3 Reasons to go Alcohol-Free

We have a profound connection with our bodies. Everything in our bodies, from cravings for that after-work treat of your favorite chocolate to the butterflies in your stomach you get from seeing the one you love, exists for a reason. It’s up to us to listen to what our bodies need.

What we put into our bodies can have them talking back quite a bit. Drinking sugar-laden beverages might taste good at first, but our bodies may protest later in many different ways. The same can be said for drinking heavily alcoholic drinks.

Let’s talk about the many reasons for sipping sugar-free and alcohol-free drinks over their sugar-filled, alcoholic counterparts.

Overreliance on alcohol causes numerous health problems

Many people think of the liver when they think about the effects of alcohol on the body. It is true that alcohol affects the liver, including causing liver-related disorders like cirrhosis and liver cancer. But alcohol affects nearly every part of your body.

Your brain? Alcohol increases your stroke risk. Your gastrointestinal system? Alcohol can contribute to a “leaky gut,” in which the intestines let toxins into the body and hurt your gastrointestinal tract. Your heart? Alcohol weakens your heart muscle, boosts your blood pressure to unsafe levels, and raises your risk for heart disease. All of these issues just scratch the surface of how alcohol use damages your body.

The WHO warns that no amount of alcohol is safe for consumption

You may be thinking, “Yeah, all of those health problems happen, but only to people who drink a lot.” Well, that’s not entirely true. Certain illnesses, like cirrhosis, tend to happen due to overuse. But the World Health Organization (WHO) warns that there’s no such thing as safe alcohol consumption.

Alcohol is toxic, psychoactive, and dependence-producing, which would be enough to make many want to steer clear. But alcohol’s danger is deeper than that. Alcohol is a Group 1 carcinogenic, the highest risk group. Other Group 1 carcinogens? Asbestos and radiation.

Alcohol causes at least seven types of cancer. Those carcinogenic effects don’t just magically turn on or off depending on how much alcohol you drink. Any alcohol consumption puts you at risk.

Alcohol can hurt mentally as well as physically.

Alcohol is a depressant, which doesn’t necessarily mean that it causes depression. What it does mean is that it disrupts the neurotransmitters in your brain, affecting your thoughts, feelings, or behaviors. For some people, drinking alcohol makes them “let loose.” They immediately feel more relaxed and less anxious. But not for long.

Those first effects wear off fast. For those with mental health struggles like depression or anxiety, alcohol often makes them worse in the long run. 

It’s also worth noting that there’s more than one way to develop a dependence on alcohol. People who might call themselves only “social drinkers,” consuming alcohol only amongst friends or during gatherings, can find themselves on a slippery slope. It can suddenly become hard to separate the two, leading to a feeling of needing alcohol in certain situations. 

3 Reasons to Sip Sugar-Free

Drinking sugar-sweetened beverages is tied to weight gain and weight-related illnesses

Maintaining a healthy weight affects many different facets of your health, including your risk for illnesses like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. But people who drink sugar-sweetened beverages regularly are more likely to be overweight or obese and have an increased risk for such diseases. 

Sugar-sweetened drinks are high in calories, but they’re low in satiety. That means that when you drink a sugary beverage, you’re not actually fulfilling your hunger, even though you’re consuming calories, which can lead to an overabundance of calorie consumption.

Sugary drinks rot your teeth

You’ve likely heard that sugar isn’t great for your teeth. But let’s paint a picture of just how much your teeth don’t like sugary drinks. The number of sugar-sweetened beverages you drink in a day is linked to the likelihood that you will lose permanent adult teeth and to the number of teeth you lose. The more sugary drinks you consume? The more teeth you’re likely to lose. And it’s not taking years or even decades to see these effects. Young adults are just as susceptible to teeth loss from sugary drinks as older adults.

Sugar sweetened drinks are linked to surprising health complications

While we’ve already discussed how sugary drinks lead to weight gain, which can cause various illnesses, not all illnesses caused by consuming sugar-filled beverages happen due to weight gain. Consider the findings that drinking sugar-sweetened beverages is linked to asthma. One study found that people who drink two or more sugar-sweetened beverages per day are more likely to develop asthma. But, interestingly, this risk was far more prominent in the group of non-obese adults in the study versus the group of obese adults. You can be in a healthy weight range and still experience many health complications from a reliance on sugary drinks.

Get the Best of Both Worlds With BEAU VIVA

Sugar and alcohol don’t have to be invited to the party when you’re looking to celebrate. Instead, celebrate your way by listening to your body and giving it what it needs. By going sugar-free and alcohol-free, you can enjoy savoring the moment without sacrificing satisfaction. 

While alcohol and sugar should only ever be consumed in moderation, if at all, BEAU VIVA is meant to be consumed without moderation. With limited sugar, low calories, and no alcohol, BEAU VIVA’s sparkling rosé is a celebration in every glass, one that your body will love. No compromise on taste, and no compromise on your health.

Explore BEAU VIVA and discover a new kind of celebration.