For some, alcohol is very easily given up. However, if you like the occasional drink, the following are low-sugar options that are ok and can be a part of a healthy lifestyle (in moderation/ roughly 2x 2 drinks/week, unless a serious health condition is present that may require temporary abstinence).

In a nutshell:

• Best option: white spirits like vodka, tequila, gin on soda water (avoid mix drinks like tonic, coke, coke zero, etc due to their sugar and/or synthetic sugar replacement content) with lemon/lime (about 75 calories per shot)
• If you have no histamine and/or candida problems: dry red wine, dry champagne and dry white wine, however they stack in more calories (roughly 125 calories per serving) and sugar than white spirits.
• Avoid: mix drinks (including tonic), sweet white wines, most rosés, beer (including alcohol free beer)

If you do drink, reduce its side effects by:

• Staying hydrated. One to two glasses of water with every alcoholic beverage. This also usually slows down the rate and total amount of alchoholic drinks consumed.
• Eat a meal high in B vitamins and liver supporting foods prior and the next day: leafy greens, beetroot, cruciferous vegetables and organic red meat for B12
• Supplement with B vitamins, milk thistle and CoQ10 or ubiquinoal the morning after
• Take a tablet of activated charcoal before starting the drinking, and one when going to bed. This will soak up some of the alcohol and the thereby released toxins.

how can alcohol fit into a healthy lifestyle?

For some, having the occasional drink with friends can be a joyous activity, that would be hard to be missed. However, unless you have a serious health condition, you should be able to enjoy a drink or two every now and then, without it ruining all your health efforts. There are a few easy tweaks you can do that make a world of difference.

Now I would love to hear from you, what are your experiences with alcohol? Can you tolerate them? What are your favourite ‘healthy’ drinks and recipes? Please comment below, and happy Easter! X