Decide About Drinking

By Monica D. Siembor

Let’s face it—all alcohol is poison, so if you can do without, great! If you aren’t ready to give up this indulgence just yet, at least switch to wine. Most decent wines are generally not cooked, and the occasional glass is usually without consequence. Wine is still highly processed and unhealthy, but it’s the best choice if you want to have an occasional drink.

Beer and liquor are cooked, so steer clear of these demons, unless you want that muffin-top type belly many girls are sportin’ these days. Beer makes you bloated and gassy anyway. As far as those fancy, liquor-laden lounge drinks, such as martinis, they’re super cute, and you probably feel really fancy drinking these froufrou concoctions, but, again, not a good choice.

Stick with wine if you want to stay skinny. Ounce for ounce, wine has fewer calories than beer or liquor.

If you choose to consume wine, remember:

• As a raw foodist, your body is clean and pure, so having that one glass of wine may affect you as if you’ve had two or more. Be careful, and sip slowly.
• The excess sugar from alcohol turns to fat and likes to settle on your tummy—not attractive.
• Alcohol is very dehydrating, hence dull, wrinkled, tired-looking skin. Drink twice as much water as you do wine.
• Alcohol causes blood sugar imbalances. You’ll notice that when you “crash” from low blood sugar, you’ll become extremely tired, so eat plenty of fruit, not more wine, to keep up your blood sugar level.
• Alcohol raises the level of hydrochloric acid in your stomach, so your food will not digest easily.
• Alcohol lowers your inhibitions and can trigger cooked-food cravings, especially cravings for fatty, salty, spicy foods.
• Wine has sulfites, a preservative, which can cause asthma and allergic reactions. The grapes used to make wine are often grown with pesticides, so choose organic, non-sulfite wine when you can.