Can You Get Drunk Without Alcohol?

The power of sobriety, adaptogens, and a new kind of beverage

We all have different relationships with alcohol. Some of us like a glass of it each night with dinner. Some of us only drink it on special occasions. Others binge drink it on a night out with their friends. Some people don’t even drink it at all!

Alcohol is a surprisingly personal thing. We each have our own reasons for drinking wine, beer, or hard liquor. Maybe you drink socially. Or you drink to destress after an exhausting day. You could even drink to numb your feelings.

Like most people, I drank too much jungle juice and cheap alcohol in college. After college, I didn’t quite find a place for alcohol in my life. I would enjoy a glass of wine while cooking or a fancy cocktail when out to dinner. Beyond that, I found myself drinking less and less.

I no longer enjoyed the feeling I got from drinking. My mind became fuzzy and I no longer felt like myself. Then, quarantine hit, and I stopped drinking any alcohol. Unlike most people, I began turning away from it rather than toward it. I was always more of a social drinker and now that there were no social activities, I didn’t have a reason to drink.

After months without alcohol, I realized I didn’t even need it in social settings. I didn’t want to feel fuzzy. I enjoyed the mental clarity I had. Yet, there is something odd about everyone else having a drink in their hand and you having nothing. This shouldn’t feel weird. I mean, who cares? But, our society is so revolved around drinking.

For most people, it’s difficult to recall the last time you hung out with a group of friends or went to a party where there wasn’t alcohol. Alcohol is so ingrained into our social lives. Instead of drinking beer or wine, I began bringing my kombucha to parties. Yes, I was that girl that brought her own drink.

My kombucha would give me that same comfort of having a drink in my hand, knowing I had a yummy beverage to sip on. It felt like a treat but it didn’t make my mind go numb. Also, I was always able to drive everyone else home safely after a night of drinking.

Recently, I’ve come to learn there’s a whole market of non-alcoholic, alcohol alternatives. This market only continues to grow as people adapt to the trend of not drinking and take part in challenges like Dry January.

This past weekend, while in New York City, Sebastian and I came across a “booze-free” bottle shop. It mimicked the concept of a liquor store yet only sold drinks like alcohol-free wine, spirits made with bitters, and canned adaptogen “cocktails”. I was in heaven- so many different drink options to help you de-stress without the awful side effects.

I’m a firm believer that shops like this are the future. Soon we will all come to realize that alcohol isn’t serving us in the way we thought it once did. I mean, why drink when you can feel as relaxed without the negative side effects?

How is this possible?

These non-alcoholic drink brands use adaptogens and botanicals to give you the same feel-good feeling as alcohol. If you don’t know what adaptogens are, they are herbs known to “adapt” your body to stress. While alcohol may help us de-stress due to its effect on the nervous system, these herbs help us do so in a healthier way.

Research says:

“Adaptogens are stress response modifiers that non-specifically increase resistance to various stressors, thereby promoting adaptation and survival”. Consuming adaptogens over time can increase your body’s ability to handle stress. You are strengthening your stress response. So, not only do they relax you while consuming them, they help your body relax more overall.

In addition to reducing stress, they’ve also been shown to increase one’s attention and endurance. Because of this, adaptogens have the ability to prevent neurodegenerative disorders. This is also why some adaptogenic beverages are promoted as giving you a social high or energy.

Kinds of Adaptogens

So what exactly are these adaptogens that we are drinking? Popular beverage brands include adaptogens like ashwagandha, L-theanine, and ginseng.

Ashwagandha

Ashwagandha has become very popular in the last few years for helping with stress and anxiety. It is a shrub native to Asia and Africa that has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years. It has a host of benefits that include reducing inflammation in joints, reversing neurodegenerative diseases, and reducing tumor size.

Studies have shown that it induces a calming effect similar to the anxiety drug Lorazepam and exhibits an antidepressant effect similar to the depression drug Imipramine. When given to rats, ashwagandha decreased the cortisol content of their adrenals during stressful situations. It is a powerful, natural compound that can be used not only for its calming, stress-reducing effects but to treat other ailments as well.

L-Theanine

L-theanine is an amino acid most commonly found in green tea. It is the compound that balances out the caffeine in matcha, giving it a slower release into the bloodstream. L-theanine has been proven to reduce stress as well as increase focus and memory retention.

While it acts as a depressant, it has been shown to have a synergetic effect with caffeine, a stimulant also found in green tea. You can find these compounds together in a lot of popular “uplifting” alcohol alternatives, like Kin Spritz. They have been shown to increase alpha waves in the brain, the state known for a heightened sense of creativity and learning.

Ginseng

Ginseng is a root that’s been used in Chinese medicine for centuries. Like the other adaptogens, there are so many different benefits of taking this. It has been shown to stabilize blood sugar in those with diabetes, reduce tumor size and frequency in cancer patients, and induce powerful immune responses in those fighting infections.

In addition, ginseng has a profound effect on the central nervous system and brain. Gingseng has proved to be effective in suppressing stress and reducing depression in both animal and human studies by regulating immune responses and hormonal changes.

Non-alcoholic Alcohol Alternatives

There are so many cool beverage brands on the market that it is hard to choose which to try first! Trying a new one each time can be just as fun as ordering a craft cocktail at the bar.

Ghia

This beverage brand focuses specifically on natural extracts that soothe the body and mind. Some of these extracts include orange peel, rosemary, lemon balm, and gentian root. As Ghia likes to say, these ingredients are “powerful enough to bring out the best version of you without numbing the night”. Who doesn’t want that?

This brand is one of my personal favorites. They have an aperitif that you can use to make cocktails. I personally like adding it to sparkling water and some ginger beer. They also have canned spritzes that are already made, good for taking on the go. My personal favorite is their new “margarita” inspired spritz! It has a nice salty kick to the usual bitterness.

Find the Ghia nearest you by checking out their store locator.

De Soi

There are even brands that mimic the taste and experience of drinking wine! De Soi makes bottled and canned adaptogenic beverages. I have to say, these bottles are quite beautiful and would look very pretty on your dinner party table.

This brand includes adaptogens like reishi mushrooms, green tea extract, maca, and ashwagandha. According to their website, Alexander the Great is rumored to have drunk ashwagandha.

I hadn’t heard of this brand until I started researching other brands to include in this article. Safe to say I will be ordering some soon!

Kin Euphorics

Kin Euphorics contains ingredients like Rhodiola Rosea and GABA to balance cortisol and calm the nervous system. It is made of a proprietary blend that also includes l-theanine, caffeine, and 5-HTP. Similar to adaptogens, 5-HTP elevates your serotonin levels, giving you that feel-good feeling.

I brought my can of Kin to a New Year’s Eve party at the beginning of the year and was actually surprised to find that a family friend had tried it before. As someone who enjoys beer, he was saying that he really liked the flavor and could feel the effects. I’ve also noticed a wave of calmness that comes across me when I drink these. However, be aware that there are different drinks to help you relax and fall asleep and others that have caffeine to energize you for the night ahead.

The Kin Spritz is comparable to the bitter orange taste of Aperol while Lightwave is unique to itself. Personally, I like Lightwave (the “night” blend) better but the Spritz does taste more like a fancy cocktail.

You can go to Kin’s website to find where they sell it at a location near you.

Believe it or not, you don’t need alcohol to have fun, de-stress, or let loose with friends. You can replace your favorite mixed drinks with adaptogenic beverages that better serve your health. Most of the time, we drink because other people are doing it. Or, we’ve become so accustomed to the warm feeling it gives us.

Luckily, nature can give us some of these same fantastic feelings without the negative side effects. You can quite literally have your cake and eat it too. A drink that helps you destress and relax without the mental fuzziness and the next day’s hangover… sign me up! Not to mention the other benefits you receive from the ingredients in these drinks.

Take action: Replace your typical alcoholic beverage with one of these adaptogen alternatives. If you’re in New York City, stop by Spirited Away. Otherwise, look at the store locators for the brands mentioned above to find a store that carries them near you.

Even if you don’t want to give up alcohol, these adaptogen drinks have a lot of great ingredients that we can all benefit from. Let’s normalize adaptogens and natural extracts!

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Madison

If you have someone in your life who would benefit from adaptogen alcohol alternatives, feel free to share this email with them.