Health and Wellness - Alcohol

Myths & Facts

How much of what you know about alcohol is actually true? Review the statements below and learn the facts.

When you order a margarita, it's just one drink.

​​​Myth.​ Not necessarily. The number of standard drinks in a mixed drink depends on the number of shots added and the alcohol content in the liquor. One shot is 1.5 ounces of liquor. Margaritas or other mixed drinks may have several shots of liquor. If that’s the case, that one beverage will count as more than one standard drink.

Excessive drinking is when you get drunk more than once a week.

Myth. The feeling of getting drunk does not determine if your drinking is excessive. The definition of excessive drinking is more specific than that. Excessive drinking includes binge drinking – which is how much you drink at one event, and heavy drinking – how much you drink during the whole week.

For women, binge drinking is having four or more drinks on one occasion. For men, binge drinking is five or more drinks on one occasion.

For women, heavy drinking is having eight or more drinks in a week. And for men, heavy drinking is defined as having 15 or more drinks per week.

Alcohol impaired driving accounts for nearly 30 percent of all driving fatalities.

Fact. According to the CDC, in 2016, alcohol impaired driving was involved in over 10,000 deaths nationwide. That accounts for 28% of all traffic-related deaths in the USA.

I’m pregnant, but it is okay to have one glass of wine every once in a while.

Myth. There is no safe level of alcohol consumption while you are pregnant. Alcohol can affect a baby’s development at any stage during pregnancy. Alcohol passes easily from the mother to baby through the placenta. Alcohol exposure for a developing baby can interfere with organ development including the baby’s growing brain. Stay safe and do not drink alcohol while you are pregnant.

You can overdose on alcohol

Fact. An overdose on alcohol occurs when a person’s blood alcohol content (BAC) has risen enough to impair them. There are a wide range of effects, from stumbling to slurred speech; in the case of alcohol poisoning, effects include coma and death.

Alcohol is addictive.

Fact. Alcohol is an addictive substance. Some individuals have a predisposition to problem drinking based on family history.

If you drink beer before shots you won’t get sick.

Myth. The order in which you drink alcohol has nothing to do with if you get sick or not. It all depends on the total amount of alcohol you consume.

Alcohol dehydrates you. 

Fact. Alcohol is a diuretic. That means it forces more water out of your body’s cells. Even though you’re drinking liquids, the alcohol does not hydrate you.

A nightcap is good to help you sleep.

Myth. You may fall asleep more easily if you had a drink before bed, but alcohol disrupts sleep and will negatively affect your night’s rest.

Coffee is good to help you sober up faster.

Myth. Coffee contains caffeine which will keep you awake, but you will still be impaired by alcohol if you have been drinking. There is nothing you can do speed up the process of detoxifying alcohol in your body.

Avoiding Risks

Alcohol often has a significant effect on people who use it and it’s common for people to struggle to manage its impact on their functioning. Alcohol’s effects vary from person to person, depending on many factors, including:

• How much and how often you drink
• Your age and gender
• Your health status and mental health status
• Your family support system
• Your family history  with alcohol
• Combining medications or other drugs 

Alcohol use disorders develop when the brain is exposed to an amount of alcohol that causes structural and chemical changes to occur in the brain. The reason for different reactions to the same amount of alcohol in different people is still unknown. What we do know is that an unpredictable amount of alcohol can cause changes in the brain. These changes cause the pleasurable feelings one experiences when under the influence of alcohol which makes them want to drink more, even if it causes harm.

Take steps to be safe

Alcohol is often a factor in car crashes, falls, burns, drownings, suicides, homicides, sexual assaults and transfers of sexually transmitted infections. If you choose to drink alcohol, then stay within the low-risk limits as identified by the National Institute of Health. Two steps you can take are to pace yourself and take precautions. For more information, please visit Rethinking Drinking.

• Tips to Reduce Risks from Alcohol  This tip sheet (adapted from the Prevention and Wellness Services - Western Washington University) lists various ways to reduce the risks from the use of alcohol.
• Above the Influence This website, sponsored by the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, helps teens stand up to negative pressures or influences. The more aware you are of the influences around you, the better prepared you will be to face them, including the pressure to use drugs, pills and alcohol.
• College Drinking Prevention This website, sponsored by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), is the one-stop resource for comprehensive research-based information on issues related to alcohol abuse and binge drinking among college students which strives to change the college drinking culture.
• OWI Education This website from the Iowa Department of Education explains requirements for persons caught driving under the influence within the state of Iowa. It also shares approved Iowa locations for the state-mandated 12-hour drinking driver course.
• MADD The Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) website supports their mission to end drunk driving, help fight drugged driving, support the victims of these violent crimes, and prevent underage drinking.
• SADD The Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) website promotes its simple philosophy that young people, empowered to help each other, are the most effective force in prevention.
• Stop Impaired Driving This website from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) seeks to eliminate drunk driving through research, public awareness campaigns and state safety grant programs, and works towards zero drunk-driving crashes on our roadways.

Image Source: ReThinking Drinking: "What's Low-risk drinking?"

Drink calculator

The amount of liquid in a beverage does not necessarily correspond with how much alcohol is in that drink. That's because different types of drinks have widely different amounts of pure alcohol in them. 

A standard drink in the United States contains 14 grams (half an ounce) of pure alcohol. If we break that down, the amount of alcohol in each of these types of drinks is considered one standard drink:

• 12 ounces of regular beer (5% alcohol)
• 5 ounces of wine (12% alcohol)
• 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits (about 40% alcohol)

Use particular caution with fortified wine, craft brews and liquors that are often higher in potency than their standard versions.     

Source: What is a Standard Drink? National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAA)

Calculate how much alcohol is in different types of standard drinks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Isn’t drinking a glass of wine healthy?

Yes and no. According to the Mayo Clinic, doctors are wary of encouraging anyone to start drinking alcohol, especially if there is a family history of alcohol use disorders. Staying within the low risk guidelines is key, and while several studies have focused on red wine specifically, it is not clear which parts of the wine may have positive impacts on heart health. For people who do not currently drink, studies have shown that adding regular alcohol consumption does not improve their health, and can increase their risk of other physical problems. 

How can drinking affect your body?

The CDC notes that chronic alcohol use affects every organ and system of the body. It can lead to medical disorders (e.g., fetal alcohol syndrome, liver disease, cardiomyopathy and pancreatitis). Heavy drinking can increase the risk for certain cancers. Drinking increases the risk of death from automobile crashes, as well as recreational and on-the-job injuries. Alcohol is also a risk factor for homicide and suicide. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016).

Why do some people react differently to alcohol than others?

Individual bodies react to alcohol in various ways, even among people in the same family or for the same person on different days. Many factors influence the impacts of drinking alcohol, including: age, sex/gender, race and ethnicity, physical fitness level, weight, presence of medicines or other drugs in the body, amount of food eaten prior to drinking, how rapidly alcohol is consumed and a family history of alcohol problems.

How does alcohol affect a person?

Alcohol is a depressant of the central nervous system, which means that it slows down the operations of the body. It is quickly absorbed from the stomach and small intestine into the bloodstream. Alcohol is processed by the liver with enzymes that can only metabolize a small amount of alcohol at a time, while the rest is circulating throughout the body. The intensity of alcohol's effect on a person’s body is directly related to the amount they drank.

Everyone drinks too much – is it really a big deal?

This is a common misperception; however, according to recent survey results, (2021 BRFSS)  43% of Iowans did NOT drink at all in the last 30 days. Those reporting binge drinking made up 20.1%. Unfortunately, this number is higher than the national average, placing Iowa in the highest category of binge drinking, per the CDC.

Encouragement. One Text at a time.

You can never have too much support. Especially when you’re facing a problem with alcohol or drug use, gambling, suicidal thoughts or mental health challenges. That’s why Your Life Iowa created our supportive text messaging program. So you can sign up to receive messages designed to provide you encouragement, no matter what you may be facing.

Sign Up for Text Messages

Brain injuries can be a multi-occurring condition with problem alcohol use.

Brain injuries are often a multi-occurring condition with alcohol and substance use. Screening for brain injury is a best practice when responding to, and/or planning clinical and community-based responses for clients in health, community, and corrections services. Brain injury screening tools can provide a brief assessment of a person's exposure to brain injury, but do not provide a diagnosis or indicate an absence of a brain injury. Learn more with the Brain Injury Alliance of Iowa.

Learn about Brain Injury