I have decided to cut down on my alcohol intake (or give it up altogether!) and I would like some suggestions for soft drinks.
I only drink dry, white wine but I am finding recently that I say I will have one or two glasses and then I end up finishing the whole bottle. This only happens once or twice a week I hasten to add - not every day!
I have decided not to drink at home any more so that should reduce my intake. It is when I go out I will find a problem. I don’t like many soft drinks, I usually drink water but that can be boring, I can’t drink coke because I am sensitive to caffeine. Also, with a meal I wouldn’t want to drink something sweet - hence the dry, white wine.
Any suggestions would be useful and I would love to hear your experiences of cutting down on alcohol.
Hi Maude
I was the same, for a combination of reasons. I gave up alcohol soon after DX and still go to the pub with OH so finding a drink is quite hard.I kinda felt that I was giving my body a better chance of recovery. Ive settled for ginger beer and lime or the old fresh orange and soda!!
Some pubs do nice no alco fruity cocktails, butno so easy to find.
Its easier at home as I try to get low/no alcohol wines which are getter a bit more tasty
I must say the best bit is no hangovers- the worst? having to endure drunks rabbiting on in pub!!!
Good luck x
crikey thats a bit drastic Maude! Don’t forget moderate amounts of red etc are good for the heart etc! Also if you actually enjoy it cut down to a couple of glasses a week…?
I only drink a little and mostly beer, I drink as a treat and really enjoy it and never ever get drunk or even mildly jolly…
Is there any way you could buy half bottles or the tiny bottles like you sometimes can in France? Then you only need to finish the little bottle…1 glassful!
I stopped drinking when I was diagnosed.
Elderflower cordial - very nice if made with chilled fizzy mineral water.
Also tonic water with ice and a slice of lemon or lime served in a nice whisky glass (it makes all the difference if the glass is nice!) This winter I have been drinking Dorset Ginger which is delicious mixed with ginger ale.
For a night in the pub a pint of lime and soda does the trick for me.
I do actually like plain fizzy mineral water too.
Very cheap date me!
Good luck.
I was just about to post lime and soda, and elderflower when miss molly beat me to it! I also like appeltise in a pub, non alcoholic Ginger beer, and fresh orange with lemonade.
Bottle fern do lovely cordials, their spiced winter berry one iscreduced at sainsburys and really nice as a hot drink, a bit mulled wine-y.
V weak lager shandy is good too, as is bass shandy .
I’ve never been a big drinker. Unfortunately my hunt for drinks I could stomach during Chemo has spoiled some of my favourites though am getting back to normal now!
If you are only drinking when you go out, then you’re already cutting down, which is great (provided you don’t start going out every night, obviously!). If you really love dry white wine, why don’t you just ‘pad it out’ with soda water - have a long white spritzer? You’ll still get the dry wine flavour, but get more of a drink with no more alcohol. Or, add fizzy mineral water - and the bubbles will make you feel fuller faster (allegedly), so you’ll drink slower, and less!
All the non alcoholic drinks mentioned are good - and I think you prob. would like the elderflower cordial mentioned - if you can find it in the pub. If not, and you use a local pub, it’s always worth asking the landlord to get it in - if he knows you’ll drink it when you come out, he prob. will get it for you - pubs make a lot of profit from soft drinks.
As a ‘retired drinker’(!) myself, I really really recommend an internet-based retailer, the Lo-No Drinks Company. Their non-alcohol wines are superb, and don’t miss the cider - tastes just like the real thing!
At home, I drink elderflower cordial or non alcoholic punch (ginger ale, orange juice and red grape juice) but, when out, I drink everything and soda - orange & soda, lime & soda, blackcurrant & soda and sometimes dry white wine & soda! I don’t drink much at home usully (alcoholic mother) but have had the odd glass of wine since BC!
Thanks so much to you all for your replies and suggestions. I have got lots of tips on drinks to try. I will definitely try the non alcoholic ones but it also helps to have the tips on how to drink less alcohol but still enjoy the odd glass now and then.
One of the reasons I want to stop/cut down is because I have read that there is a slight increased risk of getting breast cancer if you drink alcohol. I always feel guilty when I have had a drink, if I do get cancer in the other breast I will feel like it is my fault and I haven’t done enough to prevent it happening!
Also, I am menopausal and suffering with mild depression/low mood and I don’t think alcohol helps with that - it seems to make the depression worse.
I too have read stuff about the links with alcohol and breast cancer apparently alcohol increases Oestrogen output and my cancer was hormone responsive.I had mastectomy 4 weeks ago I have been tryimg to cut back too. Everyone says one glass won’t hurt, but like you I can never just have one glass!
Unfortunately have also just given up smoking so have a double whammy of demons.
I can’t bear sweet drinks like fruit juices so my tips would be Bitter lemon or san pelligrino orange.
Good luck.
X
There is so much research out there that links alcohol to breast cancer that we should all really give it up but to be honest what with also trying to avoid wheat, sugar, dairy etc that for me that would just suck all the joy out of living!! I have definately cut back but have persuaded myself that if i do fancy a glass of something i should go for an organic red wine where possible. It’s been shown to contain a cancer-fighting compound called Resveratrol. There;s info on this in the brilliant Cancer active site canceractive.com/cancer-active-page-link.aspx?n=1906 and in fact Chris Woollams who set up the site actually recomends a glass a day in his book the Rainbow Diet. You can take supplements but actually organic red wine is the best source of the compound! Well that’s all the encouragement i needed really! at least i can sort of justify it now!! The odd glass of champagne is also taken for medicinal reasons - more psychological than physiological!
I think it absolutely fine for people to make the decision to drink if they want to. But I do think people should be fully aware of the way it can increase risk in respect of breast cancer.
It is not at all the same as looking at other dietary factors like sugar or wheat etc. The research evidence for alcohol is clear and conclusive.
The first link is from cancer research that states that:
"Even small amounts of alcohol can increase your risk of breast cancer. Several studies have found that every alcohol unit drunk a day increases the risk of breast cancer risk by about 7-11% .
There is unlikely to be a safe level of alcohol which doesn’t increase the risk of breast cancer. Some studies have found that drinking just one unit a day can increase a woman’s chances of developing breast cancer."
Some of the books relating to cancer and diet are very non-specific and yes, red wine does have health benefits too. To me though the risk specifically in association with BC is too great and takes away the enjoyment.
If you are going to drink though, organic red wine would probably be one of the best things to have because of the reservatrol and lack of pesticides.
As with everything it’s about weighing up health risks and quality of life…
I have a relative who is a highly regarded oncologist and he told me about 3 years ago that they have known about the alcohol/BC link for many years now. However, he also told me that a lot of the findings are to do with alcohol being a cause of weight gain, which in turn causes you to produce more oestrogen; the best thing you can do is to try to keep a check on your weight if poss (the oncs who treated me also said this) His advice was not to worry about it too much and just to live life as fully and enjoyably as possible. We were both related to a lady who lived over 30 years beyond BC and who died of old age, she embraced everything and was a true inspiration. Sadly she died a few months before I was diagnosed. She never allowed herself to dwell on the fact she’d had aggressive BC back when they were just trialling the only drug they had developed (the chances were not good in her day and it was in her family as her mum and sister died from it). I can honestly say I have never known a more cheerful person, I’m sure it was her sunny disposition that kept her going for all those years.
I think its like everything else , i actually have never drunk Alcohol so tea-total ,but i still got BC!! everything in moderation seems the best way to go to me, too much of anything is never good, but quality of life is important too so if you enjoy the “odd” drink occasionaly it isnt going to do any harm,as long as you keep it to a low limit .
If we stopped eating/drinking everything we are told to life would be pretty miserable and very boreing!.
Linda
It is definitely the case that alcohol causes weight gain - but alcohol is still a risk for bc even for those that are a healthy weight, or even underweight. It is very easy to isolate these two risk factors in research (alcohol and weight)and it has been shown time and time again that alcohol and obesity are separate risks - although of course the two together are even higher risk.
