11 Tips for Staying Low Risk When Drinking Alcohol

Many people around the world drink alcohol; about 2 billion people to be exact. Most of these people don’t think about ways to stay low-risk while drinking. Some of the people who need to stay low risk the most are those suffering from alcohol use disorder. If you’re an alcoholic, being low-risk when drinking alcohol is the next best thing to not drinking at all. There are a lot of ways to remain a low-risk drinker but not drinking alcohol is often the best method.

We’ll take you through 11 tips to help you remain low risk when drinking alcohol. Read on to learn more below.

1. Don’t Drink and Drive

The first tip is to not drink and drive. Drinking and driving occurs when you consume any amount of alcohol and then drive a vehicle. If your BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) is above 0% it’s considered drinking and driving. Many people get this mixed up because you don’t get a ticket if it’s below .08% but you’re still drinking and driving under that level. This helps you to stay low risk because when you drink and drive you risk your life and the lives of others.

2. Drinking Slowly

Another tip is to drink slower. Something many people probably don’t know is that drinking your alcoholic beverages slower is associated with fewer heart attacks. Not only this but if you drink slower it means you will consume fewer drinks as well, leading to a lower BAC and therefore helping to keep you low risk. Drinking slowly also gives your body time to process alcohol and reduces the chance of severe intoxication.

3. Check the Alcohol Drink Label

Checking the alcohol drink label is important to stay low risk because that’s where it will list the alcohol percentage for that beverage. Knowing what percentage of alcohol you are consuming helps to know how many drinks you should have. If you have one 5% beer or one 10% glass of wine, it makes a difference. Knowing what percentage of alcohol you consume in a night will help you to stay low risk.

4. Take Less Alcohol When You Go Out

This is an important step in staying low risk because if you go somewhere with only a certain amount of alcohol then once you drink it all there’s no more to have. An important part of this is taking less alcohol with you. If you go out and only bring two beers but you know you’ll be out for four  hours, then you’re able to stay low risk by sipping on those beers for over two hours each. By taking less alcohol and drinking less alcohol you’ll keep your BAC down and stay low risk.

5. Drink Non-Alcoholic Beverages as Spacers 

A “spacer” is a drink in between alcoholic drinks. Some people will use beer as a spacer because they have low alcohol content beers. If you want to stay low risk use a drink like juice or soda as your spacer. If you want maximum low risk, use water. Alcohol dehydrates you and by using water as your spacer you rehydrate yourself and it will take longer to get drunk and hungover.

6. Eat Food Before You Drink

Eating before you drink is another important way to stay low risk. Eating on before drinking allows the alcohol to absorb into the food in your stomach and not as much alcohol goes into your blood. This once again lowers your BAC and reduces the risk of intoxication. When it comes to eating food before you drink, it’s best to choose foods that are high in carbohydrates.

7. Avoid Top-Ups Drink Sessions

A “top-up” is when you get your drink refilled or “topped-up” before you finish your original drink. A top-up session is when you repeatedly get refills on your drink. Sometimes in these sessions, people will ask the bartender to leave the bottle of liquor so they can top up themselves. Avoiding these sessions and focusing on having one drink at a time and knowing when to stop helps you stay low risk.

8. Learn to Say No

This one goes along with peer pressure. If you can learn to say no to more drinks, or no to drinking in general, this will be huge in helping to stay low risk when drinking. When out in public or at a large group gathering, it’s more common for people to ask you to drink. To avoid these situations, sometimes it’s best to stay home instead of putting yourself in a high-risk position.

9. Try Low Alcohol Alternatives

Another great way to remain low risk is to find some low-alcohol alternatives like non-alcoholic beer or non-alcoholic wine. While that’s the best method, it’s also helpful to consume alcohol that has a low alcohol content (less than 5%). If you are a beer drinker you can switch to all beers with a 4% alcohol content as opposed to others that may be 6% or higher. By doing this if you drink the same number of drinks your BAC will be lower and you will be at a lower risk.

10. Stop Drinking When You Reach Your Limit

Another great tip is to stop drinking once you have reached your limit. If you continue drinking past your limit it increases your chance of getting drunk and blacking out. Once this happens you are at an extremely high risk and this is something you will want to avoid. Unfortunately, knowing your limit isn’t always easy. To gain a better understanding of your limit, stop drinking after you start to feel alcohol’s intoxicating effects. Alcohol takes a long time to take effect in the body, so stopping before it gets worse is the best choice.

11. Go to Places That Do Not Serve Alcohol.

The final tip on staying low risk is if you want to go out go to places that don’t serve alcohol. By doing this you avoid any possibility of having alcohol and you remain at the lowest risk possible. To make the most out of this tip, avoid bringing alcohol with you to these places. Also, make sure people you go with also don’t bring alcohol with the.

What is Alcohol?

Alcohol is a psychoactive substance with properties that lead to dependency issues. Alcohol is created by the fermentation of either fruit or grains and takes up to 10 days to make. Some types of alcohol include beer, wine, and liquor. Liquor can be broken down into other various forms of alcohol such as whiskey, vodka, rum, and much more. Alcohol has been around for over 10,000 years and will continue to be a staple of American culture.

What is the Risk of Drinking Alcohol?

Drinking alcohol poses many risks. Some of these risks are cancer, liver disease and nerve damage. Other risks alcohol poses are if you drink too much it can put you at risk of other things such as assault or sexual violence. Lastly, it also adds other risks such as drinking and driving which not only puts yourself at risk but also puts others at risk who didn’t ask for it.

Some other risks of drinking alcohol include brain diseases like alcoholic wet brain and dementia.

What is Drinking Alcohol Moderately? 

To drink moderately, or in moderation, means to not drink past your limit but also to not get drunk. In terms of alcohol drinking, another way to think about it is to not get more than buzzed. A definition of drinking in moderation also means sticking to reasonable limits.

Another way to define moderation is the frequency in which alcohol is consumed. Drinking everyday, regardless of the amount, is not moderation. However, having a few alcoholic beverages over the weekend is drinking in moderation.

How to Drink Alcohol Responsibly?

To drink responsibly is similar to drinking moderately. There are three steps to drinking responsibility. First, set your drinking goal for the event. Know what you want to drink and stick to it. Second, assess your alcohol intake to make sure you do not go over that goal. Lastly, calculate what your safe limit is and make sure to avoid it at all costs. Following these steps leads to drinking responsibly.

Also, limit the amount of time you spend drinking. If you plan on drinking over the weekend, avoid drinking each day during the week to reduce the risk of alcoholism.

What are the Best Recommendable Alcohol Drinks?

There are three types of alcohol that people drink. These types of alcohol are beer, wine, and liquor. Of these three options, beers are the best recommendation for staying low risk because it has the lowest alcohol percentage. 

Wine is next with liquor having the most alcohol. On average, beer has about 4.5% alcohol percentage per drink. Wine averages to be about 12% per glass. Liquor is tricky because there are many kinds of liquor. If your liquor of choice is vodka it can be as high as 95% with an average of 60%. On the other hand, if it’s gin, you can expect most to be about 43%. Due to the number of liquors, an exact average is hard to determine but it’s around 50%-60% per shot (1.5 ounces).

What are the Types of Non-Alcoholic Drinks?

There are many non-alcoholic drinks to remain low risk. The best choice would be a mocktail. Mocktails are designed to look and taste very similar to alcoholic cocktails but they have no alcohol in them at all. Popular mocktails are non-alcoholic versions of Pina Coladas, Margaritas, and Miami vice. These are also known as non-alcoholic spirits.

Another popular non-alcoholic drink to stay low risk is non-alcoholic beer. Today, companies make many of the top beers in non-alcoholic form. Some examples are Heineken, Guinness, and Coors. 

Lastly, one that may be surprising, is the Egg Cream. An Egg Cream is a very popular drink among alcoholics looking for a drink to help them stop drinking. An Egg Cream is simple to make too and can be done at home fast. You use Seltzer first, then pour in the milk, and lastly add some chocolate syrup. It makes a delicious bubbly chocolate drink and it helps you to stay low risk.

What is the Good Side of Drinking?

The good side to drinking alcohol is that it does provide health benefits. Drinking moderate amounts of alcohol increases your body’s defense against heart disease. 

It also increases your libido, which helps with impotence and erectile dysfunction. In 2009, there was a study that showed a 30% decrease in erectile dysfunction among those men who moderately drank alcohol. If you drink anywhere from 8-14 glasses of red wine per week (about 1 glass per day) you will see a 60% less chance of getting the common cold too. It’s important to note that while there is a good side to drinking there are still many health risks associated with alcohol. 

Is it Safe to Drink Alcohol?

Yes it’s safe to consume alcohol if you are a healthy person over the legal age to drink. There are times when it is not safe to drink alcohol. These times include when you are pregnant as it can pose a very serious risk to your growing baby. If you have an infection you should not drink either as alcohol decreases your immune function and can make the infection worse. Lastly, if you’re under the legal age to drink it’s not safe as your body and brain are developing and it leads to many health issues.

Is it okay to drive while drinking?

No, it’s never okay to drink alcohol and drive a vehicle. Doing this puts not only yourself but those around you at risk. You may have asked for it by getting behind the wheel, but all the innocent people on the road did not ask for that. Please be safe and be smart and don’t drink and drive. Drinking and driving also results in a DUI if you get pulled over. DUIs result in expensive fines (upwards of $10,000), jail time, and other legal consequences.