CHARLOTTE – Many people have probably heard that a glass of wine is good for health, but how much is in your glass?
Mary Ward is the assistant vice president for substance abuse services at Carolinas Health Care System.
"I just don't think that most people measure or know what a standard pour is. They just pour themselves a drink and that's it,” said Ward.
"You actually may be having two or even three drinks when it was just in one vessel and you say well, it was just one glass of wine,” said Ward.
Four to five ounces of wine is what doctors talk about when they say women should limit ourselves to one drink a day. Men should have no more than two drings to see the benefits cited in some studies.
Overindulging cancels out any health benefits said addiction medicine expert Dr. Stephen Wyatt.
"A man drinks 14 in a week, which is a sizable amount of alcohol. If you go above that, you set yourself up for a whole host of physical problems,” said Wyatt.
At Vitner Wine Market when they pour a glass of wine, they know exactly how much you'll get.
Wine buyer Dana Bausman said many customers are surprised to see the standard.
"Most of us don't have marked wine glasses at home, so if you're not sure, experts recommend you take out a measuring cup and pour your wine into that, and then into whatever glass you're using, and then you'll know,” said Bausman.
"It's not a matter of pulling our a measuring cup every time, you know. That's what I tell patients, they know. They know if they've gone over that and again, it just gives them some guidelines in which to be more careful and to be able to talk about it with their doctor,” said Wyatt.
Click here for more information from CHS about alcohol awareness.