What is moderate drinking for the Indian appetite?

We’ve all been there—making a promise to cut down on alcohol or to drink it moderately. That’s why we have Dry and Damp January, as every New Year’s resolution seems to involve staying sober.
But before you know it, it’s your best friend’s cousin’s wedding or your manager’s treat, and suddenly you’re downing cocktails with amusing names.
Let’s be clear about one thing: alcohol is not the best thing you can put in your body. In fact, drinking ‘moderately’, once thought to be somewhat healthy, is now under scrutiny as many experts suggest that the studies supporting this claim were riddled with flaws.
In simple terms, moderate drinking generally refers to a level of alcohol consumption that is considered low-risk for most adults, meaning it minimises potential health risks while allowing for social enjoyment.

Experts suggest that our geographical location impacts how our bodies react to alcohol. Photo: Unsplash

The term “moderate drinking” varies across different countries.
In India, however, there is no panel that recommends what qualifies as ‘moderate drinking’. But when we took this question to experts, they gave different opinions on the number of drinks per week, which would be considered moderate. Others discard the entire concept of moderate drinking, claiming that even a single glass of alcohol is bad for your health.

Moderate drinking generally refers to a level of alcohol consumption that is considered low-risk for most adults. Photo: Unsplash

If you’re wondering why these numbers differ from country to country, experts suggest that our geographical location may somehow affect how our bodies react to alcohol and our drinking habits. Moreover, Indians are more susceptible to digestive issues, which is also an important factor to consider while drinking.
Let’s delve into this.
It won’t be an exaggeration to say that we, Indians, love our alcohol, and hard liquor like whiskey, gin and rum are often preferred over wine and vodka here.
Dr Vikas Jindal, a consultant at the department of gastroenterology at the CK Birla Hospital, Delhi, says, that the maximum recommended limit for alcohol consumption, as per WHO guidelines, is one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.
However, for Indians, he believes that staying below this limit or consuming alcohol less frequently may be more appropriate “given the health risks specific to the population”.
Dr Jindal explains that Indians often experience digestive issues due to dietary habits, spicy food, and stress.
“Alcohol can aggravate these problems by causing inflammation in the digestive tract, increasing acid production, and affecting gut bacteria,” says Dr Jindal.
Dr Biju KS, a senior medical officer at Vieroots Wellness Solutions, agrees. He says that Indians are more prone to developing diabetes, metabolic disorders and cardiac issues than many other races.

Indians generally prefer hard liquor like whiskey and rum over wine and vodka. Photo: Unsplash

“India is already the diabetes capital of the world. These are all risks that heavy alcohol consumption can aggravate. Hence, if any country should moderate its drinking habits to the maximum, it is India,” says Dr Biju.
He adds that Indians are also prone to digestive issues like Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Crohn’s disease, peptic ulcer, gallstones, haemorrhoids, gas, bloating, etc.
“This is not only mediated by our genes but our typical gut microbiome composition, which in turn, mediated by our diet and environment. Alcohol is a great disrupter of gut microbiome composition and health, as it is toxic for these microbes too and can cause gut microbiome dysbiosis, causing diseases like gastritis, pancreatitis, ulcers,” he says,
Dr Jindal adds that external factors like temperature can have an impact on how our body metabolises alcohol, but the ideal amount of alcohol to consume isn’t directly determined by temperature alone.
“In hot climates, alcohol consumption may lead to dehydration more quickly, so it’s essential to stay hydrated and monitor your intake,” says Dr Jindal.
Even though experts differ on the recommended intake limits of alcohol. Dr Jindal says that they remain the same across different conditions: for men, it is generally advised to not exceed two standard drinks per day, and for women, no more than one standard drink.
A standard drink typically contains about 14 grams of pure alcohol, which equates to around 350 ml of beer, 150 ml of wine, or 45 ml of distilled spirits.
That alcohol is bad for your health is not news. However, it is often said (some studies also showed the same) that if you, however, drink alcohol in ‘moderate’ quantities, it might be ‘okay’.
However, all the experts we spoke to suggest that the studies that were done on the ‘benefits of alcohol’ are full of errors. It’s important to note that many of these studies are purely observational, i.e, include those who self-reported their alcohol intake every day (which can be manipulated) and granted access to their health information over a specified duration.

Experts suggest that even moderate drinking raises the risk of several killer lifestyle diseases. Photo: Getty Images

“Once upon a time, not long ago, there were some studies that used to find that moderate drinking, say a couple of drinks, once or twice a week is okay, or even healthy. All that has been debunked now, at least from a strictly medical point of view. Recent major studies on the subject decisively prove that even such moderate drinking raises the risk of several killer lifestyle diseases including liver disease, cancer, heart disease, stroke, digestive issues, obesity, dementia, etc. So, medically speaking, even one drink is too many, and this is not surprising as alcohol is basically a toxin that has no nutrients but only empty calories,” concludes Dr Ashish George the principal consultant & unit head of liver transplant at the Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh.
Drinking even a single glass of alcohol is not good for your health, so it’s always a good idea to cut back!