is Alcohol healthy

Alcohol! Is it healthy? Of late, the quest to find which alcohol is healthier of the lot, has been creating a lot of buzz on social media. Well i’m not sure who came up with it and am not really interested in finding out either. But it definitely has to be some marketing genius. And with social media picking up this topic. It did achieve what it set out to achieve. But the real question that still remains unanswered is whether alcohol is healthy or not.

Science has always been very intriguing to me, not one of my favourites. It has always found ways to contradict itself, for its shortcomings. But that’s no fault of its, it’s the brains behind it. I remember in the good old days when anyone would fall sick, it was all about wrapping oneself in a blanket. And the present is totally the opposite. Was the science to blame or just the doctors? And if you feel that was quite a long time back? Let’s talk about the food pyramid. Now this has actually been turned upside down; this reversal was done in 2026. Now that’s not very long ago. The story goes- what was on the bottom has made its way to the top, and what was at the top found itself at the bottom in the latest food pyramid chart. Science ?

Now, what has alcohol got to do with the above-mentioned? No, it has nothing to do with what we were discussing above. It was all about the shortfall of science. No matter what, we still love and believe in science. But then it was science that said “one or two pegs a day is healthy”, and of late it went ahead and, not surprisingly, mentioned even a small sip of alcohol is bad for you. Now this might be true, which I believe it is. But I also hope it doesn’t fall back a couple of years later and again contradict itself 🙂 . So let do some proof reading here.

The ethanol story

The chemical formula for ethanol/alcohol (C2 H5 OH). Alcohol can only be sourced from edibles containing sugar or starch. This starch has to undergo a process of fermentation where it converts to alcohol and carbon dioxide with the help of yeast. This process can also occur naturally. But it is when it occurs in a controlled enviroment we get our commercial alcohol. These controlled environments are also known as Winery(wines), Brewery (fermented beverage ), and Distillery (spirits). Won’t be wrong to call this the birthplace for commercial alcohol

Let’s talk about the social aspect of alcohol. Fortunately, as a bartender, this is where I share my expertise. Having a front row seat when it comes to drinking socially, all the information sourced is firsthand. Now this gives me an added advantage. For the science part? there are a lot of influencers there 😉

I for sure have bartended in more than a 100 events and parties, and definitely churned 10,000 plus cocktails. And here is what I have experienced when its come to drinking alcohol, the only health statement I ever heard in all these years of bartending is ” No Sugar Please” or ” Less Sugar Please”. This is the start and the end of the health caution client I have ever met. And then there are some with health issues who aren’t drinking on the given day.

In all these years i have never met anyone saying, “Give me a healthy cocktail” or ” Give me a healthy Alcoholic drink”. Alcohol cannot be termed a healthy drink. if some one ever mentions this cocktail is the healthier of the lot. He or she is just bullshititing. The inclusion of alcohol in any drink, be it healthy or not, erases the health factor from it – it’s then called cocktails. And here is where the so-called influencers talk about healthy cocktails. If there were ever a so-called healthy cocktail, alcohol would never come with age limits for consumption.

The deceit of healthy alcohol drinking

There are reels making rounds on social media stating “healthier cocktails “. You don’t consume cocktails or alcohol to stay healthy. All Alcohol is programmed to do is give you a high, and that stays the sole purpose of alcohol. Everyone is an expert on social media. their spouse or their dear ones may not listen to them at home. And then they come wearing a white court and talk about health on social media. And guess what – they find takers.

Alcohol is not healthy by any means. You won’t find anyone consuming alcohol before a serious meeting or after a long, hard workout at the gym(here might be some exceptions here 🙂 ) . But you would find most people grabbing a sip of alcohol or a cocktail at parties, and even maybe after a stressful and tiring day at the office. And if you think this makes alcohol a healthy option, then my friend, you have got it absolutely wrong.

Cheers!

Drink Responsible