Can Drinking Alcohol Be Healthy?

At Just Add Ice Cocktails, we're big fans of having our drink and enjoying it, too - so we've taken the time to craft cocktails that are not just delicious, but are also low in sugar and meant to be mixed with ice for lower caloric density. We make them fresh, with natural ingredients that you'll be familiar with, and we don't add preservatives or additives, including no added sugar or flavorings.

However, we also know that we're not medical researchers or physicians, and that this is an area of science that is still highly debated. Only you can decide what's right for your health, and we encourage you to actively explore that with regularity, as we find it often changes through different seasons of life. To that end, we'll try to provide you some ideas and thoughts of our own below, backed by a little science, and we hope that you use this as fuel for your own exploration. Cheers!

What is unhealthy about drinking cocktails anyway?

When it comes to drinking cocktails, or really any sort of alcoholic beverage, including wine, beer, or anything else, there are 2 elements that you’ll want to concern yourself with to limit health risks: sugar and alcohol.

“Your liver metabolizes sugar the same way as alcohol, and converts dietary carbohydrates to fat," says Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "The effects of added sugar intake — high blood pressure, inflammation, weight gain, diabetes, and fatty liver disease — are all linked to an increased risk for heart attack and stroke.”

Can Alcohol Consumption Be Paired with Health Benefits, or Do They Cancel Each Other Out?

Studies show that drinking alcohol creates oxidative stress and that this can be at least partially counter-balanced by consuming antioxidants prior to or along with the alcohol. Those studies did not seem to indicate one could get a net benefit from drinking an alcoholic beverage with antioxidants in it, but rather a potential balanced-out effect was noted. Heavy drinking can impair nutrient uptake during digestion, though.

Just Add Ice Cocktails with Antioxidants:

• Socailite contains both cranberry juice and orange juice, both of which are antioxidants

• Sneaky T 2.0 contains orange, which is an antioxidant

• Night Moves by Sasha contains apple, which is a powerful antioxidant, in addition to lemon

• Flora contains carrot, orange, and lime, all of which are antioxidants

• Piña and OG Margarita contain lime juice, which is an antioxidant

• Cheeky contains elderflower, grapefruit juice, and lemon juice, all of which are powerful antioxidants

• The LBC contains orange juice, cucumber juice, and lime, all of which are antioxidants

• Cabo contains watermelon and lime, both of which are antioxidants

How can I drink alcohol and still be healthy?

By limiting the concentrated and processed sugar in the drink and reducing the alcohol by volume (abv%), you can make drinks that are both health-conscious and delicious.

• Choose drinks that have moderate amounts of alcohol - generally, this will be wine, beer, or mixed drinks (cocktails) with only 1 to 1.5 ounces of alcohol per standard drink (i.e. 1 shot of distilled spirits per poured drink)

• Choose drinks with lower sugar content - ideally, you're aiming for as little processed sugar or concentrated sugar as possible, as natural sugars in natural levels of concentration really aren’t problematic for most people

• If you prefer drinks that have more sugar and/or alcohol content, consider using ice, seltzer, or other mixers to increase the volume (and thus reduce caloric density - more on that concept below)

At the end of the day, though, only you know what works best for you - and we encourage you to listen to your deep inner knowing here.

Why It’s Not About Portion Control or "Moderate Drinking"

Portion control always seems to be a favorite recommendation among dieticians and health experts, but the truth is, limiting yourself and feeling restricted often backfires - we’ve all been there with strict diets that we can’t stick to for more than a few days.

Instead of Trying to Moderate Alcohol Consumption, Play with Caloric Density and Indulgence Factor

Caloric density is the number of calories per volume - for example, a floret of broccoli vs. a spoonful of ice cream - each is roughly the same size, but it’s pretty easy to see the broccoli is far less calorically dense than the ice cream. By decreasing caloric density in your alcoholic drinks, you’ll make it less likely that you’ll overindulge (either with too much sugar or heavy drinking), by feeling fuller sooner.

Add any (or all) of these to your alcohol to decrease caloric density:

• Ice - the smaller the pieces of ice, the faster they will melt and the lower the caloric density of what you actually consume, though sometimes the visual representation and less water mixed in is ideal, this is why whiskey is often poured over 1 single large ice cube and mixed drinks are often poured over crushed ice.

• Water, seltzer, or other lower-calorie liquids (although try to skip the ones that are overly processed)

Now "indulgence factor" may be a new concept to you, but intuitively you likely already know that when you make something feel special, you enjoy it more. Think of this as "pleasure density" instead of caloric density.

Here are some ideas for increasing the "Indulgence Factor" of your drinks:

• use glassware that feels special

• add crushed ice or ice spheres

• add a garnish (did you know all of our drinks come with a garnish for each pour?)

• Make it a ritual - maybe you enjoy a special cocktail as you soak in the tub, or maybe it's your girls' night tradition, or perhaps you just make it a habit to stop at sunset and re-center yourself in gratitude for a moment as you transition from work-mode to home life - whatever it is, make it a moment you're present for and savor fully.