Brits could be shocked at the amount of alcohol in their Christmas dinner after research revealed some menus contained over five units.
A new study found that boozy recipes such as Christmas cake served with Brandy butter contained 1.15 units - the same as half a pint of low-strength lager.
The survey, by vehicle leasing company All Car Leasing, was done as part of a study warning Brits to be careful when considering driving after their festive meal.
One set menu, comprising of a Bloody Mary prawn cocktail, beer and rosemary roast turkey with red wine gravy, Christmas cake with brandy butter and a glass of wine contains 5.49 units of alcohol, according to the study.
Carrot and coriander soup, a traditional Sunday dinner with cranberry and port sauce, Christmas fruit cake and mulled wine and mince pies, added up to slightly less, at 3.02 units.
Drink driving has become a major problem in the UK over the past decade, especially during the festive season.
According to a study in 2017 from Rehab4Alcoholism, Brits increase their average alcohol intake by 40 per cent over the Christmas period alone.
Ronnie Lawson-Jones, Digital Marketing Manager commented: “Christmas is upon us, and across the UK people are scribbling out shopping lists and braving the supermarkets to stock up on food and drink for the festive season.
“Finding out that there is a 40 percent increase in alcohol consumption during December, where Brits consumer around 600 million units of alcohol, we wanted to highlight the dangers of drink driving.
“We appreciate eating one portion of a certain food from the menu won’t take an individual over the drink-drive limit, but when a person counts all the units in one sit down meal accompanied by a drink, without thinking will be over the drink drive limit.
“Remember this doesn’t apply for those living in Scotland, as on 5th December 2014 Scotland applied stricter alcohol limits for drivers, which is considered a lot less than the UK’S drink-drive limit - so be sure to double check the unit levels of your next indulgent meal when traveling up north.
"Whilst this was done as a light-hearted study, we felt people may want to know that some foods could add to their alcohol intake more than first thought.”
