The meaning of moderation.

• Position: TRENDS - Risks to drinking too heavily

Drinking in moderation may provide some health benefits. According to the Mayo Clinic, it may reduce your risk of developing and dying from heart disease, having certain kinds of strokes and getting diabetes. Anyone seeking these health benefits, however, needs to know what is meant by "moderation" since there are plenty of risks to drinking too heavily.

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It all depends on where you live. According to a new study by Stanford's School of Medicine, the amount of alcohol considered safe varies greatly around the world. Researchers looked at 37 countries and found that government guidelines differ on what constitutes a "standard drink" and what is consider to be a "safe" or even beneficial amount of drinking.

The World Health Organization defines a standard drink as one containing 10 grams of alcohol, but many countries vary from that amount. In Iceland, a standard drink contains 8 grams of alcohol; in Austria it's 20 grams. And in the United States, a standard drink contains 14 grams of alcohol, which is about the amount of alcohol in a 12-ounce beer or a 5-ounce glass of wine.

Recommendations for safe levels of drinking varied as well.

In Croatia, India, Singapore and Sweden, the recommended weekly alcohol limit is 70 grams (less...