ABSTRACT
Alcohol is an energy-supplying nutrient that forms a small but important part of the normal dietary intake of a large part of the world’s population. Unlike the other macronutrients, however, alcohol is not an essential part of the human diet, and is absent from the diets of a significant portion of the population. Alcohol intake may be measured in grams or millilitres of ethanol, or in units of alcohol: each unit of alcohol in the UK contains approximately 8 g (10 ml) of ethanol. The UK Department of Health recommends that adult men should not consume more than 3-4 units of alcohol per day and women should not consume more than 2-3 units daily. In the USA, however, a standard drink delivers about 12-14 g of alcohol, and the US Department of Agriculture recommends that men should not drink more than one or two drinks per day and that women should not exceed one drink per day.
