Alcohol Consumption
Realistically, I don't really have to say much about alcohol abuse to the readers of this article. The destruction that this can cause to one’s life, and the lives of their loved ones is well documented. Let alone the health risks involved. Rather, I am targeting this post for is for those casual drinkers who like to have two, or more, up to just below buzz status. Ya know, that phase where you’re not completely sober, yet not fully drunk. It is in this window where some seemingly faint physical side effects to one's body will add up to become an issue over time. Even when you think you're consuming wine, lager, or spirits at a controllable and casual pace.
Also realistically, I cannot continue without illustrating my initial findings of alcohol and its effects without recounting my own experiences with it. Specifically during my college days as a young man. Late teens, early twenties. Yeah I said it, young man. Because if I could go to war and legally be tried as an adult in the court of law, then I was a young man. And as I've mentioned a gang full of times on here, college was fast paced and intense. So me and my classmates had to blow off steam somehow. And for us this was by...partying...! A rite of passage for many American college students. I can't say we drank responsibly all the time, but, we did not get arrested (thankfully). Nobody got pregnant. Nobody got into any fights (thankfully). And we always got our butts back to work during the daylight hours. Including back to class Monday morning, bright eyed and bushy tailed. Ready to rock n' roll. Priorities folks...!
During these jaunts of alcohol excess in the starry night sky hours of our weekends, I couldn't help but notice that often the next morning I appeared to be very svelte in the mirror. For years I would experience this effect and not understand what the blazes was happening. Then some years went by, time had passed, when I finally kinda pieced the whole ordeal together.
I think how it all transpired was upon learning that isopropyl alcohol can de-ice a frosted windshield belonging to a vehicle that had be out overnight during the winter months. Like, rather than scrape the windshield, you spray isopropyl alcohol on it and the frost just melts away. Easy. Initially this seemed like wizardry to me. Shortly after this ridiculous thought, I learned that alcohol is in fact hygroscopic which is something I talked about in my Salt and Sugar posts. But to reiterate, a hygroscopic substance attracts water to it. Salt and Sugar stay in your body, and keep the water they attract with it in your body. Alcohol passes through your body and takes water away from your body...!
To this day, I can still recall watching the 2016 FIFA World Cup (soccer, or football to the non-Americans) and seeing an interview with the Team USA goalie where he mentioned that it was so hot and humid during their evening matches in Brazil that they had to drink saline rather than just plain water. Saline is salt water. The purpose was to help their body's hold moisture because the on-field conditions were so brutal that they were losing too much fluids.
Drinking alcohol, whether it be small quantities on a regular basis, or large quantities on occasion, or both, actually has the opposite effect to high salt and sugar intake. It will take away moisture from your body. It will dehydrate your body. It will oppose everything I wrote about in part 2 of my water post. My svelteness in the mirror after a night of consuming way too much alcohol was due to dehydration. IE, my body had very little water weight to it in that moment. This is also the root cause of a hangover. As the alcohol passed through my body, it took with it lots of water. Through the urine of course. This is also why my urine would be extremely clear during my partying sessions.
So basically, even if you choose to consume mild amounts of alcohol on a regular basis you are in effect choosing to dehydrate yourself in a low-grade manner. Dehydration, even in a small way, is very bad. To compensate, you would have to drink even more water than you normally would. If you're a heavier drinker, to the point of inebriation, I don't think proper hydration will be tip top on the ole' noggin. Your overall long-term health will be in serious danger, aside from all the other negatives that alcohol abuse can bring.
Personally I do drink on occasion. Socially it's one or two pints during a night out for me. Ditto during the holidays, but, substitute beer with wine. But I tell ya, after a birthday or holiday party I genuinely feel like garbage. And this is down to the sweets and the 2-3 glasses of wine I consume with dinner. To be clear, I never get drunk, nor do I have a sugar high but my normal comfort level is compromised. And, it'll take my body several hours do recover. Meaning when I get to a point where I feel normal again, not lethargic and antsy.
Alcohol for me is ok from time to time, but even I am considering cutting back my consumption rate due to this phenomenon. Like to zero. Because every time I dip into it, my mind and body wants to dip out. And I don't want to deal with those consequences any longer. I wanna feel normal all the time. I think my doctor would agree with me.
If you're reading this and consider yourself a casual drinker on a regular, or semi-regular basis, try severely cutting back. Or perhaps you've already been through this process... Either way, share your results in the comments below. Limiting alcohol consumption in your life while employing the other wellness practices I write about shall give a substantial improvement towards your quality of life.
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