Cocktail or mocktail?
Cocktail or mocktail? Time to cut back on the alcohol?
With the festivities over for another year, and many people regretting the excesses of food and drink last month, it’s a good time to have a look at the downsides of alcohol consumption.
After a long and busy day, it can feel like there is nothing better than a glass of wine, beer or other alcoholic drink to wind down. Socially, drinking is a way to enjoy being with friends, to improve the bonding experience, to have more fun and make special occasions even more special. The trouble is it’s easy for alcohol intake to mount up and over time this can have a detrimental effect on health, mood, sleep, energy levels, weight, and on relationships. Too much alcohol makes it easy to lose all inhibitions and say things that are embarrassing, mean, hurtful and sometimes destructive to relationships. It can cause sadness, depression and regret yet trying to cut back often meets with disapproval from others.
Whilst drinking a moderate amount of alcohol has been associated with health benefits for some people, studies show that heavier drinking and long-term drinking can increase physical and mental health problems with heart and liver damage, cancer, impaired immune function, memory issues and mood disorders all being common issues.
Studies have also shown that cutting out alcohol for even a month as people do with Dry January can have a big impact on health. Regular drinkers who abstained from alcohol for 30 days slept better, had more energy, lost weight and actually reduced their cravings for alcohol enabling them to have it just as an occasional indulgence or to cut it out completely.
With more and more people choosing to be alcohol free, Mocktails are becoming increasingly popular as sophisticated, alcohol-free alternatives for people who want a drink without having to face a terrible hangover the next day. Opting for a mocktail is a great way to reduce alcohol intake and can be much healthier for you especially if you stick to ones with natural ingredients and fruits or even vegetables. Yes, fruits can have a high sugar content, so we need to be careful about that especially for anyone with diabetes or prediabetes. Mocktails tend to be made with high water content ingredients so are hydrating, refreshing and they rarely disturb sleep or cause hangovers the next day.
Reducing alcohol can be challenging and requires patience so have a look at these tips to help if you are interested in giving it a go:
· Set clear, achievable goals for reducing your intake. This could include committing to drink only on certain days of the week, limiting the number of drinks per occasion or gradually decreasing the frequency of drinking.
· Share your goals with someone else to raise commitment to following your plan (your partner / coach/ family). Sharing your goals can provide you with a support system that motivates and encourages you to stay committed to your decision.
· Identify situations, places or people that may tempt you to drink and try to avoid them. That might be certain social gatherings, bars, restaurants or even friends. Avoiding triggers can significantly help in reducing alcohol consumption.
· Have an excuse ready when you want to give drinking a miss.
· Don’t feel pressurised by others - stand your ground and aim to be the slowest, not the fastest drinker.
· Go out for breakfast or lunch, rather than dinner.
· Consider all the other things you enjoy and other ways you can be entertained or relax and switch off. Engaging in activities you enjoy such as exercise, hobbies or activities that don’t revolve around alcohol provide a healthier outlet for stress and relaxation than drinking alcohol.
· Practice mindfulness and stress reduction techniques such as meditation, deep breathing or yoga which can all help reduce stress and improve the ability to cope with triggers that may lead to alcohol consumption.
· Ask yourself what you really want, rather than just allow your life to be dictated to by a habit, or other people.
Wishing you all a fantastic and health-conscious January!