Blood Alcohol Content: How Much Is Too Much?
Blood alcohol content (BAC), also called blood alcohol concentration, refers to the amount of alcohol in your bloodstream. It is expressed as the weight of ethanol measured in grams in 100 milliliters of blood or 210 liters of breath. BAC can be measured either through a breathalyzer test, a blood test, or a urine test.
For example, a BAC of 0.10 means that 0.10% (one-tenth of one percent) of your blood, by volume, is alcohol. All 50 states have now set .08% BAC as the legal limit for Driving Under the Influence (DUI). For commercial drivers, a BAC of .04% can result in a DUI conviction nationwide. For those under age 21, there is a zero tolerance limit―any amount of alcohol is grounds for a DUI arrest.
To calculate your current blood alcohol content, there are free online sites and apps you can try like BloodCalculator.org and iDrinkSmarter. BAC results may vary depending on several variables, which include your gender, personal alcohol tolerance, body weight, and body fat percentage.
How Much Alcohol Is in Your Drink?
As far as the Standard Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 is concerned, moderate drinking is having no more than one drink per day for women and no more than two drinks per day for men.
Basically, a standard drink contains 0.6 ounces of pure alcohol, which is usually found in:
- 12 ounces of beer (five percent alcohol)
- Eight ounces of malt liquor (seven percent alcohol)
- Five ounces of wine (12 percent alcohol)
- 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits or liquor like gin, rum, vodka, and whiskey (40 percent alcohol)
Various brands and types of alcoholic beverages come with different alcohol content levels. To have an idea how much alcohol your favorite drink contains, check out this chart below:
| TYPE OF DRINK | AVERAGE ALCOHOL PERCENTAGE BY VOLUME |
|---|---|
| LAGERS: | |
| LIGHT | 4.2 percent |
| REGULAR | 4.5 percent |
| ICE | 5.5 percent |
| ALES | 4.5 percent |
| PORTER/STOUTS | 6.5 percent |
| WINES: | |
| CHARDONNAY | 12.5 percent |
| OTHER WHITE WINES | 10 percent |
| RED WINE | 13 percent |
| VODKA | 40 percent |
| GIN | 42.5 percent |
| RUM | 45 percent |
| TEQUILA | 45 percent |
| BRANDY | 42 percent |
| WHISKEY | 50 percent |
As a rule of thumb, darker and bitter beers have higher alcohol content. Red wines, on the other hand, have higher alcohol content than white wines, except for chardonnay. Also, sweeter wines have less alcohol content. Meanwhile, all clear liquors have 40 percent alcohol content except for grain alcohol. While darker liquors have more alcohol content, like red wine, sweeter variants have less
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