Men Under 40 Shouldn't Have More Than A Shot Glass Of Beer A Day, Study Finds

There's worrying news for men under 40 as a new study says the safe daily limit of our beer consumption is much less than originally thought.

Researchers say the key to a healthy lifestyle is to take things in moderation, but moderation really varies, depending on which vice we're talking about.

It's said that dark chocolate and wine are actually quite helpful at warding off cancer, but consuming large amounts of either wouldn't do you much good.

On the subject of beer, the NHS currently recommends you don't go above 14 units a week, which works out at about six pints, if you want to stay within safe limits.

Actual safe limits can vary depending on a few things like how big you are. For instance, wrestler Andre the Giant was able to knock back 108 beers in one sitting but if the rest of us tried that we'd be dead.

They also recommend that these units should be spread across a period of three days or more, so no living like a monk all through the week before knocking back six pints on a Saturday.

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Unfortunately, this new study from the University of Washington's School of Medicine says the actual safe limit for men under 40 is one measly little 38ml shot glass of beer a day.

There's slightly better news for women, who can safely drink 100ml of beer before they start putting their health at risk.

Dr Emmanuela Gakidou, senior author of the study and professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington, said there were no health benefits to drinking alcohol for young people.

She said: "Our message is simple - young people should not drink, but older people may benefit from drinking small amounts.

"While it may not be realistic to think young adults will abstain from drinking, we do think it's important to communicate the latest evidence so that everyone can make informed decisions about their health."

The news gets better for men over 40 as having a drink or two can start to play a part in warding off the likes of heart disease, strokes and diabetes - again, as long as it's all in moderation.

Meanwhile, blokes over 65 will find plenty of good news here as that lucky lot can get four drinks down them before they start risking a loss to health.

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The risk to health is all about the results of drinking alcohol for different age groups, with drinking posing different chances of danger depending on your age.

Older drinkers who regularly quaff too much are more likely to be in danger of long-term health issues caused by high alcohol consumption, while for younger drinkers the biggest risk to health is the daft stuff they do when drunk.

The idea that the safe limit for beer drinking men under 40 is one shot glass per day poses another problem as they're also the most likely to be drinking harmful amounts of alcohol.

According to the study, three quarters of harmful drinkers are men and 59 percent of those harmful drinkers are aged 15 to 39.

Studying the drinking habits of people in 204 countries around the world, researchers worked out that around 1.34 billion people drank harmful amounts of alcohol in 2020, so pretty much everyone's at it.

Maybe next time you're at the bar it's best to play it safe and ask for a shot of beer, though if you're in that London pub flogging pints for £80 a pop, it might be all you can afford.