cutting out wine...

pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

i’d really like to hear from members who are raw WITHOUT wine. i was raised in france, so believe me i KNOW the pros of wine drinking in and out. what i’m not so familiar with are the cons.

the evidence that i should stop drinking wine is just too obvious for me to ignore, and sometimes i’ll go weeks without a glass, but then i do (particularly hard because my family has a bottle every night with dinner) and sleep poorly and wake up groggy with a little tummy upset, and go “oh yeah, THAT’S why i wasn’t drinking!” =) and then i’ll give it up for a while and the cycle continues…

i’m looking for some really convincing evidence that i should stop drinking. being so ingrained in the culture i was reared in, all i’ve ever heard is how great wine is. so i think psychologically i feel that i am giving something up that i LOVE and therefore being too hard on myself… does that make sense?

(p.s. i was further propelled to write this after the “i feel great” post. i love to dance. so that’s some great info right there.)

Comments

  • Hey, this is a hot topic for me, too. The biggest reason I released wine was because of depression. I definitely notice a sag in my mood after drinking any type of alcohol. But I do enjoy a well-paired wine now and then, and my big thing is trying not to be dogmatic about anything, but rather listening, tuning in, paying attention, noticing what works and what does not. I did discover, when out to dinner with my husband last weekend (a rare treat) that my system can manage it in small occasional doses. One glass of red arrived at the table. I thanked it, blessed it, thought about all its healthful qualities and asked that those be used by my body. I thought since I hadn’t drank in so long, I’d have a low tolerance, but I felt no buzz and had no aftereffects. I am beginning to believe that we can manage anything when we stay conscious to what it is we are doing (and in doing that, our unhealthy cravings disappear). Still, obviously, if candida is an issue, alcohol is a big problem. And I wouldn’t want to indulge regularly or more than one glass in an evening. But that’s me.

    Apropos of nothing, perhaps, the pure food and wine people broke up and appear to be something of a personal mess. We all have our trials, but there are times when alcohol is simply not helpful.

  • My hubby is French and we are spending the summer in Lyon. I can’t imagine not indulging in some wine, especially since I won’t be eating any of the food. I’m sure my in-laws would think I’m nuts! :)

    I’m wondering if the health benefits of wine outweight any negative aspects. Don’t many types food have the potential to have a negative side effect if not eaten properly? Like, if one eats too many avacados they may not feel well, or if one has a candida issue and they eat too much sugar, and so on. What do you all think?

    Do you think that it’s okay to have wine occasionally or in moderation or do you prefer no wine?

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    thanks guys—again though, i’m not trying to convince anyone not to drink, i just want someone to convince ME not too =)

    my gut feeling is that unlike other foods that should be eaten/drunk in moderation, i don’t know any other thing that actually makes me lose control of my body in the way wine does—you know that “relaxed” feeling you get… it’s very different from say doing a great yoga class or drinking camomile tea. i don’t know, i’ve just been thinking about it recently and why would something AWFUL for pregnant women and children’s bodies be good for MINE? just because it’s not as dangerous, doesn’t make it healthful. but then there is just NO research i’ve been able to find that talks about this sort of thing…

    i’ve read in other posts that some of you abstain, i just wanted to know what your reasoning was.

    oh, and curlysparkle. don’t worry about the french. one thing everyone gets there is a woman on a diet. they control so much by their diet. the most open minded people i’ve spoken to about the raw food thing have been french. and you won’t believe the flavors! the tomatoes, the peaches, the nectarines… the open air markets out of this world…

  • Before going raw I had already started drinking less than I used to. Rum used to be my drink of choice, and now I have been enjoying wine instead. I live in San Francisco – so close to Napa Valley, etc. – near so many good wineries that wine tasting has been very enjoyable. I don’t drink during the week (aside from the occasional vacation), so my wine drinking is limited to weekends. I have found that since I drink less and have gone raw, I am a “cheap date” now since I will feel the effects much quicker, and as a result drink even less.

    The hard thing about drinking is that when I am drinking wine, I am more likely to give in to cooked food cravings. According to food combining theories, drinking any alcohol with food ferments it all and therefore gets rid of any nutritional value it may have had. (I will make an effort to separate, such as drinking wine over 20 minutes before eating or waiting until 1 hour after my meal to drink but that is really hard to do, especially in a restaurant or other social setting). So if drinking during a meal will make it a non-nutritive meal anyway, I might as well eat bread or pasta? I don’t really like that way of thinking, but that is the thinking I will fall into sometimes, especially if I am out somewhere with limited raw food options.

    JoyceH – I have a question for you about what you mentioned about beer… what about the breweries that say that their beer is “frost brewed” or “cold processed” – are those still boiled first, or is a “frost brewed” beer considered raw? (I obviously doubt that Coors Light is anywhere close to organic, but I was curious!!)

  • One more thing I forgot to mention, though sort of implicit in my previous post. I have definitely seen a correlation between even occasional, moderate alcohol consumption and spiritual/personal power & ability to manifest. I know athletes comment on how alcohol affects their physical power, but I have also noticed this on a higher energy level. I think it relates in part to what Renoir is saying about how it affects our choices while we’re drinking, and possibly soon after. I might enjoy the initial relaxation, but it subtly impairs all levels of Being.

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    thank you joyfulnoise and renoir. yes, this is exactly the sort of thing i notice too… i first gave up wine this summer because i loved the “awake” feeling i had being raw. i didn’t want to dull that every night with wine. but yes, i think it does affect my choices… that’s interesting…

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