Quitting Alcohol: 11 Effective Tips for Health

Quitting alcohol

Quitting alcohol is a step that is not only good for your health, but also contributes to a better quality of life. The National Alcohol Prevention Agreement explains the importance of consciously managing your drinking and reducing the harmful effects of alcohol consumption. Whether you want to quit alcohol completely or reduce your consumption, this guide offers valuable insights and practical tips. Get inspired and discover how quitting alcohol can help you become physically and mentally stronger.

Alcohol is a product that has long seemed debatable when it comes to its effect on our health. Both positive and negative. Regarding problematic alcohol use, the ambition, within the agreement for 2040, is that young people under the age of 18 no longer drink alcohol and that drinking during pregnancy does not occur.

We want to achieve this by bringing the risks of alcohol much more to the fore. Making people aware of their drinking behavior and raising awareness of the health effects of alcohol even more.

So time for an update!

Alcohol

It's not a popular message, but alcohol is bad for us. Of all Dutch people between the ages of 15 and 64, 80% drink alcohol regularly, which is quite a large proportion of the population¹. How dangerous is alcohol and how should we deal with alcohol now?

Alcohol in moderation

As is often said, enjoy, but drink in moderation. Unfortunately, this doesn't quite hold true. New scientific research suggests that there is no such thing as responsible alcohol consumption. Nutrition professor Jaap Seidell preaches that every glass of alcohol is harmful to health. Alcohol has become so incorporated into our society that we have come to see it as a "harmless sin," nothing could be further from the truth. This is substantiated with figures on alcohol as a cause of cancer.

For example, alcohol is associated with 10% of all cancers in men and 3% in women. In addition, alcohol also often plays a role in traffic accidents (between 10-25% of all traffic deaths) and domestic violence. In addition to these long-term effects, alcohol has also been proven to cause worse sleep patterns (lower quality sleep) and memory problems in the short term.

Science

Yet the science is not unequivocal. For example, a meta-analysis of 34 studies (more than 1 million participants) on the relationship between alcohol and mortality shows that a low dose of alcohol (half a glass per day) was associated with a longer life². This may be because light alcohol consumption reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease compared to no alcohol consumption or heavy alcohol consumption³. This applies mainly to red wine. But even with these findings, quitting alcohol remains a wise choice to avoid other health risks.

Note that this applies only to light alcohol consumption: for men a maximum of 2 glasses per day and for women 1 glass per day. Heavy alcohol consumption actually increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. A second nuance to be made is that for women, drinking alcohol increases the risk of breast cancer. This already involves 1 glass per day. This again corresponds to the statement of the scientists in the above paragraph. Although light alcohol consumption seems to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, at the same time it increases the risk of cancer, which may be an important reason to consider quitting alcohol.

A side note

A caveat must be added to this conclusion. When we compare non-drinkers with light/moderate drinkers, we should take a closer look at who these are. Having already seen that 80% of the Dutch drink alcohol and most people still function well in society, we can say that most people are light drinkers. The people who do not drink often make this choice consciously for health reasons, choosing to quit alcohol to improve their health.

This group includes people who do not drink alcohol because they suffer from a chronic illness or have had an alcohol addiction and cannot/may not drink. For them, quitting alcohol is often a necessary step. This, of course, also affects the development of cardiovascular disease and premature death. So the contention that alcohol actually reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease may also be dismissed with this.

Alcohol what is allowed?

In terms of the health risks of alcohol, then, there is no complete uniformity; there are some things that are certain:

1. Alcohol is harmful during pregnancy
2. If you drink alcohol, limit it to no more than 1 glass per day for women and no more than 2 glasses per day for men.
3. Alcohol increases the risk of violent incidents, accidents, suicide and cancer.
4. Be careful with alcohol if you have family members with an alcohol problem/addiction. This may mean you are more susceptible to developing problematic alcohol use.
5. Are you sick? Don't drink alcohol for a while. Your body is already busy recovering then; drinking alcohol can slow down this process.

Quitting or reducing alcohol

After all this information, have you decided to cut back or stop drinking alcohol anyway? Jellinek, the specialist in alcohol and drug abuse prevention has tips for reducing alcohol consumption.

11 tips National Alcohol Prevention Agreement:

• Drink moderately: Don't drink alcohol or at least no more than one glass of alcohol per day. And keep at least two alcohol-free days per week. Track your consumption once a month; this can provide a lot of insight.
• Drink only in your free time: Do not drink during sports, school, work or when you have to participate in traffic.
• Drink water when thirsty: Alcohol stimulates fluid expulsion and only makes you more thirsty. Drink water for thirst and alcohol for the "goodness. In between alcoholic drinks, also drink a glass of water every now and then.
• Drink for relaxation: Drink for pleasure and relaxation and not to drink away stress or underlying problems.
• Be the last to empty your glass: Make sure you are not the first to empty your glass every time. Watch the pace of your fellow drinkers and try to be the last to empty your glass once.
• Say no: Say no once in a while and don't drink just because someone is buying you another round.
• Don't combine: Don't drink booze and beer at the same time or combine alcohol with other drugs.
• Alcohol and traffic cannot mix: Do not drink if you still have to drive (who is the BOB?). Agree in advance who is driving and therefore not drinking.
• Alcohol and pregnancy: Do not drink if you want to become pregnant or are pregnant.
• Don't start drinking alcohol before age 18: Drinking at a young age carries additional risks.
• Alternate: You can agree with yourself that after a glass of alcohol you always drink a glass of water or something else non-alcoholic first. That way you alternate alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks.

It should become less obvious that alcohol is part of the equation wherever you are. So drinking less often and less much. We hope we can contribute to this. Simple Check helps you to develop your awareness. Our Health Check gives you insight into a number of important components of your physical health.

But we go further. Want to learn more about what Simpel Check can do for you and your organization in the area of health and vitality? Then get in touch with us. As mentioned, the agreements in the agreement deal with obesity, alcohol and smoking. The number of measures is quite extensive, ranging from sports to cooking classes in schools. Want to know more? Read it here.

Sources:

1. Jellinek, 2017
2. Di Castelnuovo A, Constanzo S, Bagnardi V, Donati MB, Iacoviello L, de Gaetano G. Alcohol dosing and total mortality in men and women. Arch Intern Med. 2006; 166:2437-2445.
3. Kloner, R. A., & Rezkalla, S. H. (2007). To drink or not to drink? That is the question. Circulation, 116(11), 1306-1317.
4. Cao, Y., Willett, W. C., Rimm, E. B., Stampfer, M. J., & Giovannucci, E. L. (2015). Light to moderate intake of alcohol, drinking patterns, and risk of cancer: results from two prospective US cohort studies. Bmj, 351, h4238.
5. Jellinek, 2015