THIS time of year, with the Christmas party season in full flow, I often get concerned patients asking me how much alcohol is safe for them to drink.

Many are concerned they may be overindulging without realising.

The best way to explain alcohol limits is by using units. But while people understand they are allowed a certain number of units per day – three to four if you are a man and two to three if you are a woman – many people don’t understand what a unit looks like.

A unit is not actually that much. If you order a glass of white wine at the pub, chances are you are being served it in a 175ml glass, which is just over two units of alcohol. It’s slightly more, about 2.5 units, if red wine is your favourite tipple.

A pint of larger, amounts to 2.3 units, while popular Christmas drinks, such as cream liqueur, come in at just over half a unit per glass.

Of course, I’m not going to be a killjoy and suggest you don’t drink at all this Christmas, but there are some things you can do to minimise the effect alcohol has on your body.

Simple things like making sure you eat before you go out means you’ll be less likely to gulp down your first few drinks. If you are at a party, start with a soft drink, and try and intersperse your wine or beer with fruit juice or water.

Our bodies have trouble digesting alcohol which is why we also need to give ourselves days off during the festive season.

And if you think you can’t do a party without alcohol, bear in mind alcohol is a depressant. So if you are anxious or tired, excessive alcohol consumption can actually make you feel worse.

If you want to avoid a post-Christmas diet it may also be worth remembering that alcohol is very high in calories, most of them sugar; four glasses of wine contains 600 calories as does four pints of lager.

Just because you overindulge it doesn’t mean you are an alcoholic, but if you feel your drinking may be harmful or you sometimes find it hard to stop ask your doctor.