What are the recommended drinking guidelines for a female person.

Table of Contents Show

Tips when drinking alcohol
What’s a standard drink anyway?
How to know if you're drinking too much
Cutting your alcohol intake offers serious benefits
Tips for cutting down
Where to go for help

Drinking in Moderation:

According to the "Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture, adults of legal drinking age can choose not to drink or to drink in moderation by limiting intake to 2 drinks or less in a day for men and 1 drink or less in a day for women, when alcohol is consumed. Drinking less is better for health than drinking more.

NIAAA defines binge drinking as a pattern of drinking alcohol that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08 percent - or 0.08 grams of alcohol per deciliter - or higher. For a typical adult, this pattern corresponds to consuming 5 or more drinks (male), or 4 or more drinks (female), in about 2 hours.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which conducts the annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), defines binge drinking as 5 or more alcoholic drinks for males or 4 or more alcoholic drinks for females on the same occasion (i.e., at the same time or within a couple of hours of each other) on at least 1 day in the past month.

NIAAA defines heavy drinking as follows:
- For men, consuming more than 4 drinks on any day or more than 14 drinks per week
- For women, consuming more than 3 drinks on any day or more than 7 drinks per week
SAMHSA defines heavy alcohol use as binge drinking on 5 or more days in the past month.

Patterns of Drinking Associated with Alcohol Use Disorder:

Binge drinking and heavy alcohol use can increase an individual's risk of alcohol use disorder.

Certain people should avoid alcohol completely, including those who:

Plan to drive or operate machinery, or participate in activities that require skill, coordination, and alertness
Take certain over-the-counter or prescription medications
Have certain medical conditions
Are recovering from alcohol use disorder or are unable to control the amount that they drink
Are younger than age 21
Are pregnant or may become pregnant

Alcohol, is high in kilojoules, is nutrient poor and can lead to weight gain. Alcohol can be harmful to your health, the more alcohol you drink, the greater the risk. Even small amounts of alcohol are associated with increased risk of some cancers. Too much alcohol may also damage the liver and brain, and increase the risk of high blood pressure and heart disease.

No level of drinking alcohol can be guaranteed as completely safe. However, drinking alcohol within the recommended responsible limits will enable healthy adults to keep their risk of alcohol-related accidents, injuries, diseases and death low.

The NHMRC Alcohol Guidelines recommend that to reduce your risk of harm from alcohol:

Adults To reduce the risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury, healthy men and women should drink no more than 10 standard drinks a week and no more than 4 standard drinks on any one day. The less you drink, the lower your risk of harm from alcohol.
Children and people under 18 years of age To reduce the risk of injury and other harms to health, children and people under 18 years of age should not drink alcohol.
Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding Advice for pregnancy To prevent harm from alcohol to their unborn child, women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy should not drink alcohol. Advice for breastfeeding
For women who are breastfeeding, not drinking alcohol is safest for their baby.

It is important to remember that factors such as gender, age, mental health, drug use and existing medical conditions can change how alcohol affects you.

What is a standard drink?

- Light beer (2.7% alc/vol) 425 mL
- Mid strength beer (3.5% alc/vol) 375 mL
- Full strength beer (4.9% alc/vol) 285 mL
- Regular cider (4.9% alc/vol) 285 mL
- Sparkling wine (13% alc/vol) 100 mL
- Wine (13% alc/vol) 100 mL
- Fortified wine e.g. sherry, port (20% alc/vol) 60 mL
- Spirits e.g. vodka, gin, rum, whiskey (40% alc/vol) 30 mL

These quantities are quite small and this means that many single drinks, can be equivalent to more than one standard drink.

Tips when drinking alcohol

Aim for two alcohol free days per week.
When drinking alcohol, try to drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration.
Alternate alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic drinks such as water or soda water.
Try a wine spritzer with mineral or soda water instead of a full glass of wine.
If having a glass of wine, don’t fill it to the top. One standard drink equals 100mL (less than half a cup).
Avoid snacking on foods high in salt. Not only is too much salt unhealthy, but it can also increase the likelihood of having another drink.
Avoid pre-mixed drinks with added sugars. These are very high in both kilojoules and sugars.
Avoid mixing alcohol with energy drinks. The caffeine reduces your ability to manage your alcohol intake. This can lead to a higher risk of alcohol-related harm.

Source: Dietitians Australia (formerly Dietitians Association of Australia) (2013): Smart Eating For You. Canberra, Australia.

Page Updated: 24-12-2020

Knowing how to drink safely and responsibly is good for your health, your relationships and your bank balance. Luckily, there are many ways you can manage your alcohol consumption.

It can be hard to keep track of how much alcohol you’re putting away. Alcoholic drinks come in different strengths and serving sizes.

Your age, weight, gender and even how you’re feeling at the time can also influence how alcohol affects you.

The Australian Guidelines recommend healthy adults should drink no more than 10 standard drinks a week to cut the lifetime risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury.

They also recommend consuming a maximum of 4 standard drinks on any one day to reduce the risk of alcohol-related injury.

What’s a standard drink anyway?

A standard drink contains about 10 grams of alcohol - the amount your body can process in one hour.

But a standard drink is much smaller than you may think. For example, the average glass of wine served in a pub contains 1.5 standard drinks.

Check the label of any bottle, can or cask of alcohol for the number of standard drinks it contains.

Standard drink guide (developed by Department of Health). Click here for an extended version.

You can also use these handy calculators to work out how much you are drinking:

How to know if you're drinking too much

Drinking alcohol is so normalised in Australia that it can be difficult to know when you’re overdoing it. Some people find it hard to go a day without drinking, or to limit the number of drinks they have at any one time. Low-level dependence like this can gradually increase over time until alcohol becomes a real problem.

Signs that you may have a problem with your drinking:

you are drinking more than is recommended in the Australian Guidelines.
you or others are worried about how much you drink.
you need to drink more to feel the same effects.
you crave alcohol.
alcohol is affecting your physical or mental health.
you don't feel in control of your drinking - you can't cut down or stop even if you want to.
your drinking is interfering with your relationships or job.
you experience physical symptoms such as shaking, sweating, anxiety or vomiting when you don't have a drink.

The Daybreak App, developed by Hello Sunday Morning, supports you to change your relationship with alcohol.

Cutting your alcohol intake offers serious benefits

Reducing the amount you drink can improve your life – in many areas.

Health and wellbeing: Cutting alcohol consumption means you are less likely to feel anxious or depressed, and you're at less risk of developing long-term health problems such as cancer, heart disease or liver cirrhosis (scarring).

You might even lose weight, have more energy and look better.

Relationships: Drinking too much can affect your relationships by making you more likely to argue, reducing your sex drive, alienating your friends, and setting a bad example to your kids. Managing your alcohol intake may reduce any friction or embarrassment and improve your social life.

Finances: Drinking excessively gets expensive and can lead to problems at work. Cutting down will help you perform better at work, while reducing the risk of an accident that could stop you from earning a crust.

ARE YOU AT RISK? — Are you at risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease or kidney disease? Use our Risk Checker to find out.

Tips for cutting down

set yourself a drinks limit and stick to it.
count your drinks - remember, a drink in a bar or restaurant might contain more than one standard drink.
drink water before you start drinking alcohol to quench your thirst.
drink slowly.
eat before and while you're drinking.
finish your drink before you start another - try not to top up drinks as you might lose track of how many you’ve had.
opt for a non-alcoholic drink in between alcoholic drinks.
be active while you are drinking - play pool or dance rather than sit.
find more tips on The Right Mix website.

Where to go for help

If you or someone you know needs support or help with their drinking, you can contact:

DrinkWise (How much have you had to drink?), National Health and Medical Research Council (Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol), SA Health (Health/safety, legal and social consequences of drinking too much), SA Health (Reducing the likelihood of alcohol-related harms), Australian Government Department of Health (Alcohol), The Right Mix (My mix), Open Arms (Alcohol)

Learn more here about the development and quality assurance of healthdirect content.

Last reviewed: February 2020

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