Be Drink Aware: Enjoy This Festive Season With These Top ‘Stay Safe And Healthy’ Tips

The Christmas season is here… and, apart from giving gifts, receiving gifts, spending time with the family and friends and celebrating your own meaning of Christmas, a big part of Christmas for a lot of people means a larger consumption of alcohol.

We’re here to help keep you safe and healthy this Christmas.

To keep you safe, we have information on the maximum amount of alcohol you should consume on a weekly basis over the Christmas period. To keep you healthy, we also have a quick calorie count of your favourite drinks so you can keep your healthy eating plan on track over Christmas too.

A quick fact? The average Irish woman consumes 6,000 calories on Christmas day! This is the equivalent of three days’ worth of recommended calorie intake.

We know Christmas is a time of indulgence but, when it comes to a few drinks, stay safe.

Stay Safe:

Our relationship with alcohol is featuring in the media a lot in the last week. Christmas is just around the corner and everyone is talking about their drinking habits and hangover tips. U magazine carried out a survey recently where the questioned Irish women’s relationship with drink.

Some shocking results ensued.

80 per cent of Irish women now pre-drink before they head out on the town for the night. Leaving the house tipsy or already drunk means you could very easily find yourself in an uncomfortable situation while out. In fact, 32 per cent of women said they have done something when they were drunk that has resulted in them feeling ‘morto’ the next day. Another shocking percentage said they have found themselves in a situation that has made them ‘afraid’ as a result of alcohol.

Enjoy this Christmas safely...

Irish women are advised to limit their alcohol consumption to 14 standard drinks a week. This includes three or four alcohol-free days to leave our bodies get rid of any alcohol.

We might try and “play catch-up” on nights out with friends, but what is important to remember is your body can only handle so much alcohol before you put yourself at risk. And don’t even try to “play catch-up” with the boyfriend or any male friends, the average woman weighs less than the average man and so has less tissue to absorb alcohol.

Women also have a proportionally higher ratio of fat to water than men and are therefore less able to dilute alcohol within the body. Because of this, women will have a higher concentration of alcohol in their blood than men after drinking the same amount.

To find out more about women and alcohol, the amount of alcohol your body can take safely and if you need to change any habits check out DrinkAware.ie’s free download on Women And Alcohol here.

DrinkAware.ie is a great site, full of information, tips and hints on how to make the most of and enjoy your night out safely. For their free Christmas Survival Guide, click here. 

Remember, 32 per cent of Irish women have been 'mortified' after a night out...

Stay Healthy

Calorie Count Guide:

1. Baileys Irish Cream Original

Calories in a glass (37ml): 121 kcal

2. A pint of beer

Calories in a pint: 182 kcal

3. Champagne

Calories in a glass (120ml): 91.2 kcal

4. Gin (40 per cent)

Calories in a shot (25ml): 56 kcal

5. Lager

Calories in a can (550ml): 247.5 kcal

6. Sherry

Calories in a glass (50ml): 68 kcal

7. White Wine

Calories in a glass: 89 kcal

8. Vodka (40 per cent)

Calories in a shot (25ml): 55 kcal