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What to eat to change how you drink
Health

What to eat to change how you drink

Nutritionist Brooke Scheller says that proper nutrition can help reduce alcohol consumption or eliminate it entirely

Julio Arrieta

Friday, 31 January 2025

If you can have one glass of wine and then manage to put the cork back into the bottle, congratulations. Unfortunately for many people, one glass starts a domino effect that leads to two, three and then the whole bottle. So says Brooke Scheller, a doctor of nutrition, who has focused her work and research on the study of eating to control drinking, steering it back to moderation or outright abstinence. "Why? Because alcohol is addictive. Not just for some, but for everyone who consumes it." Scheller knows this well, because she herself had a serious problem with the bottle.

It may seem shocking that a nutritionist, who knows very well how the body assimilates and processes what it ingests, would have got herself into this situation. Nevertheless, she is the first to admit that even nutritionists can be as self-deluded as anyone else. She clung to the idea that "red wine and other alcoholic drinks can be good in moderation."

The argument is based on the fact that this particular type of drink "is high in antioxidants, such as resveratrol, which can be beneficial for gut, brain and cardiovascular health." What is left out in this line of argument is that "resveratrol is not found exclusively in wine. Grapes, both red and white, along with blueberries, raspberries and even peanuts, are also sources of resveratrol."

Another trap was the flexibility of interpretation with the concept of 'moderation'. Scheller believed she was drinking in moderation when in fact she had an addiction problem. "What does moderation really mean? According to the nutritional guidelines published by the US Department of Agriculture between 2020 and 2025, for alcohol consumption to be considered moderate, it has to be within these ranges":

- Men: two or less alcoholic drinks per day

- Women: one alcoholic drink or less per day

Remember: "A drink is a 150 millilitre glass of wine, a 350 millilitre glass of beer or a 44 millilitre glass of spirits."

To achieve real moderation, as nutritionist Scheller proposes in her book How to Eat to Change How You Drink (Alienta Editorial), we need to follow some eating principles that reduce the craving or desire to drink alcohol.

A way forward for each of Scheller's three types of drinkers

Scheller divides drinkers into what she calls three archetypes - social, stress and regular drinkers - and specifies advice for each one. For example, she advises social drinkers to eat something before attending an event where alcohol is likely to be on offer: "Low blood sugar can make you more likely to have a drink." For stress drinkers, who use alcohol as an anxiolytic to relieve anxiety levels, don't skip eating a snack because doing so can lead to "cravings for sugar or alcohol." For regular drinkers she recommends not cutting out sugar completely as sugar cravings are one of the biggest challenges when giving up alcohol.

One of the side effects of alcohol consumption is the depletion of many of the body's essential nutrients. Efforts should be made to replenish these. In addition, other factors must also be taken into account. This includes the timing of meals. An orderly schedule helps to mitigate cravings.

"It's best to eat every three to four hours. Eat breakfast within the hour after you get up. Snack between three and five o'clock in the afternoon. Try to finish dinner at least three hours before bedtime. Yes, it can be tricky with our schedules."

Sugar and drinking 

Once you know when best to eat, "let's talk about what to eat, starting with the key macronutrients: protein, carbohydrates and fats." Scheller recommends a list of foods high in protein: chicken breast, turkey breast, fish, beef, eggs, lentils, black beans, edamame, tofu. Then add into your diet Greek yoghurt, plain natural yoghurt, quinoa, chia seeds and almonds.

"Simple and refined carbohydrates, which are found in many processed and packaged foods, should be kept to a minimum," she says. Instead, look for complex carbs - whole grains, vegetables and fruits - that contain fibre and other important nutrients.

She recommends including "complex carbohydrates at every meal and snack. Vegetables and fruits should be the main sources of carbohydrates, with grains integrated as a complement. These fibre-rich foods are the perfect complement to protein to balance blood sugar levels." Of course, we should also keep "simple sugars and sweets to a minimum." However, don't cut out sugar completely as sugar cravings are one of the biggest challenges when giving up alcohol.

As for fats, Scheller reminds us that we need them "for many processes in our body to function properly." So, her fat advice is as follows: "Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats found in plant foods are beneficial to health, while saturated and trans fats are best minimised or even avoided. Saturated fats are mostly found in meat and dairy products, so it is generally recommended to limit these foods in the diet. Trans fats, which are found in processed foods, should be avoided altogether."

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