My Take on Alcohol as a Registered Holistic Nutritionist

One of the questions I get asked surprisingly often as a Registered Holistic Nutritionist is what my take on alcohol is, and I think people are often expecting my answer to be very straightforward and very black and white, as though there is one correct answer that applies to every single person and every single situation.

The truth is that my answer is probably not what most people expect, largely because my own relationship with alcohol has changed so dramatically over the years, and because I think my personal experiences have shaped the way I view health, balance, and sustainability in a way that no textbook or certification ever could.

There was a period of my life where alcohol quietly became my answer for almost everything I was feeling, although I don't think I would have recognized that at the time because so much of it was normalized by the world around me and by the messages we receive as women every single day.

If I had a stressful day, I would pour myself a drink because it felt like the fastest way to finally take a deep breath and release the tension I had been carrying around in my body all day long. If I was feeling anxious or overwhelmed, alcohol seemed to quiet my thoughts just enough that I could stop replaying conversations, worrying about tomorrow, or carrying the weight of everyone else's needs on my shoulders for a little while. If I had something coming up that I was nervous about, whether it was social or professional, a drink helped me feel more relaxed and more comfortable. If I couldn't sleep, I convinced myself that wine was helping me unwind and fall asleep more easily, even though I now understand that alcohol may make us feel sleepy initially while actually disrupting the quality of our sleep later in the night.

When I look back on that season of my life now, what stands out to me most is that I wasn't actually drinking because I wanted alcohol itself. What I was really looking for was relief, rest, calm, peace, comfort, and a way to turn down the volume on a nervous system that had been operating at full speed for far too long.

The more I reflected on it, the more I realized that alcohol had quietly become a substitute for many of the things my body had been asking me for all along, because what I actually needed when I was exhausted was sleep, what I actually needed when I was overwhelmed was support and boundaries, what I actually needed when I was anxious was nervous system regulation and safety, and what I actually needed when I felt disconnected from myself was time, space, movement, sunshine, nourishment, and rest.

One day something simply clicked for me, and although I wish I could point to one dramatic moment or one life-changing event that caused the shift, the reality is that it happened much more quietly than that. I simply reached a point where I realized that I no longer wanted to rely on something outside of myself to create feelings that I wanted to be able to create within myself.

I wanted to know what it felt like to truly relax without needing alcohol to get me there, and I wanted to know what it felt like to fall asleep because my body felt safe, supported, and genuinely tired rather than because I had used something to sedate it into shutting down for the night. More than anything, I wanted to know who I was without using alcohol as a coping mechanism for stress, anxiety, overwhelm, celebration, boredom, or discomfort.

So I stopped drinking for quite a long time, not because I believed alcohol was evil or because I thought I could never enjoy it again, but because I needed the space to understand my relationship with it and to learn what my body was actually asking me for underneath all of those moments where I would have instinctively reached for a drink.

Somewhere along the way, something changed, and my relationship with alcohol healed in a way that I never expected it would.

Today, years later, I rarely drink alcohol, and there are stretches of time where I do not have any at all. On the occasions that I do choose to have a glass of wine, it is because I genuinely love the taste and experience of a beautiful glass of red wine rather than because I need it to change how I feel emotionally, mentally, or physically.

Even then, I am intentional about it.

I choose quality over quantity every single time, and if I am going to have a glass of wine, I make sure it is a high-quality, thoughtfully sourced, organic red wine that I can truly savour and enjoy rather than something mindlessly poured out of habit or convenience.

More importantly, I make sure that alcohol is never replacing something that my body genuinely needs in that moment.

If I am tired, I prioritize sleep.

If I am hungry, I eat a nourishing meal with protein and whole foods.

If I am stressed, I go for a walk, lift weights, spend time outside, journal, connect with someone I love, or simply allow myself to slow down for a few minutes.

If I am dehydrated, I drink water.

If my nervous system feels overloaded, I support it.

Alcohol no longer gets to take the place of my foundations.

Those foundations have become incredibly important to me because I have experienced firsthand what it feels like to build a life that supports my health rather than constantly trying to recover from a life that works against it.

Today I prioritize sleep because I know how profoundly it affects hormones, mood, energy, cravings, recovery, and resilience. I nourish my body with whole foods because I know my body functions better when it receives the nutrients it needs. I stay away from most ultra-processed foods because I feel the difference when I do. I lift weights because I want to be strong and independent for decades to come. I move my body every single day because movement has become one of the greatest forms of medicine I know. I spend time outside because fresh air and sunlight regulate my nervous system in ways that no supplement ever could. I support my liver because I understand the role it plays in detoxification, hormone balance, and overall health.

I have worked very intentionally to create an environment that supports the version of myself that I want to become.

As a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, I cannot sit here and tell you that alcohol is healthy because it simply isn't. Alcohol impacts sleep quality, contributes to inflammation, places additional demands on the liver, affects recovery, and can influence blood sugar regulation and hormone balance.

At the same time, I also believe that life is meant to be enjoyed and that there is something incredibly powerful about creating a life where your foundations are so strong that an occasional glass of wine enjoyed intentionally and joyfully becomes exactly what it should be … an experience to savour rather than a tool to survive.

There are countless things in modern life that negatively impact our health, and many of them receive far less attention than alcohol does. Chronic stress impacts our health. Living on five hours of sleep impacts our health. Being sedentary impacts our health. Eating ultra-processed foods every day impacts our health. Doom scrolling late into the evening impacts our health. Living in a constant state of urgency impacts our health. Surrounding ourselves with negativity impacts our health.

Health has never been about one food, one supplement, one workout, or one glass of wine.

Health is the overall environment we create for ourselves and the choices we make repeatedly over time.

I do not believe in restriction for the sake of restriction, and I do not believe in fear-based health messaging or all-or-nothing thinking. What I believe in is understanding your relationship with something, healing your relationship with something when necessary, and making intentional decisions that align with your values, your goals, and the life you want to live.

For some people, complete abstinence is absolutely the healthiest and safest choice, particularly if the relationship has not healed or if alcohol continues to create more harm than good, and there is tremendous strength and self-awareness in recognizing that.

For others, healing the relationship changes everything.

For me, healing my relationship with alcohol ended up teaching me something much bigger than alcohol itself, because it taught me how to listen to my body, how to support my nervous system, how to meet my needs instead of numb them, and how to ask myself a much more important question whenever I felt the urge to reach for something outside of myself:

"What is my body actually asking for right now?"

That question changed everything for me, and perhaps it is a question worth asking ourselves a little more often.