A beer every day – is that bad?"I drink a beer every day. But that doesn't make me an alcoholic." But wait a minute. Not so fast. Is it really okay to drink a beer every day? Yes. In this article you will learn whether daily, moderate alcohol consumption is harmful or not.
Beer is often part of it
" Desire for an after-work beer?" or "Do you also drink a beer with your meal?". We have probably all heard these sentences before or even said them ourselves. Alcohol, especially beer, is an integral part of German culture. Thus, the per capita consumption of Germans in 2019 added up to 99.7 liters of beer. If you divide 99.7 liters by 365 days you get 0.27 liters a day, which is about one daily small beer.
So statistically, Germans already drink a beer every day. "Alcoholics," or people with an alcohol dependence, are about 1.77 million men and women between the ages of 18 and 64 in this country.
The Robert Koch Institute describes low-risk alcohol consumption for men as 24 grams of pure alcohol (0.5 – 0.6 liters of beer or 0.25 – 0.3 liters of wine) a day. For women, the consumption limit is half, i.e. 12 grams of pure alcohol.
Important: There should be at least 2 alcohol-free days per week. Alcohol should not be drunk on more than 5 days.
A beer every day? According to the Robert Koch Institute this would be too much.
If you want to reduce your own alcohol consumption, you can find helpful articles on the topics of abstaining from alcohol in everyday life and alcohol withdrawal in our blog.
Why do people drink a beer every day?
In psychology, much revolves around motivation. What are the driving motivations for actions? Why did you or he do it? So also with the consumption of alcohol. Here the motivation, or also the drinking motive can also play an important role.
Drinking a beer every day because you need it? It tastes good? Or because it has already become a habit? The answers to these questions can be helpful in evaluating whether it is okay for you to drink a beer every day or not.
If you "need" the daily beer you can ask yourself: "What do I need it for??"What effect do you want from the beer?? Is there possibly something else that gives you the same effect but does less harm?
If you drink a beer every day because you like it – you will also drink non-alcoholic beer? The taste is almost identical with many brands.
If drinking beer every day has become a habit, you can ask yourself, "Do I want to keep this habit or change it??"If you want to check and change your drinking habits, our online course Drink Less Alcohol could help you to do so.
For a healthy approach to alcohol: Our HelloBetter course Drinking less Helps you to reduce your alcohol consumption.
Is it okay to drink a beer every day?
Recommendations, such as those of the Robert Koch Institute, remain recommendations. Each of us reacts differently to alcohol, whether it is consumed on a daily basis or not.
For this reason, only you can decide whether it feels right for you to drink a beer every day, as long as there are no negative consequences.
Keep in mind that even one beer can change your reaction time (0.1 – 0.2 per mille) or, if you are in a depressed mood, it can start a ball rolling that leads to more alcohol.
The power of habit
People are creatures of habit. So if you drink a beer every day, you will get used to it. This means that on the one hand your body gets used to the alcohol and its effect is diminished. Say, the alcoholic effect of the beer decreases – you will notice less of it and may be more inclined to drink another beer. On the other hand, you will psychologically get used to the daily dose of alcohol.
Depending on your drinking motive, you may begin to associate your daily beer with certain situations. For example it can be the bread time or the dinner. snack = food = beer. The after-work beer, which ends the working day: After work = relaxation = beer. Or the beer at the regulars' table: regulars' table = sense of community = beer.
Our brain loves to create connections, because they make its work easier. However, links do not only run in one direction. In fact, you may not be able to relax until you have drunk a beer. Or you start to associate food with beer, which leads to the fact that you no longer drink a beer only at the snack, but with every meal.
If you find that you've been drinking more than you intended, here's an exercise we've included to help you out. You can find them here below as a video. We hope you enjoy watching. Good luck.