Pros and Cons of Drinking Alcohol ⋆ Holistic Lifestyle Guide

I really wish we didn’t live in a society where alcohol is so ingrained into our culture that is has become normal. But, here we are, and here I am to offer my opinionated factual article about alcohol.

I’m going to give you the pros and cons of drinking alcohol, and explain how it affects the body, the mind, and the soul. In holistic health circles, it’s a pretty big no-no.

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Table of Contents

My Personal Story With Alcohol

I have a very personal reason for wanting to cover this subject. I went from a heavy drinker of 30 years to a health-minded advocate of sobriety. I wouldn’t say I was an alcoholic, but I definitely abused alcohol on a weekly basis.

I started drinking when I was about 15, as most teenagers do. After all, it’s one of the most easily accessible drugs next to cigarettes. Most people’s parents have some in the fridge or the closet (both, in my case). It is only a matter of time before a teenager will sneak some for themselves.

I used it to fit in, to become more outgoing, and to have fun. I never got into any accidents or legal trouble from it though, which is a miracle, looking back now.

Over the years, I became more and more interested in health. My drinking habit waned as I realized what I was doing to myself. I also really hated waking up hungover. And I also realized I could still fit in, be outgoing, and have fun without it.

And I never looked back.

If there is one thing I would change about my life, it would be that I never would have started drinking. Some of the effects I can’t reverse, but many of them I can. Living a holistic lifestyle has definitely helped me stay healthy and look younger than I am.

The Pros of Drinking

As much as I am against drinking alcohol now, I can acknowledge that there are benefits to moderate drinking. It is well known that there are significant differences between drinking in moderation and excessive intake of alcohol, such as the case with alcohol abuse and full-blown addiction to alcohol.

In many studies, it has been found that drinking a moderate amount of alcohol can be beneficial, especially if it is red wine or beer. Red wine contains resveratrol, a compound which has many benefits. Beer is made from hops, which is a flower, also having many benefits. Both of these are good for the circulatory system and the heart. Drinking moderately also helps prevent gallstones.

Moderate alcohol consumption in women means drinking only one alcoholic beverage a day. Men can get away with 2 alcoholic beverages per day. One drink is about 5 ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer and about 1.5 ounces of hard liquor. More alcohol than that and the positive effects of alcohol seem to slip away.

The other aspect of the pros of drinking is the social one. I think everyone can agree we all come out of our shells when under the influence. This is one of the main reasons I continued to do it for three decades. Alcohol helps you loosen up, so it’s widely used in social situations like weddings and office parties. I even dare to say it’s probably responsible for many of the births in this country. I wish they could do a study on that!

The Cons of Drinking

As you could have guessed, there are way more cons of drinking than pros. Let’s begin…

From CDC’s website:

“Every day, 29 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. This is one death every 50 minutes.”

Enough said there!

As for physical health, overuse of alcohol has an almost limitless list of cons. Increased risk of heart attack, cirrhosis of the liver, birth defects, breast cancer, depression, relationship problems, cancer, colon cancer, diabetes, etc. Alcohol also inhibits the absorption of folate, an important B vitamin for spinal cord growth. This is partially why alcohol is not recommended for pregnant women.

Excessive alcohol intake causes dehydration, as anyone knows after waking up the next morning with an unquenchable thirst. Many people who drink and smoke a lot become wrinkled before others their age who don’t drink and smoke. Dehydration is the main cause of hangovers; headaches, lethargy, brain fog…ick, no fun!

Excessive drinking also means less quality sleep. Sure, you will pass out hard and fast, but your sleep will be disruptive, and you won’t get enough REM sleep which is the stage at which your deepest healing and detoxing occurs. This was something I noticed every time I drank, I would be so tired the next day that the following night I slept like a baby because I needed to make up for the previous night.

Let’s not forget about the societal consequences of drinking alcohol. Drinking too much causes people to become violent, so just imagine all the domestic abuse and relationship fights that could be eliminated if people remained sober.

Spiritual Cons of Drinking

I can see a clear distinction in my life where I quit drinking and my spirituality became more pronounced. I had always been interested in spiritual things, but it wasn’t until I quit drinking that I really felt a shift in my spirituality.

From Madhav University:

“The word “Alcohol” comes from Arabic “al-kuhl” which means “BODY EATING SPIRIT” and gives root origins to the English term of “Ghoul”. In middle easternfolk a “ghoul” is an evil demon thought to eat human bodies, either as stolen corpse or as children.”

Yikes! WHAT?!

Here’s some more scary food for thought, according to Jason Christoff:

“In alchemy, alcohol is used to extract the soul essence of an entity. Hence its’ use in extracting essences for essential oils, and the sterilization of medical instruments. By consuming alcohol into the body, it in effect extracts the very essence of the soul, allowing the body to be more susceptible to neighboring entities most of which are of low frequencies. (Why do you think we call certain alcoholic beverages “SPIRITS”). That is why people who consume excessive amounts of alcohol often black out, not remembering what happened. This happens when the good soul (we were sent here with) leaves because the living conditions are too polluted and too traumatic to tolerate. The good soul jettisons the body, staying connected on a tether, and a dark entity takes the body for a joy ride around the block, often in a hedonistic and self-serving illogical rampage. Our bodies are cars for spirits. If one spirit leaves, another can take the car for a ride. Essentially when someone goes dark after drinking alcohol or polluting themselves in many other ways, their body often becomes possessed by another entity.“

The first time I learned about this, it all fell in place. THAT is why I hopped into my car after drinking half a liter of vodka, THAT is why I danced on the tabletop in a bar lifting up my skirt, THAT is why I cried for hours on end when a man I didn’t even know rejected me. THAT is why I became angry and irritated at someone I loved. Those reactions were not me. My soul had “left” my body. The real me would have never done those things.

Conclusion

Alcohol has complex effects on the body so that it is difficult to make statements as to whether or not you should consider alcohol helpful or harmful for you personally. But one thing is certain; going over the 1 or 2 drinks a day isn’t good for anyone.

Take into careful consideration the effects alcohol has on the body, mind, and soul before you partake in this culturally accepted activity. If I had stopped drinking earlier, I have no doubt that I would be further along on my spiritual journey than I am now. Or, maybe it was all part of my spiritual journey!

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