brandy, gin, whisky, vodka, rum)	31.7	38.1	30.2
Vermouth:
Dry	13.9	17.2	13.7
Sweet	13.0	16.1	12.8
Wine:
White, dry	9.1	11.3	9.0
White, medium	8.8	10.9	8.7
White, sparkling	9.9	12.3	9.8
White, sweet	10.2	12.7	10.1
Red	9.5	11.8	9.4
Rose	8.7	10.8	8.6

Notes: 1 ml of beverage weighs approximately 1 gram. Proof spirit is used to describe the alcohol content of spirits. In Australia and the U.K.. 100° proof spirit contains 57 per cent alcohol by volume, and in the U.S.A. 50 per cent alcohol.