How quickly has the festive season crept up? A few months and we’ll be knee deep in office parties, family get togethers and everything else the festive season brings.
This time of year is all about enjoying good food, drink and having a well deserved rest. But you do need to pace yourself, otherwise, you can overindulge - and the results are often not pretty.
Alcohol and calories
Eating fatty, carb-heavy meals is often a quick way to expand your waistline, but you also shouldn’t forget that every glass of alcohol has a calorie count. Drinking alcohol can also lead to weight gain, and many people don’t realise how many calories are in their glass of beer/spirits/wine. This makes our range of alcohol-removed wines a perfect way to practice balance, and avoid a blowout this festive season. But first, it’s important to understand the impact of removing alcohol from wine.
Why remove the alcohol?
A large glass of red wine (250ml) has around 228 calories, which is similar to two small scoops of chocolate ice cream. A bottle of red, like an Australian Shiraz, has around 855 calories! When alcohol is removed from wine, so too are large quantities of calories. Alcohol is created from the fermentation of natural sugars found in the grape, hence, the strong relationship between alcohol, sugar and therefore – calories. The removal of alcohol from wine translates to a reduction in calories - so this is a good thing for your waistline. For example, the removal of 13% alcohol (by volume) translates to over 60 % reduction in calories.
Be kind to your liver
Then there is the impact of alcohol on your liver. The liver is not only our largest internal organ, but it is also responsible for over 400 functions - most importantly, the breakdown of food into energy, cleaning the body of waste, and fighting infections. Cut your alcohol intake over the festive season and you are being kind to your liver and your body. Abuse of alcohol has been shown to cause irreparable damage to your liver, and the onset of fatty liver disease. Exactly how much and how often you need to drink to cause this damage is unclear, but all the research points to more alcohol being bad for you and your liver.
This one drink can make all the difference
If you want to still have a glass in your hand over the holidays, our range of alcohol-free wines means you can still ‘indulge’ and have a great morning after. Yes, Edenvale is non-intoxicating so you can also say goodbye to the dreaded hangover. But, if you are still going to have a glass of the real thing, then pace yourself by having no more than one drink an hour, and alternating with a glass of Edenvale or water. You also need to keep hydrated over the festive season, especially if you are having more than your usual intake of alcohol. Make a conscious effort to drink at least 6 - 8 glasses of water a day - and more if you are exercising. Alcohol is a culprit as it dehydrates the body, so drinking our range of wines will also help you avoid that feeling of lethargy when you have not drunk enough water.
Looking to make the transition to a low or alcohol-free lifestyle? You can shop all our varietals online, or check availability at your local stockist.
Selected products are also available in the beverage aisle at these retailers:
