My first 30 Day Whole Life Cleanse is complete (until the next one in 2 months!). That being said, I will be reintroducing certain things back into my lifestyle and diet. One of those things is alcohol. There is a wide range of opinions on alcohol from full fledged use of it daily to complete abstinence. And there are good reasons to indulge and not indulge in alcohol. I’ll go into those here and share my perspective moving forward.
The Good
Believe it or not, there are some positives to drinking alcohol. It doesn’t mean it’s a wonder potion or anything. But it does mean there is something other than just downside.
This article published by Eating Well has 4 possible positives that come from ‘moderate’ drinking:
- Raises good cholesterol (HDL)
- Lowers all cause mortality
- It can be a “mood-lifter”
- My help strengthen bones
There is a BIG word of caution listed in the paper:
Words of caution
OK, so while there seem to be some legit health benefits behind that glass of wine (or two, if you're a man), if you're currently a non-drinker, you shouldn't start drinking. Despite the differing opinions among experts, they're fairly unanimous in their agreement that you should not start drinking alcohol purely for the health benefits.
Secondly, despite the ongoing message to drink in moderation (and again, that's up to one drink a day for women and up to two for men), binge drinking the U.S. is fairly prevalent. Up to a quarter of all adults 21 years and older report binge drinking in the past month, per the Scientific Report of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. And binge drinking doesn't have any health perks, plus it's quite risky.
Bottom line
Experts—including the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans—say that so-called "low-volume alcohol consumption" (aka moderate drinking) is fairly low-risk for most adults, especially compared to drinking higher amounts.
Keep in mind, too, that alcoholic drinks contribute little to no other nutritional value. They're typically straight-up calories, nothing more—and if you order a fruity- or soda-based beverage you'll add even more "empty" calories.
From my perspective all of this means that drinking should never be thought of as a health-driven decision. It should be looked at as an indulgence that needs to be intentionally engaged in with a high degree of self-care included in that intention.
The Bad
There are some MAJOR negatives to drinking. Some were listed in the word of caution above. In addition, the Mayo clinic lists the following dangers of excessive alcohol consumption:
Excessive drinking can increase your risk of serious health problems, including:
- Certain cancers, including breast cancer and cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus and liver
- Pancreatitis
- Sudden death if you already have cardiovascular disease
- Heart muscle damage (alcoholic cardiomyopathy) leading to heart failure
- Stroke
- High blood pressure
- Liver disease
- Suicide
- Accidental serious injury or death
- Brain damage and other problems in an unborn child
- Alcohol withdrawal syndrome
You also can run the risk of risky sexual behavior, injury from drunk driving, and being jailed for drunken behavior.
My Take
Alcohol has a place in my future if I can take it to heart that too much is a bad thing and I need to be very intentional about how I approach its’ consumption and effects on my body and spirit.
My first beer after my first 30 Day Whole Life Cleanse
My future consumption will be guided by a few important practices:
- Quality - it is my intent to cut down on the quantity of drinking and focus on the quality of what I am drinking. Wine will be limited to low/no sulfite, organic, low sugar bottles. I get these delivered from Dry Farm Wines. Beer will be limited to authentic German beer. In Germany to be considered beer there can be only 3 ingredients; water, hops, and malt. Finally, hard liquor will be limited to high quality spirits and very limited additional sugar in terms of mixer.
- Hydration - many of the immediate and long lasting negative effects of drinking have to do with dehydration. This is one of the main contributors to hangovers and slows the process of detoxifying after you drink. In between each drink, I will drink at least 8 oz of water. In addition, I will make it a habit to hydrate as much as possible the day following a day or evening that includes alcohol.
- Frequency/Amount - the key here is moderation and being mindful of my consumption. The goal is to drink no more than 2 days in any given week. It can take up to 4 days to recover from drinking so that needs to be present in my mindset when I have two days of drinking that are close together. The amount I drink will be limited to no more than 4 drinks in a day. This means I will at a maximum have 8 drinks in any given week with the intent that a most weeks it will be less or none. Drinking will still be removed each 30 Day Whole Life Cleanse (one every 3 months).
I know some of these things may seem arbitrary or a cope but this is where I’m at right now. Currently, I see some merit to alcohol as a component of a life I want to lead as long as it doesn’t have a huge negative effect on that life. This is the road map I have set out to accomplish that. It may and probably will change in the future.
I would love to hear from you on how you manage to balance drinking in your life. Or if you have gone through a similar process of reevaluating where it belongs in your life.
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