Recently, you may have noticed a bit of a trend. Back in 2006, celebrities were stumbling around outside clubs, generally making fools of themselves. And all over the television were documentaries about how the US was a nation of uncontrollable drinkers. But since then, we’ve seen a change. Celebrities aren’t champions of inebriation anymore. Instead, they’re plastered all over the front of fitness and beauty magazines. And they’re doing more than ever to advertise healthy food and lifestyles. Why?
Drinking less is a trend that has been growing for a while, and it’s been driven by three major factors. The first is the fact that people are poor. They just aren’t interested in their frivolous and decadent lifestyle of celebrities. That sort of thing just doesn’t sell anymore because it doesn’t reflect the lives of ordinary people. The second is that many celebrities are driving the reduction in drinking through their interaction with their fans. Celebrities connect with fans over social media and communicate their anti-drinking stance. And, third, they drink less for vanity, according to drinkware.co.uk. Alcohol has damaging effects on the skin and on the face. Nowhere has this been made clearer than in before and after pictures of faces of people who drink to excess.
The question then, is how can you drink less or cut out alcohol altogether? Let’s take a look at some of your options.
Go For An Alcohol-Free Night
Drinking in the US revolves around various people buying in the rounds. This might sound like a great way to grease the wheels of social interaction. But from a health perspective, it’s a nightmare. Everybody has to keep up with the fastest drinker, and there’s pressure to drink more and more.
Does that mean that you have to stop your social life to avoid the drink? Of course not! There are plenty of ways that you can cut down on the amount of alcohol you consume on a night out. One option is to go out with fewer people and buy in smaller rounds. This helps you to stay in control of the drinking. It also helps you to give a round a miss.
You can also reduce the amount you have in each round by reducing the size of the drinks you get. Instead of ordering a large glass of wine, get a small instead. Or rather than going for a pint of beer, opt for a half-pint. You could even throw in a bottle of water or two between drinks and spend more time out on the dance floor.
Try Dinner Only Drinking
Drinking with dinner is a common pastime over in Europe. In France, the family meal in the evening centers around a bottle of wine – and this is usually when drinking takes place. Studies have repeated shown that the French have a healthier relationship with alcohol than most other cultures. And the reason for this is believed to be the custom of having wine with meals. Having wine with food has some benefits. Drinking alcohol with food helps to reduce the total amount that you drink. That’s because people drink more slowly while they are eating. Drinking with meals also contributes to slow down absorption into the bloodstream. This again makes it easier for your body to deal with the influx of alcohol. Finally, most people eat their dinner several hours before they go to bed. This means that their bodies have more time to process the alcohol before they go to sleep.
Matching the right wine to the right food can do more than help your health. It can also help make the food that you are eating taste better. Pairing the right wine with tomatoes can help bring out the intensity of their flavor better.
Take A Break From Alcohol On Several Days Of The Week
According to this from ClearbrookInc.com people use drink to deal with life’s stressors. But using drink every day is a sure sign that you’ve got a problem and need help.
That’s why it’s a good idea to take regular breaks from alcohol. Alcohol-free days are the perfect way to do this and to help our bodies get used to being without alcohol again. The experts appear to agree. Take Dr Nick Sheron from the University of Southampton. He says that including alcohol-free days into your week is a great way to improve your relationship with the substance.
The first benefit, he says, is that going without alcohol helps to build up your tolerance. Like any drug, the more of it that we consume, the less effect it has on our bodies. Our bodies adapt to the presence of the drug and try to maintain homeostasis. In the case of alcohol, our bodies start to produce more of the enzymes that break alcohol down. This, in turn, means that to get the same effect from alcohol, we have to drink more and more of the stuff. But if you take a few days off from alcohol each week, you can get the same relaxing effect, but from fewer units says Sheron.
There’s also the fact that regular drinking can cause physical pain. Alcohol consumption often leads to headaches and indigestion. Alcohol can also make it more difficult for you to sleep and prevent that sleep from being high-quality. Just a few days break from alcohol each week can eliminate many of these problems.
Fall In Love With Low Alcohol Drinks
Believe it or not, there is actually an official definition of what constitutes a low alcohol drink. It’s any drink that has between 0.5 and 1.2 percent alcohol by volume. Beer, for instance, is usually between 4 and 6 percent alcohol by volume, and wine between 12 and 15 percent. As a result, you can drink many times more low alcohol drinks before experiencing any adverse effects.
Choosing low alcohol drinks from time to time is important. People who drink low alcohol drinks are more likely to stay within the official drinking guidelines laid down by the government. Experts recommend that teenagers use low-alcohol drinks when they are on long nights out. Low-alcohol drinks help people to pace themselves and avoid the negative consequences of drinking too much.
Remember, lower alcohol content doesn’t necessarily mean worse taste. There are now many high-end wine brands experimenting with lower alcohol content while preserving taste. You can find so-called “light” wines, including white wines as well as rose. There’s also a trend today towards lighter beers, especially in supermarkets.
Finally, there’s a whole world of non-alcoholic drinks out there that could serve as a good replacement to alcohol. Think of brands like Schloer.
Get Into “Mocktails”
Cocktails have to be one of the most fun ways to drink. The flavors and overall experience is second to none. But what is it about cocktails that make them so exciting? Is it the shot of vodka poured in at the end? Or is it the theater of the drink being made, the flavors and the presentation? Most would agree that it was the latter.
Making cocktails without the alcohol is now more popular than ever. There are dozens of recipes for so-called “mocktails” out there on the internet. Take the Lime Rickey for instance. This cocktail was first introduced by Colonel Rickey, an English officer stationed in Washington in the 19th century. Or how about a Sparkling Tom Collins? This was first introduced by the big daddy of cocktails, Tom Collins, back in 1876. Since then some rather talented YouTubers have made an alcohol-free version that tastes as good as the original.
Eat Before You Go Out For Work Drinks
There’s nothing worse than going out for drinks with your work colleagues and winding up drunk. It harms your professional reputation, and it destroys your health. Experts accept that drinking is a part of work culture in many businesses. But that doesn’t mean that getting drunk is the necessary outcome. An important tip right now is to have something to eat before you head out. Eating before drinking reduces the speed at which the alcohol enters your blood. It also reduces the chances that you’ll wind up craving greasy fast-food once your drinking session is over.
Reward Your Progress
If you’re trying to cut down on how much you drink, remember to track and reward your progress. Making meaningful changes to your lifestyle is difficult. But it’s even harder when it involves something that is both addictive and part of normal social life.
To make giving up alcohol easier, set short term goals and give yourself rewards. For instance, instead of saying that you’re going to give up altogether, just stop drinking outside of mealtimes. Stop having a beer in front of the TV in the evening, and restrict yourself to a glass of wine with dinner instead. Then reward yourself with the money that you save. Perhaps you can afford to buy some new clothes every month. Or maybe you can buy that camera you’ve always wanted. Rewards help to associate giving up drinking with something positive.