How to Eat to Change How You Drink
Heal Your Gut, Mend Your Mind, and Improve Nutrition to Change Your Relationship with Alcohol
HEALTH & NUTRITION
by Brooke Scheller
3/10/20248 мин чтение
Summary of “How to Eat to Change What You Drink - Heal Your Gut, Mend Your Mind, and Improve Nutrition to Change Your Relationship with Alcohol” by Dr. Brooke Scheller, written and narrated by Janky Mind.
Introduction
Discover a new approach to changing your drinking habits in "How to Eat to Change What You Drink." This guide uses the latest science to show how food can transform your relationship with alcohol. With a simple 30-day plan focusing on meal timing, food choices, and lifestyle adjustments, you'll learn how to eat your way to a sober life. If you've picked up this book, you might be pondering your alcohol habits. Even if you can justify your drinking now, that little inner voice nudging you to quit will only get louder. Remember the saying, "You are what you eat"? Well, it turns out, what you eat is closely tied to your alcohol consumption. Drinking might seem harmless for fun or relaxation, but it can sneakily take over. This summary offers a fresh solution. It helps you harness the connection between what you eat and how you drink. You'll explore your drinking type, understand alcohol's impact on your body and mind, and learn how to eat your way to freedom from cravings.
Lesson 1: The Case for Quitting Alcohol
Ever wondered if life without alcohol is possible? If you sense that your relationship with alcohol has lost its joy, that inner voice might be questioning if it's holding you back from being your best self. You don't need a degree to figure this out – your deepest instincts hold the answer.
The idea of being sober might be intimidating. There's likely a part of you fearing that giving up alcohol would turn you into a dull companion. Society, media, ads, and friends often sell us the idea that alcohol is essential for fun, socializing, or stress relief.
But have you considered that alcohol might be hindering your social life? Imagine spending a night genuinely connecting with friends instead of being stuck at the bar waiting for the next drink.
And the morning after? The hangover leaves you sluggish and irritable, derailing your plans. Is alcohol keeping you from reaching your goals?
The myth that alcohol helps destress is just that – a myth. While a glass of wine may seem appealing after a tough day, its relaxing effect is short-lived. In the long run, alcohol worsens physical and mental stress.
Add to that the health risks – even moderate drinking is linked to increased cancer risk. While some studies suggest a protective effect for heart disease, many were conducted in regions with a healthy Mediterranean diet.
The reality is, not drinking is healthier, and you don't need alcohol for a fun, social life. Yet, breaking a habit formed over years is easier said than done.
Reflect on why you felt the need for alcohol – was it for fun, stress relief, or avoiding unresolved problems? Clarify your personal "why."
Envision the person you want to be. How would drinking less help you pursue your goals and live by your values? Connect your "why" to a vision of your best self, making sobriety an exciting challenge, not a deprivation.
Remember, it's not all or nothing. Take it one day at a time. Before you know it, days will turn into weeks and months. It all starts with your choice today.
Lesson 2: Identifying Your Drinking Style
Ever wondered why many struggle to control their drinking without considering themselves alcoholics? It turns out there's a significant gray area between social drinking and alcoholism where many find themselves ensnared.
Current health guidelines suggest not exceeding six units of alcohol per week (about six small glasses of light beer or wine). Even the Canadian health authorities recommend not surpassing two drinks a week, aligning more with recent research on alcohol's harmful effects.
If you find yourself exceeding these limits, it's essential to reflect on why and how you drink. In the ambiguous territory of alcohol use, people typically fall into three categories. Identifying your drinking style is a crucial first step toward regaining control.
The social drinker, often known as the "weekend warrior," indulges mainly at social events. They don't drink daily, thinking it's just about having fun occasionally. However, their semi-frequent binge drinking can still be harmful and challenging to curb.
The stress drinker turns to alcohol to "unwind" after work or when overwhelmed. While it provides temporary relief, it actually worsens stress over time by spiking blood sugar and cortisol, creating a vicious cycle.
The habitual drinker takes it a step further, drinking in various situations—social events, stress relief, boredom, and sheer habit. Starting as a social or stress drinker, frequent alcohol use makes their body and brain more dependent, making cravings harder to resist.
Feeling stuck in the drinking "gray area"? By understanding your position and addressing the root causes of your cravings, you can find your way out.
The good news is, regardless of your drinking type, you can transform your relationship with alcohol through a holistic approach. Since alcohol cravings are linked to blood sugar fluctuations, adjusting your diet to stabilize blood sugar can make a significant difference. Incorporating proper nutrition, along with exercise, restful sleep, and stress-relieving practices, can help restore balance.
Lesson 3: Unraveling the Ties Between Alcohol and Nutrition
Choosing sobriety often leads people to therapy and counseling, valuable steps indeed. Programs like Alcoholics Anonymous have guided many towards sobriety, addressing the mental and emotional aspects of alcohol use. However, there's more to the story.
Essentially, alcohol acts as a nutrient, deeply influencing your physiology, from blood sugar to hormones and gut health. Recognizing these connections opens doors to nutrition and lifestyle changes that can aid your healing journey.
As you consume alcohol, it traverses your digestive system, enters the bloodstream, and eventually reaches your liver. Enzymes in the liver break down alcohol, producing toxic substances before elimination. This process can harm your liver over time.
Excessive alcohol triggers the microsomal ethanol oxidizing system, affecting hormones, increasing oxidative damage, and expending energy. Metabolizing alcohol stresses multiple systems and depletes essential vitamins and minerals like B vitamins, vitamin C, and iron.
A surprising link to blood sugar emerges, with research indicating that 95 percent of alcoholics have low blood sugar. Alcohol disrupts blood sugar levels, leading to cravings similar to those for sugar when blood sugar drops.
These blood sugar fluctuations also disrupt your hormone system, impacting insulin, glucagon, and hormones like estrogen and cortisol. Excessive drinking trains your body to rely on alcohol for blood sugar regulation, adversely affecting metabolism and weight management.
Alcohol's influence extends to gut health, damaging beneficial bacteria and the intestinal lining. This disruption allows particles and toxins to leak into the bloodstream, causing inflammation.
Lastly, alcohol affects the brain, providing a temporary mood boost by releasing feel-good neurotransmitters. Excessive drinking causes imbalances in these neurotransmitters, contributing to mood disorders and cravings. Additionally, it depletes brain nutrients, potentially causing the brain to shrink.
Alcohol dependence creates a complex web impacting your physiology. However, this complexity also presents opportunities to experiment with health and lifestyle changes to overcome addiction.
Lesson 4: Your 30-Day Nutrition Challenge
Now, it's time to take action. Because alcohol is a nutrient that interacts with what you eat and influences blood sugar, your dietary choices can play a crucial role in your journey to sobriety. This 30-day nutrition challenge is crafted to diminish alcohol cravings and support your body's recovery from the impact of alcohol.
Adjust your eating habits in four key areas: meal timing, macronutrients, functional foods, and foods to avoid.
Start with meal timing to prevent blood sugar drops. Eat every three to four hours, considering five small meals or three regular meals with two snacks. Begin your day with breakfast within an hour of waking, have a mid-afternoon snack between 3:00 and 5:00 p.m., and finish eating three hours before bedtime.
Balance your macronutrients by focusing on protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats. Aim for 15 to 25 grams of protein per meal, 10 to 15 grams for snacks, and include complex carbs and good fats like avocado and olive oil.
Incorporate functional foods with specific benefits for reducing drinking. Cinnamon balances blood sugar, fermented foods like kimchi aid gut health, and beets support the liver. Include these positive foods in as many meals as possible.
Be mindful of what to avoid, such as highly processed foods. Opt for whole, minimally processed foods like fresh fruits and veggies, fish, lean meat, and whole grains. While you don't need to eliminate sugar entirely, be aware of its impact on blood sugar. Pairing sweets with a protein source can mitigate blood sugar spikes.
Consider a daily example on this plan: eggs, spinach, and whole-grain toast for breakfast, an apple with almond butter for a morning snack, a green salad with salmon for lunch, red bell peppers and hummus for an afternoon snack, and roast salmon with broccoli and sweet potatoes for dinner.
Before diving into the challenge, define your clear goal. Beyond reducing drinking, clarify how you want to feel afterward – perhaps less irritable with your spouse or more energized for your job. With determination and the right eating strategy, you can successfully navigate the critical first 30 alcohol-free days.
Lesson 5: Embracing Lifestyle Changes
Beyond adjusting your diet, incorporating lifestyle changes can significantly impact your ability to maintain sobriety. Movement, sleep, meditation, and community are pivotal factors that, when combined with counseling and nutritional adjustments, pave the way for "functional sobriety" — true healing at the roots of addiction.
Firstly, prioritize exercise. Numerous studies reveal the positive effects of physical activity on mood and cognition, with some indicating a tangible link between exercise and sustaining sobriety. Choose activities you enjoy, turning workouts into a rewarding experience rather than a punishment. Whether it's walks, dance classes, or biking, find what suits you best.
Next, give importance to sleep. Quality rest strengthens physical and mental well-being, influencing your nutrition choices and impacting sugar and alcohol cravings. Maintain a regular sleep-wake cycle, avoid screens before bedtime, optimize your sleep environment, and steer clear of late-day caffeine.
Incorporating meditation, mindfulness, or other spiritual practices has demonstrated benefits for sobriety. If you're new to these practices, start with box breathing: Inhale for four, hold for four, exhale for four, and hold for four. Focus on calming your body and observing your breath.
Lastly, connect with supportive communities both online and offline. Human bonds play a crucial role in healing, and programs like Alcoholics Anonymous emphasize the power of community. If AA doesn't resonate with you, explore alternative recovery meetings or seek out sober friends.
By nurturing your body and mind through these practices, you'll shift your focus from counting days since your last drink to embracing sustainable wellness. Be patient and have faith in yourself. Keep your eyes on the person you aspire to become, letting that vision guide your daily actions. The journey may present challenges, but the destination makes it all worthwhile. You will reach it!
Final summary
Approaching sobriety holistically recognizes that reevaluating your relationship with alcohol doesn't require labeling yourself as a full-blown alcoholic. Identifying whether you're a social, stress, or habitual drinker is a crucial step in understanding your drinking habits.
The revelation that alcohol cravings are linked to blood sugar fluctuations opens the door to fresh solutions through nutrition and lifestyle changes. Adjusting your diet to stabilize blood sugar becomes a powerful tool in curbing these urges.
A 30-day nutrition challenge, focusing on meal timing, macros, functional foods, and foods to avoid, can actively support your body's recovery. Complementary lifestyle pillars, such as exercise, sleep, meditation, and community, provide additional tools for achieving "functional sobriety" — addressing the root causes of addiction holistically.
With self-awareness, proper nutrition, and lifestyle changes, breaking free from alcohol's grip becomes achievable, allowing you to create sustainable wellness on your journey of personal growth.
About the Author
Dr. Brooke Scheller is a doctor of clinical nutrition, author, and the founder of the Functional Sobriety program, guiding people globally to break free from alcohol. Her impactful work has been featured on prominent platforms, including Forbes and Oprah Daily.