Can you Drink Alcohol and Live a Healthy Lifestyle?

Is alcohol really bad for you? Can you really live a healthy lifestyle and drink? Lets talk about the harmony of health and alcohol!

Mindful drinking is a trend that’s picking up speed exponential. Non-alcoholic brands are becoming more and more popular, taking a larger chunk out of the market share in the drinks industry.

The ongoing assumption is that you can either live a casual lifestyle which includes eating junk food, minimal exercise and drinking. Or a healthy lifestyle which includes scheduled exercise, eating healthy and cutting out the booze.

So the question remains, can you drink alcohol and live a healthy lifestyle?

The answer is yes. 

Mindful Drinking

Mindful drinking is a movement that has made big changes to the way we drink. Its largely known as a less intimidating term for going sober. With the popularity of mindful drinking increasing, more “mindful” drink brands are hitting the market as well as established alcohol brands releasing mindful and booze free alternatives to keep up with the demand.

However, mindful drinking isn't just defined as non-alcoholic drinking. Mindful drinking represents a wide range of drinking. From low-alcoholic drinking, to healthy drinking, sustainability and eco friendliness. These are all things that fall under the category of “mindfulness”.

Mindful drinking is not just the practice of not drinking alcohol, it's how much alcohol you choose to drink and why you drink.

For yourself, this may involve you going sober and completely cutting alcohol out from your life, or it may involve you choosing to drink better quality alcohol in balance with a healthy lifestyle. The two seem very different but they both have conscious thoughts about how and why you drink, putting them both into the mindful drinking category.

For more on mindful drinking and how to attain it. Check out my full guide here > Your guide to mindful drinking with 5 helpful tips

Healthy alcohol

Alcohol may have a reputation for being unhealthy, but it’s not all bad. Alcohol has been used for medicine since the very beginning of distillation and fermentation. Although times have changed, there are still some very noteworthy health connotations with booze.

Take Tequila for example. Synonymous with partying and hangovers yet made with one of the most healthy natural sweeteners in the world, agave. Just check out this article on the surprising health benefits of tequila.

Then you have red wine. Which not only helps blood flow but has the benefit of resveratrol, the natural phenol known for helping boost immunity, lose weight and is the secret to anti-aging. Check out this article here on the health benefits of red wine for more on that.

It's pretty common knowledge that heavy alcohol consumption can lead to many health risks, such as weight gain and liver disease. But in moderation, there are a lot of benefits to drinking alcohol. Such as reduced risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Of course it goes without saying that this only applies when drinking in moderation. But that's the same with most things. Avocados are healthy, but if your diet only consisted of avocados then you would lack the nutrition to live. Paracetamol is a medical wonder, but take 40 of them and you won't be saying that. You won't be saying anything in fact… You’ll be dead.

The trick is to find the balance. I’m not saying alcohol is the most healthy thing, and i'm not saying that you should drink alcohol for its health benefits. But it is worth noting that its not all bad…

Balance

Physical health benefits aside, there's still quite a lot of other benefits to drinking alcohol that needs to be considered. Firstly, there’s social aspect of drinking. Going out to a club, a bar or a pub is good for mental health. We are social creatures after all and alcohol promotes that. Not just alcohol, but the places where you would drink alcohol tend to be social places.

I’m not saying you can’t do any of that without drinking. The mindful drinking trend has made that very possible. But there's still a way to go.

Drinking can also be good for your mental wellbeing. Maybe you’re the type of person who doesn’t have a problem with alcohol consumption. You can easily go months without drinking. Sometimes you may just want to sit down and have a beer with your meal or at the end of an extra stressful day. There's nothing necessarily unhealthy about that. Having one beer or even a whole bottle of wine once in a blue moon to blow off some steam isn't likely to cause you any serious health problems.

It's all about balance. On a typical week I will probably have half a bottle of wine, maybe a beer, maybe even a cocktail or two. But I balance that with healthy eating and working out.

At my peak physical “health” was during a time I was seriously dedicated to fitness. I only ate healthy foods that fit into my daily macros. I went to the gym 5 times a week, sometimes daily, and I only drank water and protein shakes. No alcohol. I was physically very fit, mentally not so much, I was stressed. Daily weighing’s and stressing about why every part of my body isn’t looking the way I want it to or performing the way I want it to. I may have been physical fit but I was not healthy. 

These days I have a pretty good balance. I eat junk food and take outs, drink alcohol, occasionally even have the odd night of excessive drinking. But I make time for my mental wellbeing, partake in a bit of yoga, workout weekly and the majority of my diet is very much healthy.

I have very unhealthy weeks but the majority of my lifestyle is healthy.

That balance is not just important for having a healthy lifestyle now. But it’s going to make it easier to sustain in the long run.

Sum up

To sum up, you can absolutely drink alcohol and live a very healthy lifestyle. To be able to sustain a healthy lifestyle for a long time you need moderation and balance. Cutting yourself off from things that you enjoy because they aren’t the most healthy may make you healthy now, but it wont give you a healthy lifestyle. It won't be something you can sustain for a long time.

If you have no issues with drinking, and its something you enjoy then do it. Having that balance is important for a healthy lifestyle