How much alcohol is one drink, really? What you need to know before you pour

Sue Heikkinen, MS, RDN, CDCES, BC-ADM, ACE-PT - Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist

When celebrating a holiday or toasting a special occasion, it is highly doubtful that anyone ponders how much alcohol counts as one drink. That’s totally understandable. Yet a little awareness goes a long way toward drinking safely and supporting your health.

Brand-new alcohol intake guidelines, and how much alcohol is equal to one drink?

The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans advise “less alcohol for better overall health.” This is a shift from the prior alcohol intake guidelines that advised two drinks or less per day for men and one drink or less for women.

So what counts as one drink? It’s not always what’s in your glass. By definition, a “drink” contains 14 grams of pure alcohol.

Examples of one drink include:

5 ounces (148 ml) of wine
12 ounces (355 ml) of beer
1.5 ounces (44 ml) of spirits (like gin, vodka, and whiskey)

Remember that a generous pour of wine may be closer to two drinks, even though you might consider it only “one glass of wine.”

Saving up your weekly drinks for Saturday night might seem like a good idea, but it doesn’t work that way for your body. Drinking four or more drinks in one sitting for women, or five or more drinks for men, is considered binge drinking. Binge drinking comes with significant health risks, including liver disease, injuries, and alcohol use disorder.

Calorie content of alcoholic drinks

Alcohol is technically a macronutrient, meaning it provides calories; however, it contains no nutritional value. Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram (compared to 9 calories per gram of fat and 4 calories per gram of carbohydrate or protein). Beverages such as beer, fortified wine, and mixed drinks contain additional calories from carbohydrates. Likewise, cream- and chocolate-based liqueurs include extra calories from fat. Those calories add up fast when you toss in mixers, cream, sugar, or syrups.

Check out calorie counts for “one drink” servings:

Beverage	Serving	Calories
Vodka, gin, whiskey (80 proof)	1.5 fl. oz. (44 ml)	96
Hard seltzer (5% alcohol)	12 fl. oz. (355 ml)	101
Light beer (3.1% alcohol)	12 fl. oz. (355 ml)	103
White wine (12% alcohol)	5 fl. oz. (148 ml)	121
Red wine (12% alcohol)	5 fl. oz. (148 ml)	125
Beer (5% alcohol)	12 fl. oz. (355 ml)	153
Piña colada cocktail	4.5 fl. oz. (133 ml)	246

Should I log alcohol intake?

Short answer: Yes, especially if you’re working toward a health or weight goal. Alcohol can be a sneaky source of extra calories, and it often flies under the radar. Logging everything you eat and drink, including alcohol, enables you to learn what is or isn’t working to support your health goals.

Tracking can also reveal how alcohol impacts things like:

Sleep
Blood sugar
Blood pressure
Mood and energy levels
Appetite (hello, late-night snacking!)

With a Premium MyNetDiary membership, you can choose an upper limit for alcohol intake and monitor grams of alcohol consumed on your dashboard. For example, you could set an upper limit of 14 grams of alcohol per day, which you now know as how much is equivalent to one drink.

Tip: Beverage producers do not always provide alcohol content, resulting in missing data. Choose generic alcoholic beverages for complete nutrition information.

When even moderate drinking is ill-advised

The US Dietary Guidelines state that people should not consume any alcohol if they–

Are pregnant
Are 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
Are unable to control the amount they drink

If you choose to drink

If you do choose to drink, stick with moderate amounts of alcohol with a meal, and remain hydrated (alternate with water). It’s not just about how much is in your glass for one drink, it’s about what that glass of alcohol means for your health, your goals, and your well-being.

Staying informed (and honest with yourself) is key. With MyNetDiary, you’ve got a powerful tool in your corner to help you make wise, balanced choices.