Day 12 - Let’s talk about alcohol

First, let’s get this out of the way.

Alcohol is a poison.

If you drink enough of it, it will do very bad things to you.

It doesn’t make us any more charming or attractive and I can personally testify to the fact that it doesn’t make us any smarter.

And I know there are studies out there that say that a glass or two of red wine can be good for your heart. There is no evidence, however, that 3 or 4 glasses of wine is anything other than detrimental to your health.

So, if you decide that 21 days to A Balanced You is the perfect opportunity to see how you feel if you don’t drink for a while–fantastic. I usually conduct that experiment once a year for 30 days and it’s always an eye-opener.

But for everyone else that is still going to enjoy a drink from time to time, let’s figure out how to accomplish that with the least amount of damage.

Beer used to be my alcoholic beverage of choice and after going Paleo / Primal and later Keto my beer consumption has dropped dramatically.

I may still have a beer on occasion, but the days of me sitting down and drinking 5 or 6 over the course of an evening or afternoon are over.

Beer is made from some type of grain and even if you’re not gluten intolerant, it has an impact on your gut.

My advice, for the next 21 days pass on the beers.

So, if beer is off the table, what’s available? How about a glass of wine? Most weekend evenings I’ll have a glass of some type of red wine with dinner. I can tell myself that I’m drinking red wine because it has more resveratrol and quercetin, two polyphenols that contribute to red wine’s heart healthy reputation, but I know the real reason is that I just like how it tastes.

A Cab, a Tempranillo, a Merlot, a Malbec, maybe a Meritage. If red wine isn’t your thing, you can have a glass of white, but let’s avoid the sweet dessert wines like Sauternes.

But let’s make it a glass and not a bottle–we’re busy becoming a nutritional badass and that requires some focus.

So, what if wine isn’t your thing?

OK, my cocktail choices are bourbon or scotch on the rocks with a splash of water or gin or tequila on the rocks with club soda and a half of lime. Vodka also works, but the main thing is avoiding all of the sweet mixers, syrups, and liqueurs.

Again, the key here is quantity and frequency. A cocktail on occasion. Not three martinis a night just to take the edge off.

I have started skipping alcohol more and more during the week, I have seen a significant improvement in my sleep and my HRV (Recovery) scores.

There are those few occasions where I’m going to have more than one or two drinks.  I always try to remember that one of Mark Sisson’s Primal Laws is to avoid stupid mistakes. Drinking and driving definitely fall into that category. If you’re going to be out and drinking, do us all a favor. Take an Uber or a taxi or have a designated driver. Also take it easy. You’ll thank yourself tomorrow.

Today’s assignment regarding food is to prepare some type of seafood.  Shrimp, salmon, cod, lobster, oysters, whatever floats your boat.  In addition to your walk, make time to do a 7 minute workout and if you’re feeling feisty do two of them.  And get your 7-8 hours of sleep.  

Enjoy!