Ask the health expert: How much alcohol a day is deemed unhealthy?

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Q: How much alcohol a day is deemed unhealthy?

A: The recommended limit for alcohol drinking varies depending on the country.

Singapore's Health Promotion Board recommends no more than two standard drinks for men and one standard drink for women per day.

A standard drink is a can of beer (330ml), a glass of wine (175ml), or a nip of spirit (35ml). A person should also not drink alcohol for at least one to two days every week.

However, this is a liberal recommendation.

In Jan 2016, the UK's department of health recommended 14 units per week of alcohol for men and women, which is roughly equivalent to one standard drink daily.

The alcohol limit should be similar and get more stringent as a person gets older.

Dr Tan Yu Meng, Consultant Surgeon, Mount Elizabeth Hospital

Regular drinking linked with 7 types of cancer

There is now strong scientific evidence that drinking alcohol regularly is linked with the development of seven types of common cancer.

Alcoholic drinks are listed as a Group 1 Carcinogen by the World Health Organisation International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) - and carry the highest cancer risk along with cigarette smoke and the hepatitis virus.

They can cause some of the top 10 cancers in Singapore which include cancers of the mouth, throat, airway, oesophagus, liver, breast, and bowels.

Read more about alcohol and cancer here