How bad is a glass of wine per night?

Not quite. A bottle is 750ml. One litre of 12% wine is 12 units, so one bottle is 9 units. 2.5 bottles would be 22.5 units. 11% wine would be slightly less.

This is from the WHO in 2024. Quite scary stats.

*Breast cancer cases in Europe higher than ever
Breast cancer represents a major health concern for women across the WHO European Region, with more than 600 000 cases in 2022. The role of alcohol as a preventable risk factor for breast cancer is critical. For women in Europe, breast cancer is the primary cancer caused by alcohol, making up 66% of all cases of alcohol-attributable cancers.

Research indicates that even relatively low levels of alcohol consumption can contribute to the risk of developing breast cancer. More than half of all breast cancer cases attributable to alcohol in Europe are not due to heavy drinking, and about one third of new cases every year are due to drinking the equivalent of up to 2 small glasses of wine per day.

A standard bottle of wine (11\12%) is 10 units so 2.5 bottles is 25 units

The unit count varies widely depending on the ABV percentage of wine. Big differences between a heavy red at 14% and a light white at 11%.

Have a look at the My drink aware app. It’s a really simple way to calculate your intake accurately and then take it from there.

I think stick to a few alcohol free nights and not a massive issue. I don’t drink at all Monday - Thursday and 2 glasses per night (not always, sometimes don’t bother) on weekend.

I have spent years, decades actually trying to find a way to drink that works for me.

I accidentally stumbled across Allen Carr's stop drinking book and because I was away with nothing else to entertain me, I read it. I didn't have any plans to stop drinking but once I finished the book that was it. I haven't wanted a drink since. It was only a couple of months ago but I don't see any reason to reverse my decision because there has been no downside at all but plenty of upsides.

Even though I have never drunk alcohol, I have to say that I was very taken with the non alcohol (obv.) version of Aperol spritz. A friend's daughter had it in her house (she's non drinker also). It was Lyre's Italian Spritz and was mixed with nosecco from M+S. I got that info on the day, and I now have some here for special occasions. It looks very nice in the big glass and tastes good, not sweet, which a lot of non alcohol stuff is. I know! My usual drink is Belvoir ginger cordial with fizzy water though.

In the summer I copied an auntie and took to diluting my rosé with ice and water. Still tasted lovely and refreshing.

I wish there were more readily available quality low alcohol wines. The ‘no alcohol’ ones are mostly sugary wine juice and foul.

The ‘low or no’ alcohol aisles in most supermarkets appear full of gins etc but no low, only ‘no’ alcohol wines. Hasn’t always been the case. A gap in the market surely?

Swap it for something else a few days a week. I don’t drink but I like the CBD drinks with a lot of ice in a nice glass

I like this advice too. I often put 125ml wine into a big glass and top it up with lots of sparkling water and ice to make a spritzer, rather than have a second glass. If we are having curry or DH fancies a beer instead of wine, I go for alcohol free beer, as it is so good now, it tastes almost the same as real beer. I wish AF wine were as good. If it were, I'd drink it instead of real wine.

I guess it depends why you drink?
I binge drink at weekends or social things to help me relax and be more sociable. I then regret it every single time! I can go weeks without drinking but always go back to it. I’m in the process of trying to just have one or two in those situations to see how I go.
Why do you feel you need a drink? How does it make you feel? I’d be bothered if I was consuming 2.5 bottles of wine a week but tbh I would say a lot of people probably do!
Life is stressful and we all have our vices

Interestingly the UK recommendations when I moved here, which I have just looked up at the BBC website and seen are from 1995, were for no more than 14-21 units/week for women and 21-28 units/week for men.

I had forgotten the details but remembered thinking that they were high. They changed about 10 years ago.

OP is drinking at least 26 units a week. Nobody could drink that in one go and still be standing.

Six units spread over a week is better than bingeing three pints, yes. But that isn’t what we are talking about here - OP is binge drinking every night.

Genuine question: does one 125ml glass of wine a night put strain on the liver? I have always assumed it didn't, that drinking to excess strained the liver but drinking in moderation didn't.

Well, I’m glad you’re thinking about cutting back. In my experience, people with alcohol or substance abuse issues are extremely badly placed to accurately assess whether it is having an impact on their lives and relationships so it’s often better to ask their partners and families if they feel there is any negative impact rather than the person themselves. All the best in any case - I wouldn’t rely on the internet as a gauge about the “ok-ness” of your alcohol intake. You have nothing to lose from cutting down.

Could you happily go a few days without any alcohol at all? If you'd struggle, you're an alcoholic

This is a really good tip.

You can get a range of low alcohol wines (6%) and beers.

I actually like low alcohol beer more than the stronger stuff and there are a lot of lower alcohol lagers and small beers available down at 3% or less that taste great.

Never actually tried the 6% wine though.

I think it is a bit strange because beers have been getting weaker since probably around 2010 and there are many lower alcohol content drinks available, but I haven't seen the same happen with wine.

Anyway, reducing the alcohol content of the stuff you drink can have a significant impact on the total units drunk.

@flossie72 I used to have a glass on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Initially, I felt that this was just something to end the week until one day I suddenly realised that this meant drinking 3 days out of 7, which is nearly half of the time. I stopped then. Now, I try to drink only socially, i.e. when I go out with friends, when they come around or we go to visit someone and if there is drink, not habitually at home.

I guess it very much depends on why you are doing it. It can become problematic if you are using it as a way to relax but I am not here to lecture anyone 😊

Every night?!?! You definitely have a problem. Not alcoholism necessarily. But for drinking to be such an everyday habit as if it’s like brushing your teeth is just not good. Assuming you are a woman too, that is hell for your hormones.

There were studies referenced in the papers only in the last couple of months which basically show there is no safe amount of alcohol. Contrary to that belief that a glass of red wine each day is good for you.

All I would add is, if you’re going to do this every day, make sure you’re having a fine burgundy or a biodynamic Italian etc - wines that are traditional process, minimal sulphite, ideally organic - so you minimise the shit you’re putting in your body, and maximise the pleasure

@flossie72 you've already said you used to have a few nights off but haven't recently and your one glass has also become one or two glasses / half a bottle over the course of you posting on this thread. Its insidious. And people who like to drink very rarely reduce their intake - it only ever increases.

One glass a night doesn't hit in the same way if you do it every night so it becomes two and so on.

Not everyone ends up on a bottle a night of course but it is certainly a slippery slope.