How to drink less alcohol to improve your health

You don’t need to quit drinking completely to protect your heart – simply cutting back can make a significant difference to your health. With these expert tips, it’s never been easier.

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Over the past few years, Aussies have started to seriously reassess their relationship with alcohol.

Campaigns such as Dry July have been hugely successful in helping people take a break from drinking in an attempt to reset their attitudes towards alcohol consumption.

According to DrinkWise, 20 per cent of Australians now say they don’t drink at all, which is almost double the number of teetotallers from 10 years ago.

You don’t have to quit drinking completely to protect your heart health.

But while abstinence is best, it’s not the approach most conducive to a social life. These days, the focus in health circles is no longer towards quitting, but rather drinking more sensibly and more mindfully.

“A lot of us have an ‘automatic’ relationship with alcohol, where we drink without thinking,” says psychologist Briony Leo, from mindful-drinking group Hello Sunday Morning.

“Mindful drinking aims to help you notice the effects of alcohol and connect with why you’re drinking. Both are key to helping you cut back without feeling deprived.”

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It’s definitely causing a behavioural shift: 63 per cent of drinkers now say they don’t exceed sensible-drinking levels, up from 48 per cent in 2007.

Carlton & United Breweries (a.k.a. CUB, brewer of brands like Pure Blonde) says lower-alcohol beers now make up 20 per cent of its sales.

There’s also been a surge in more sophisticated non-alcoholic options like Seedlip (a non-alcoholic ‘spirit’), Brunswick Aces (a gin alternative) and Sobah (a non-alcoholic craft beer).

Admittedly, you may have to go to smaller, big-city bars to get any of the above, but the launch of alcohol-free Carlton Zero by CUB is creating options in the average boozer, too.

It is not good for your health to drink to excess.

Even doctors are on board with the moderation approach.

“Personally, I don’t tell most of my patients to deprive themselves of anything – including alcohol,” says Melbourne GP Dr Preeya Alexander.

“We all need little joys in life and if having a drink with family and friends provides that then go for it – just stick within sensible guidelines of no more than two standard drinks a day.”

But how do you actually do that in the real world? While established advice like drinking a non-alcoholic option between boozy drinks or watering down wine or beer with soda, lemonade or even cola (seriously, try it with red wine or dark beer!) are a good starting point, the mindful-drinking movement has come up with the following ideas to try …

1. GIVE YOURSELF A BOOZE TOKEN

And spend it carefully. Sensible-drinking app 101 Tokens works on a simple principle: you get only 101 opportunities to drink in a year – be that a sip or a whole night out – and the aim is to use them wisely.

“Each time you spend a token, ask yourself: ‘Was it worth it?’,” says app creator Benny Wallington.

In time you’ll see patterns that help you spot when you’re getting positives from having a drink – like being able to try an amazing glass of wine or celebrating a special event with friends – or when you’re just drinking for the sake of it, and this helps you adjust your intake accordingly. See more at 101tokens.com

Audit the amount of alcohol you consume.

2. DO A PROPER ALCOHOL AUDIT

No, not staring into the recycling bin with regret at the pile within. Instead, while you’re drinking, “be curious about your mental state and how alcohol is affecting it”, says Leo.

“Most people find that the benefits they’re seeking from alcohol come from the first couple of glasses; anything after that tends to make them tired, sluggish or worse. It can be hard, but drinking slowly, starting off with some food in your system and staying hydrated can help you focus on how you feel.”

3. TURN OFF YOUR AUTOPILOT

Leo also suggests examining the role alcohol plays on your nights out. Does it actually enhance an occasion or are you on booze autopilot?

If it’s going to a restaurant, shouldn’t the food be the focus? If it’s seeing friends, aren’t they what matters?

Often, you’ll realise that booze actually makes no difference to the aim of your evening. Which makes it easier to abstain on those nights.

Look at ways to replace your alcohol intake. Picture: iStock

4. SWAP OUT YOUR BUZZ

Once you start to reflect on the role alcohol is playing on your night out, you can start to look at ways of replacing it.

“If, for example, you realise you use alcohol for the energy to start your evening, you might get a similar effect by doing some exercise or playing music to rev you up first,” Leo suggests.

“If you use it for confidence, consider, while sober, how you might start conversations and approach people instead.”

Wallington agrees that ‘buzz’ is key to replacing alcohol without missing it and offers this alternative strategy: “Plan to do something you love the morning after you’re supposed to be going out. The first time you ruin the experience by having a hangover, you’ll regret it and then it probably won’t happen the next time you go out.”

5. GIVE EARLY HARVEST A TRY

If the above tips seem like a bit too much work for you, Dr Alexander suggests simply swapping in some lower-alcohol drinks, such as early harvest wines.

Wines made with grapes that are harvested earlier are naturally lower in alcohol. So, if you normally have a nightly 175ml glass of a 14 per cent Chardonnay, swapping to an early harvest white, with just 8.5 per cent, means you’ll cut your weekly intake by nearly five standard drinks.

There are also lighter beers if you’re not a wine drinker. Ten 355ml bottles of Pure Blonde lager a week, for example, equates to two fewer standard drinks than if you had the same number of VBs. Now that really is simple.