I see my bi-line is “Making Healthy Decisions for my Best Life.”
I chose that. I should be committed to that. I thought I was. I exercise, eat healthy, don’t smoke or do drugs and drink alcohol in moderation. Pretty squeaky for a woman of retirement age.
And then I got an eBook, which I had recommended to a friend, and started reading it myself. Quit Like A Woman by Holly Whitaker.
Wow! What a wake up! Alcohol is poison! And we voluntarily put it into our bodies. This book outlines the history, the media manipulation, the social pressure, the right of passage, the health effects (more negative than you know!), and the stigma around being an alcoholic or a non-drinker. Today a colleague told me her mother called her “rude” for not drinking wine at a Christmas gathering. We can declare we don’t want to drink milk, but heaven forbid we not want to drink alcohol. One drink takes two days to ease up affecting your body - brain, liver, kidneys, stomach … and more. Imagine more drinks, or daily drinks?
I just have to talk about this, and as I am, two friends tell me they heard a CBC radio show this morning on that very topic. Maybe this one?
Alcohol: Tonic or Toxin? This is not new information, but we have been immersed into the routine of it - celebrations, parties, holidays, and more. That doesn’t even include the not so happy reasons - depression, loss, Covid …
My parents drank, and it was normal. My relatives drank, and it was normal. But when my father died and my mother drank more and more, it became scary. It took her three years to drink and smoke her life away. She died at 62. She was poisoning herself on every level. I wish I could have helped save her.
At Christmas I received a lovely bottle. The tag said to photograph it and post it on social media with their hashtag. I set it by the tree and took a lovely photo and posted it to Instagram. Now I realize I am contributing free advertising for this product AND I’m endorsing it. I’m endorsing poison! Wow! The blinders are off and I will be removing it. This is how it starts. If I’m truly serious about living my best, and healthiest life, I need to take alcohol off my food planner. It’s not about calories; it’s about poisoning my body, my precious temple.
I often go a very long time without alcohol, and it is usually a social visit that pops the cork. I live in wine country in B.C. and everywhere I look, the orchards are being ripped out and burned to make way for vineyards. I cry when I see another orchard flattened. I would rather have fruit than wine. I am now fully conscious. Knowledge is power. Just as I don’t consume added sugar (white death), it is time to remove alcohol (liquid death) as well. It won’t be hard, but my friends will wonder what got to me. I hope my healthy glow says it all.
