Alcohol is an intriguing topic from a social, emotional, physical and spiritual perspective, particularly when viewed through the lens of holistic health and Ayurvedic practices. As a highly popular legal substance in most countries, alcohol is consumed for a host of reasons: enjoyment, relaxation, taste, social fitness, ritual, coping, boredom, addiction, among others. More recently, however, less people are drinking alcohol for health reasons. While previous health guidelines used to suggest that 1-2 drinks per day of some types of alcohol – especially red wine – could have positive health effects, new studies suggest that these earlier assumptions may never have been true.
In this article, we will explore several dimensions of alcohol, including the risks of alcohol consumption, the energetics of alcohol according to Ayurveda, seasonal alcohol consumption and alcohol for enjoyment. As a holistic health practitioner, my goal with this article is not to dissuade you from consuming alcohol but rather to offer you the opportunity to ponder why you drink it, how the energetics affect you and – most importantly – what it means to you.
The Health Risks of Alcohol Consumption
Alcohol is toxic. Ethanol is a known carcinogen so you are always running a risk when consuming it. All forms of alcohol (beer, wine, spirits) contain ethanol. There is no getting around it. While no amount of ethanol in the body can really be considered “safe”, the more you drink, the more damage you will do. But even small amounts of alcohol can leave their mark.
Alcohol damages your organs and tissues, especially the liver, which has to produce enzymes that break alcohol (ethanol) down in your body into acetaldehyde, a highly toxic substance and known carcinogen. This substance gets further broken down by your detoxification pathways until nothing is left but carbon dioxide and water. It then gets excreted from the body as waste. Before alcohol exits your system, however, small amounts of acetaldehyde can and will cause DNA damage, wreaking havoc on your liver and GI tract, in particular, among other organs and bodily tissues.
Alcohol is also a sugar and is quickly absorbed through the stomach and small intestine. It will affect your blood sugar levels, causing spikes and dips, often at undesired times, such as when you’re trying to sleep at night. Furthermore, calories from alcohol get stored in the liver as fat (thus the prevalence of fatty liver disease in alcoholics). And, alcohol consumption, especially in excess, can lead to weight gain.
Alcohol is pro-estrogenic, which means that it helps estrogen proliferate in the body. Before women who worry about estrogen loss in menopause get too excited about this, please know it’s NOT the type of estrogen you want in excess. Among other concerns, such as triggering hot flashes and hyperacidity, excess estrogen in this form is associated with the proliferation of breast cancer cells.
Alcohol is also a depressant. It slows brain activity and, while it can lead to feelings of relaxation, it can and will exacerbate feelings of depression and anxiety. It also slows executive brain functioning and distorts motor skills, compromising critical thinking skills and potentially rendering the imbiber a danger to themselves or others.
Finally – and this probably goes without saying – alcohol is addictive. Even people who do not believe they are addicted to alcohol are getting Sober Curious, discovering new depths of what life without alcohol is like. Please note that this article is not oriented toward alcohol addiction. If you feel you may be suffering from alcohol addiction, please contact a qualified healthcare professional.
Viewing Alcohol Through an Ayurvedic Lens
Ayurveda teaches us that everything is energy and that all natural substances can either be healing or harming in the right person at the right time. In other words, everything is medicine. What matters most are the elements and the qualities inherent in any given substance. Read our article on Alcohol and Ayurvedic Medicine for information on the classical and modern uses of alcohol in Ayurvedic herbal therapies.
Alcohol contains fire and air and is hot, light, dry and mobile – all qualities that provoke pitta & vata doshas. Some alcohols have higher fire (liquor) and more air (beer, sparkling wine/champagne) than others but all alcohol contains some combination of these elements and these qualities.
For example, wine amasses a host of different qualities, structures, bodies, colors, temperatures, shades, textures and tastes. A French Bordeaux is vastly different from a German Riesling; and a California Syrah has different tastes and geographic notes than a South African Shiraz, despite their shared varietal. Wine can boast notes of earth, chalk, clay, rose, apricot, lavender, honeysuckle, leather, apple, peach, tobacco, plum, wood, pine, oak, moss and pretty much anything else in nature. Each bottle offers you a distinct growing region, season, weather condition, year, and cultivation process that makes it uniquely its own.
In other words, wine – like beer and liquor – can be as doshically unique as each and everyone of us. The quality, care and love that go into growing, picking, fermenting and bottling these substance is as important as substance itself. Therefore, it may be unfair to say that all alcohol is hot, light, dry and mobile because its lifespan included every essential element to bring it to life: soil (earth), rain (water), oxygen (air), sun (fire), and environment (ether).
When assessing the energetics of alcohol and its effects on your constitution, there are several aspects to take into account:
- Alcohol Content – The higher the alcohol content, the more fire (pitta) it contains, in no small part because of the toxic effects on the liver, which is a pitta predominant organ. Higher alcohol content is also more mobile (vata-increasing) due to its effects on blood sugar levels.
- Temperature – cold increases vata, warmth increases pitta.
- Carbonation – bubbles contain air, which increases vata.
- Structure – full-bodied is more grounding and supports kapha, light-bodied is more mobile and supports vata.
As examples, a sweet white wine or light beer are considered more cooling given their vata-type qualities; and a bold, tannic red wine or dark, full-bodied beer are consider more grounding given their kapha-type qualities. In any case, all of these should be consumed in moderation taking into account that all types of alcohol – no matter the season or your constitution – will provoke imbalances, especially of pitta–dosha.
Alcohol and Pitta Season
Because alcohol is pitta-aggravating, it will raise the fire element in the body, spurring episodes of hyperacidity, reflux, loose stools or diarrhea, heated sensations (flushing, excess sweating, hot flashes, night sweats), and heated emotions such as anger, irritation, and intensity. These symptoms are far-more likely to occur in a person with a pitta-predominant constitution but they can present in anyone who is suffering pitta-type imbalances, especially in Summer, or Pitta Season.
If pitta-type imbalances aren’t addressed in early stages, they will often lead to vata-type imbalances during which the air and ether elements rise and the qualities of cold, light, dry and mobile will combine with pitta dosha to create states of burn out, depletion, and decay. This is when the the most cellular damage is done and often marks the beginning of chronic disease.
Even if you believe you are immune from the adverse long-term health effects of alcohol consumption, the question still remains: how do you want to feel? For me, drinking alcohol in the Summer often results in some combination of the symptoms mentioned above, accompanied by poor sleep, low energy, low productivity and negative connection to Self. In other words, I simply don’t feel well, like myself much, or feel connected to much of anything when my pitta is out of balance.
Alcohol and Enjoyment
Given the large prevalence of people who do drink alcohol – some 2.3 billion people globally, according to the World Health Organization – and who want to continue drinking alcohol for a variety of different reasons, it’s essential to talk about the consumption of alcohol from a holistic health perspective.
First, I must disclose that I include myself in the statistic of those who choose to drink alcohol, at least until experience spurs me in another direction as it did with cigarettes back in the 1990s. So, there is some bias in my argument here – please take that into account.
I am also not someone who always drinks alcohol and there have been times when I have stopped drinking alcohol altogether, such as when I was recovering from a spinal injury and during a severe neurological COVID infection – alcohol simply does not promote healing. I also recommend to most of my clients who are on a healing journey from a chronic condition or otherwise that they forgo alcohol at least for a period of time to help promote their healing process. Since I began practicing Ayurveda, I’ve also been acutely aware of the effects alcohol has on me in the Summer and will often greatly reduce or completely eliminate alcohol during this time.
Alcohol has also been a great ally to me during important moments in my life: celebrations, weddings, social outings and family bonding. It has likewise served as a crutch during difficult times: loss, trauma, stress and heartbreak. Have I used alcohol in the past to numb out, cover up my feelings, or detach from stressors? Absolutely. But, in more than equal measure, it has also been the fabric of so many moments of connection with important people in my life: family happy hours, bonding over a shared love of a particular wine, unwinding personal insecurities in relationships, or toasting to a special occasion.
Something I have learned over time – like many things in life – is that understanding the relationship I have with alcohol allows me to use that awareness to make better-informed decisions about why and when I might drink. Ayurvedic energetics have elevated this awareness to a place where I can choose to drink based on the elements, qualities, seasons and my present state of being.
A few questions to consider when choosing to imbibe include:
- When and why do I drink alcohol? What purpose is it serving?
- What season are we in? How does the alcohol I’m choosing compound or pacify the qualities of the season?
- How does the particular form of alcohol I’m consuming affect my constitution and any current imbalances?
- How will I feel after the glass is empty?
- What will be the long-term effects on my health and wellbeing?
Finally, the most important question that I have had to LEARN to ask myself is:
- How does alcohol serve my connection to Self?
In Ayurveda, much like other holistic health practices, the primordial cause of all disease is forgetting our connection to our Self – our True Nature, our Spirit. When Divine energy guides our choices and behaviors we are less likely to fall victim to the three underlying causes of disease in Ayurveda: misuse of the senses (asatmendriyartha samyoga), time and motion (parinama), and crimes against wisdom (prajnaparadha).
In my mid-20s, I began studies as a Sommelier while living abroad. While I never pursued the actual profession, it spawned for me a great appreciation for the cultivation and enjoyment of wine. Given the diversity of qualities even among single varietals, every bottle offers the opportunity to discover a different element or structure, richness or complexity, age or season. And, when consuming from a small, thoughtful vintner who seeds, grows, harvests, ferments and bottles wine with love – it’s Divine.
When I approach alcohol from this place – curiosity, quality, connection, and source – I feel aligned, not only with myself but with nature. I can share a good bottle with a friend or loved one and rest assured that the healing energy inherent in that moment of connection is stronger than any doshic force of destruction…and so long as my Ojas (strength, vitality & immunity) are strong and I choose to do so wisely and responsibly.
At the end of the day, each person’s relationship to alcohol will be different and your constitution will respond differently to alcohol throughout the elemental, seasonal and environmental shifts of your life. Ultimately, however, alcohol is a toxin and should be treated as such. Greatly reducing or completely curtailing alcohol consumption with have immensely positive impacts on your physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing, in addition to your connection to Self.
For those who may be looking to shift their relationship with alcohol in another direction, we offer a couple of recipes to help get you started. If you feel you are suffering from an imbalanced relationship with alcohol – through addiction or otherwise – please contact a qualified healthcare provider.
Blueberry Lime Mocktail (refreshing, cooling and alcohol-free)
Passionflower Tart Cherry Cocktail (promotes rest and relaxation, lightly spiked)
Article authored by Kirsten Ahern, Founder of Path Wellbeing, Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist (CCA) and Wellbeing Advocate, E-RYT, Meditation, Mindfulness and Spiritual Wellbeing Coach.
The information contained within this article is for educational purposes only and should not replace the direct advice of a qualified healthcare professional. Always consult a medical or other professional healthcare provider when considering a new health regime.
