The Result of Reducing Alcohol Intake and How I Did It

Hello everyone!

One of my habits I wanted to improve was to reduce alcohol consumption. Until the beginning of age 40, I used to drink (4 or 5 times per week, 2 or 3 glasses of wine each time). Then, the amount and frequency were reducing until last year (age 46 : 3 or 4 times a week, 2 glasses of wine each time).

But since last year, I reduced alcohol intake significantly – to once a week, a can of 350ml with very low alcohol such as 0.5% because of COVID-19 which forced us to stay away from dining out.

As many people say, reducing alcohol intake is beneficial for our health and I feel so. Here are some benefits I find by reducing alcohol:

1. Reduced Eating Amount

When I used to drink more, I tend to eat more according to the amount of drink (I could not drink without eating). The reason why I used to drink was to alleviate stress. Since last year, I work at home because of COVID therefore my stress level reduced much (which is one of a very few perks caused by COVID). Reducing the amount of food and alcohol is rather necessary for healthy aging, as one of Japanese proverbs “Hara Hachi Bu” says.

2. Do Some Exercise After Dinner

When I used to drink more, I wanted to sleep right after dinner. But now I rather prefer to do some exercise, such as walking, riding on a bike or dancing. Moderate amount of exercise after dinner helps burning unnecessary calories and lose extra weight. And it refreshes my mind and provides good sleep.

3. Improved ALP Value of Kidney

This month I took an annual health check and found that my ALP value improved significantly. This value is to check kidney function, so I assume that reducing alcohol intake helped the function of kidney.

Instead of alcohol, I drink the following drink every day. Here is the recipe:

1. Pour kombucha, around 1/4 of a glass. This is my homemade kombucha.

2. Add a table spoon of lemon paste.

I made this lemon paste by putting whole organic lemon (including rind) in a blender then add some Japanese sake as a preservative. This means the lemon paste contains alcohol, but I use amount of tablespoon only, which is not much.

3. Pour non-sugar carbonated water.

It is frizzy, very refreshing and healthy, which is a good substitute of alcohol drink such as beer. When I feel like drinking alcohol, I add a little amount of Japanese sake, which is good enough to satisfy my want.

For healthy aging, reducing alcohol intake very important. Finding alternative ways is necessary but fun when you find something you like. I will keep introducing you as soon as I find other substitutes for alcohol.

Happy aging!