Warmup
If you asked me to name the top five weapons in my longevity arsenal at age 53, I’d list them in this order:
Consistent exercise (6 days a week) to build and retain muscle and respiratory fitness.
A diet very low in sugar and processed foods.
A sleep hygiene with cool temperatures and consistent lights-off and wake-up times.
Regular visits to my pit crew of doctors for preventative medicine and screenings — including a robust panel of bloodwork we compare from year-to-year.
Four or fewer (i.e., sometimes none) alcoholic drinks a week as a target.
Building this arsenal has been an evolution over the past eight years. There’s a lot we can’t control — genetics, random acts of violence or accidents.
So I’ve looked for what is controllable and doubled down on those actions that current science supports.
As a result, #5 is my newest addition. And if you’ve read this far, then you’ve probably been contemplating the volume of your own alcohol consumption, or that of someone you love.
Post
I got to thinking more about this topic after a conversation with my new friend, Paul von Zielbauer, who writes the smart Aging With Strength Substack newsletter.
You can hear our full discussion in the audio player above.
We’re both journalists by training and are cynical about magic longevity pills and health hacks. The stuff that actually works, well, we believe it takes work.
Enter drinking less.
Each of us has been on a journey to consume less alcohol based on our analysis of the latest reputable research. And each of us has amassed strategies and tools that work in our lives — and might work in yours.
Note: Our conversation does not address alcoholism, addiction or people who deeply struggle to control their drinking.
Rather it’s designed to encourage civil, non-judgmental discourse with others who are examining alcohol’s impact as we enter our Second Half.
Some statistics worth considering
Paul, a former Pulitzer Prize-nominated New York Times reporter, amassed some of the most current data suggesting there really is no amount of alcohol that is good for you.
A few highlights:
All those earlier studies suggesting moderate alcohol use is healthy? Not so fast.
Alcohol may negatively impact brain structure. That’s the last thing a we need once we pass 50.
Alcohol may also accelerate biological aging and increase risk of diseases including Alzheimer’s.
A new federal report on alcohol’s health effects that found even moderate drinking — within the bounds of U.S. nutrition guidance — could carry health risks, including injuries, liver disease and cancer. (Stat News article.)
What are my less-alcohol tactics?
I didn’t climb Less-Alcohol-Everest on the first day.
It materialized as part of a larger strategy for longevity — and a bid to ward off the midlife assassin I’ve written about who is coming for all of us mentally and physically.
In the 1990s, we were told drinking a glass or two of wine a day, particularly red wine, might have heart health benefits. Here’s an New York Times piece outlining how/what changed.
With that data in mind, in my 20s and 30s, I probably consumed alcohol most weekends and a few nights during the week. That consumption dropped in my 40s but during the height of the Covid pandemic, it jumped back up to 1-2 drinks many nights.
But fortunately, that was around the time I’d also started to get serious about obstacle course racing and my own physical health — the story I tell in my book, NOT TOO LATE.
It was also the moment when the conclusions about the benefits of drinking alcohol significantly shifted from “this may be good in moderation” to “this is probably not good in any amount.”
And so around the end of 2020, I began to climb Less-Alcohol-Everest.
1. Quantity.
First, I decided to only drink four days out of the week, and my spouse and best friend joined me. Because I rarely ever drank more than 1-2 drinks at a time, this made a dent.
More recently, that personal guideline has tightened into four or fewer drinks a week — which sometimes means none at all — simply because my habits and protocols have solidified and my interest in alcohol waned.
2. Visual Cues.
At home, I stopped opening up a bottle of wine during the week — because then I would end up finishing it the next day or two because I didn’t want it to go to waste.
Analogy: I put out my running shoes the night before. So therefore I go for a run in the morning. I don’t see a bottle of wine open in my fridge. So therefore, I don’t drink it.
3. Substitution.
I’ve swapped flavored seltzer for the 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. window when I’m moving from working to off-hours. It was hard in the beginning, and I caved a bunch. But now I’ve convinced my brain that flavored seltzer is just as much of a signal that “the day is over” as a glass of wine.
4. Location.
As a result of the previous two tactics, I generally don’t drink much alcohol at home anymore unless we are entertaining guests. Instead, I reserve drinking for when I’m out socially.
I also typically order a glass of seltzer alongside a glass of wine at restaurants now and alternate sips.
5. Lower-alcohol wine.
For the occasions when people do come over, or we have a special occasion to celebrate, I now buy lower-alcohol, lower-sugar sparkling wine. My go-to source is Dry Farm Wines. Their products are generally free of sugar and lower in alcohol — below 12.5% ABV (some as low as 9%)
6. No after-work train drinking.
Metro-North railroad used to have these carts at Grand Central Terminal right before you boarded selling beer, wine or spirits. It was so easy to be exhausted from the workday and grab one. Now I leave work with a bottle of seltzer in my backpack.
7. Travel protocols.
It’s easy to get thrown off schedule traveling for work or pleasure — particularly when visual cues and habits are thrown off. Here are a few protocols I try and adhere to:
• Don’t drink alcohol on planes. Fill a water bottle with electrolyte tablets instead (Nuun is my choice.)
• Do not stop at the hotel bar when getting in from a long flight. Keep walking to the room; change clothes; go to the gym no matter what time it is. Even for 20 minutes.
• Don’t go out for the last nightcap w/ colleagues during work events. Use going to the gym in morning as a good reason — and then honor that reason.
8. Self-forgiveness.
Sometimes all of this goes to hell. Like when we were on vacation in Portugal recently. But sometimes I eat french fries or a cupcake — and I still maintain lean body mass and win races. Letting go of absolute rigidity is one of the best tools I’ve found to stick to a good plan long-term.
Why do I still drink at all?
Like I said, my own journey to consume less alcohol has been an evolution — one with roots dating back to the social fabric I grew up with in the South.
Put simply, I’ve been detaching from something that has been a constant in my life since I first have memories.
Sitting on my grandfather’s lap watching M*A*S*H while he sipped his bourbon.
Fishing with my parents with one cooler full of bluefish, another of cold beer.
Dinner tables growing up full lively stories, generally with a glass of wine for adults.
My first kiss, and the taste of Natural Light on that nervous boy’s lips.
Hanging out with colleagues as a young reporter in pubs that were the haunts of legendary newspaper scribes.
My first book was a love story about an Irish pub and the community inside its walls. You can hear my conversation with the master of doing hard things, Michael Easter, (who doesn’t drink alcohol at all anymore) about that here.
Parties, graduations, weddings, airplane trip toasts, concerts, socializing of almost any kind.
Alcohol was always there.
The memories aren’t all good. I never binged or woke up somewhere and didn’t remember the night before. But there have been headaches and mistakes made under the influence. Words said that shouldn’t have been.
I am susceptible to the boredom trigger — particularly at random social engagements where I don’t have much in common with other guests. Then, alcohol is an escape, and not one I’m proud of. (Paul takes me to task on this one in our chat.)
But many of the memories associated with alcohol are good. People relaxing, laughing, letting go of life’s stress. Would those memories be as good without alcohol? Very possibly. Yet the reality is I don’t view alcohol as having a purely negative place in my world.
And if I’m honest, which is what this discussion is about, there are times when I really enjoy drinking good glass of champagne.
I just enjoy those moments a whole lot less than I used to.
You can read Paul’s take on his own journey over at Aging With Strength.
Cooldown
There will be people who read this and think: “What’s your problem? You should just stop drinking altogether.” I understand that view. One day, I might.
Others will think: “The world is hard enough. I’ve seen plenty of people live into their 90s and drink every day. Don’t take away this simple pleasure.” I also understand that view.
As with every health choice we make, this one is personal. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Thanks for reading. As always, find something you love. Dig in. Stick with it when things get hard.
Wendy
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