The festive season is upon us and with it comes the usual round of parties, late nights and general over-indulgence.
For many people, the Christmas holidays are a time to let their hair down, throw diet plans out the window and enjoy more than the odd tipple.
But while socialising and alcohol often seem to go hand-in-hand, there are others who don’t feel the need of a little bit of Dutch courage to strut their stuff on the dance floor with confidence – and not only will they be eschewing eggnog in favour of a festive mocktail, they say abstinence makes them feel healthier.
Helen Malone gave up alcohol two years ago and says she has never felt better. “I stopped drinking a couple of years ago as I had begun to realise that I was becoming a little too dependent on it,” admits the mother of three. “I would have a glass of wine, or two, every evening after work and then a bit more on the weekend. I never woke up feeling refreshed.
“I didn’t think I had a huge problem, but I was feeling bloated, my complexion was dull and I thought that I probably wasn’t setting a good example to my kids. So I decided to go off it for a while, just to see if I could do it and as I’m a bit of a control freak, once I started, I didn’t want to finish as I wanted to see how long I could do it for – it’s now two years later and I definitely feel and look better. It could, of course, be also down to the fact that I cut out the junk food I was eating when I was drinking, so I have lost weight and have a lot more energy.”
Source: Arlene Harris, The Irish Times, 19th December 2018
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