The final Dietary Guidelines for Americans, rejected a proposal to scrap prior recommendations on consumption of alcoholic beverages. If approved, the proposal would have said men should consume just one drink a day, a 50% cut from the prior two drinks a day and the same as the guideline for women.
But instead the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025 did not change the prior guidelines on how much alcohol or sugar a person should consume. In a statement, the Department of Health & Human Services said there was not a preponderance of evidence in the material the committee reviewed to support specific changes, as required by law.
National Beer Wholesalers Association said the 2020-2025 U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans “reflects a thoughtful review by both the HHS and USDA. Both agencies have conducted a serious examination of the federal government’s future recommendations and determined that the long-standing guidance for moderate alcohol consumption for men continues to be up to two drinks per day and up to one drink per day for women, as it has been for more than 30 years.”
“The Dietary Guidelines’ overarching advice for alcohol consumption has remained the same since its inception in 1980 – if alcohol is consumed, it should be in moderation, and only by adults of legal drinking age,” said Distilled Spirits Council Science Advisor Dr. Sam Zakhari, who has spent more than 40 years’ of his career studying alcohol and health including 26 years at the National Institutes of Health.
The 2020 Guidelines on alcoholic beverages state, “Adults of legal drinking age can choose not to drink, or to drink in moderation by limiting intake to 2 drinks or less in a day for men and 1 drink or less in a day for women, when alcohol is consumed. Drinking less is better for health than drinking more. There are some adults who should not drink alcohol, such as women who are pregnant.”
“The distilled spirits industry strongly supports the Dietary Guidelines as an important source of evidence-based information for healthcare professionals and for American adults who choose to consume alcohol,” Dr. Zakhari added. Not only that, they also, by law, serve as the basis for federal nutrition policy in the United States.
Defining moderate drinking for adults of legal drinking age as up to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men is underpinned by science and has been a cornerstone of the alcohol guideline for three decades.
The alcohol guideline also conveys information on the definition of standard drink-equivalents: 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits (40% ABV), 5 ounces of wine (12% ABV) and 12 ounces of regular beer (5% ABV). The Guidelines point out that each of these standard drinks contain 14 grams (0.6 fluid ounces) of pure alcohol.
“In keeping with the longstanding dietary science, the Guidelines make clear that a standard drink-equivalent of beer, wine and distilled spirits each contains the same amount of alcohol,” said Dr. Zakhari. “This scientific fact is a critical aspect of responsible drinking, and a key component of alcohol education materials utilized by the public health community, leading federal agencies on alcohol matters, and state education authorities.”
The Guidelines also outline potential health risks associated with alcohol consumption and identify individuals who should not drink beverage alcohol. These individuals include those who are pregnant or might be pregnant; under the legal age for drinking; have certain medical conditions or are taking certain medications that can interact with alcohol; are recovering from an alcohol use disorder or if they are unable to control the amount they drink; plan to drive or take part in other activities that require skill, coordination and alertness.
Over the decades, DISCUS has distributed several thousand copies of the alcohol guideline to physicians, nutritionists and other health professionals. The Council said it will continue to do its part to help disseminate this important resource.