TWO GLASSES OF WINE CAN HAVE MORE CALORIES THAN A MCDONALDS BURGER
I was listening to a podcast by a celebrity nutritionist recently. She was spouting off at least 10 different types of supplements that she said “every woman should take.” She spent at least 15 minutes talking about the danger of sugar, and said that fish oil was a must for cognitive function. She then signed off the podcast by saying it was time for her evening glasses of wine.
My jaw dropped. But then I realised, why was I surprised??? This happens every single day. And in fact, I used to be the same. I once called a juice bar in Chelsea and asked them why they wouldn’t put the nutritional information (I wanted the calorie and sugar content) in their green juices. I was annoyed they wouldn’t have this information readily available to customers, but at the same time, that night I probably had three or four glasses of wine without even thinking about what was in it.
This week, The Alcohol Health Alliance UK (AHA) said product labelling on alcoholic drinks was “woefully inadequate.” The study says that wine can be packed with calories and in some cases two glasses of wine can contain more calories than a McDonald’s hamburger. The study went on to say that wine is loaded with sugar and two glasses can contain almost an entire day’s recommended sugar intake.
I’m not shading McDonald’s burgers, but I think we all know we shouldn’t have them every single day. For me, wine was an every single night thing- multiple glasses, sometimes the bottle. Would your favourite nutritionist advise you to have a McDonalds every single day?!
Too many calories and too much sugar is not just about fitting into our favourite skinny jeans. Too much sugar and too many calories have a really bad impact on overall health. And while I used to agonize over my calorie intake everywhere else, wine had a free pass. But why?!
I also remember going on diets and getting various personal trainers after having children. I specifically remember telling multiple trainers, as I was trying to drop the baby weight, “I will do anything, but I am NOT giving up my wine.” I had no idea how many calories, or how much sugar was even it a glass. That’s because alcohol labels with nutritional content don’t exist. (If you’ve been here with me a minute, you know that’s because of the power of big alcohol!)
There have been more and more recent calls for governments to put adequate labelling on wine. Personally, I think we need more than just the calorie and sugar information- I think we need the heart and liver risks, the links to 7 types of cancer, and the fact that drinking can destroy the gray matter in your brain.
With all of these risks, why did I continue to drink? First, I didn’t do my research, I wasn’t educated and I wasn’t empowered- mainly because I didn’t want to be. Alcohol had a hold on me because it is wildly addictive. It screws with your decision making abilities so although you want to just have one or two glasses, your brain power is weakened after the first glass.
When we take a look at the celebrities, nutritionists and even doctors who fly the healthy living flag but still drink it’s a testament to how addictive alcohol is, and how powerful alcohol marketing is. Gwyneth Paltrow is a prime example of this- look at Goop which declares itself as a platform with “cutting-edge wellness advice from doctors.” How can a website portraying itself to be cutting edge wellness recommend a substance that the Centers for Disease Control says is linked to at least 7 different types of cancer? Goop recommends diets all day long, while promoting alcohol brands that are loaded with sugar and calories.
MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.
We are willing to swallow (literally) a toxic chemical – ignoring all of the evidence of how bad it is for us- excess calories/sugar/cancer/liver disease/ and brain damage because we want to the 20 minute buzz.
HOW CRAZY IS THAT?!!!!! Once we know this stuff ladies, we simply can’t un-know it. We can continue to ignore it for a while, but this just contributes to the ongoing battle in our heads of trying to drink less (because deep down we know we should) and not being able to.
In the 30 Day Booze Break course you will learn:
-How to handle alcohol cravings
-Why we think we like to drink
-What happens to our brain when we drink
-Why it’s so hard to moderate
-The benefits of ditching the drinks
-Why willpower alone doesn’t work
-How to tell your friends you’re on a booze break
And so SO much more.
The course is now available here at this link.
Take this first step in making the absolute best decision you can make for your health!
