5 Healthy Alcohol Alternatives to Enjoy

healthy alternatives to alcohol

Meditation has been found to reduce anxiety, and a long-term practice may even lead to permanent stress reduction. In one study, mindfulness-based therapy proved as effective as antidepressants in relieving symptoms of depression. If you’re looking to swap out your nightly trip to the bar with a healthier habit, try exercise instead. Hitting the gym or a fun workout class (think aerial yoga or kickboxing) with a friend or coworker can help you beat stress without the hangover. Even a quick 20- or 30-minute exercise session has calming effects—and research shows these benefits can last for several hours after your workout is complete. If you’re Canadian, you may be more familiar with the Caesar, which is basically a bloody mary that uses Clamato tomato cocktail instead of tomato juice.

What are cannabis-infused drinks?

healthy alternatives to alcohol

The Daily Dot previously covered a story in which an internet user claimed they began drinking several a day to the point where they felt they had become addicted. Upon searching for more information about the drink online, they came across a subreddit called Quitting Feel Free, in which users shared their difficulties ditching the drink. Finally, she says that she felt the “Holy Spirit just convinced [her]” to be honest with her mother about what was happening, including the substantial debt she went into to afford these drinks. When she did this, she says she received incredible support from her mother and fiancé, who helped guide her through her withdrawal symptoms and return her to the path of sobriety.

A clear spirit with complex green flavors

healthy alternatives to alcohol

With lychee and grapefruit juices, rooibos tea, and Champagne vinegar among its ingredients, Très Rosé is an easy-to-drink but still complex aperitif. Wilfred’s bittersweet nonalcoholic aperitif visually excites, its bright red liquid held in a tall, slim, bottle with an art deco–style label. More than Figlia Fiore, Wilfred’s has an alcohol-like sting and a bracing bitter edge. Combined with the drink’s tartness, they create a puckering sensation that leaves you wanting more. Like its companion, Aplós Arise, Calme comes in a squat, opaque, 575 mL bottle that might accidentally wind up wherever you keep your fancy olive oils.

Here are 10 things you can do to manage stress (besides reaching for the bottle)

Activities like exercise, music, and massage can provide opportunities to hang out with friends—or plan a date—without going to a bar or club. If you rely on alcohol to wind down at home, https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/who-sober-alcoholics-are-and-what-it-means-to-be-sober/ effective stress relief alternatives can include meditation and gratitude journaling. Finally, there are many delicious alternatives to alcoholic drinks for the sober or sober curious.

  • “At its basic level, alcohol of any kind is a depressant, meaning it slows down the activity and processes of the brain and central nervous system,” Adams says.
  • Alcohol-free wine also has more nuanced flavors than sparkling grape juice.
  • However, for humans, it’s doubtful that drinking tequila can actually help treat calcium deficiency or bone conditions like osteoporosis.
  • Rely on your inner creativity by mixing up different ingredients and flavors to make your own signature concoctions.

In an email to the Daily Dot, a spokesperson for Botanic Tonics said their product is not for everyone, especially for people who have issues with substance abuse. “I felt incredibly sick, dizzy, lethargic, depressed, all of the things that withdrawals from opioids entail when I woke up that Sunday morning,” she says. In her video, Adeoye explains how she came to be addicted to, and eventually quit, a product called Feel Free, which is made by a company called Botanic Tonics.

A dry, briny clear spirit

Without feeling drained, unsteadiness, or memory gaps sometimes caused by long nights of drinking. PhGABA is an upgraded version of the relaxing brain chemical called GABA. The phenyl group in phGABA (hence the ph) helps it cross the blood-brain barrier. Unlike alcohol where you need more to feel less, with kava and specifically TRU KAVA, you might experience stronger effects healthy alternatives to alcohol over time (with the same or smaller doses) as your body becomes attuned to its calming influence. “Sunshine actually stimulates receptors on the back of the retina that stimulate hormone release and helps us regulate sleep patterns,” says Chester. “Sleep is really integrated with overall health.” Good, solid sleep may also reduce the urge to reach for that bottle of wine.

healthy alternatives to alcohol

Wind down with an alcohol-free white wine, such as syrah or chardonnay, by a brand you already love. It may quickly become one of your go-to healthy alternatives to an alcoholic beverage, especially when you use it for sangria and add all your favorite seasonal fruits. A growing number of brands are producing nonalcoholic versions of popular spirits, such as gin and whiskey, using botanicals and other natural ingredients to mimic the taste and complexity of traditional liquors.

What to look for in a nonalcoholic drink