What’s the point of non-alcoholic beer?

What’s the point of non-alcoholic beer?

The drinking of non-alcoholic beer is a hotly debated topic amongst people in recovery from drug addiction and alcoholism. Some people think you should avoid any product that contains alcohol, not because it’s necessarily a relapse, but because it could lead to one. In fact, studies have shown that drinking non-alcoholic beer can trigger chemicals in the brain that cause your body to expect alcohol.

Non-Alcoholic Beer: What is it?

It is a misnomer to call it non-alcoholic beer because these beverages actually do contain some alcohol. A better name is low alcohol beer. These types usually contain less than 0.5% alcohol by volume in the United States. This means that it would take nine of these non-alcoholic beers to equal the alcohol content in one regular beer.

In other countries, however, low alcohol beer refers to anything less than 1.2% alcohol by volume and non-alcohol beer refers to beverages with less than 0.5% alcohol by volume.

Non-Alcoholic Beer: Why do people drink it?

People who are not suffering from the disease of addiction may drink non-alcoholic beer because they have some medical condition that prevents them from drinking alcohol.

Those in recovery may have a number of justifications for drinking non-alcoholic beer. They may say that they just like the taste of beer (though every beer I know agrees that non-alcoholic beer tastes horrible, so this is debatable). They may do it so they don’t feel out of place in a social drinking situation like a bar or party. Nonalcoholic beer could give a person comfort because it reminds them of the real thing.

Non-Alcoholic Beer: What are the dangers of drinking non-alcoholic beer?

Even though non-alcoholic beer seems harmless, it can pose a threat to someone in recovery. Some of these beers, especially outside of the United States, have a significant amount of alcohol in them. Consuming more than a couple can cause bloat and nausea and drinking them on a regular basis can cause weight gain. If an individual is drinking them for the “placebo” effect of alcohol, it can become a justification to relapse. Drinking non-alcoholic beers is also a sign that someone in recovery hasn’t truly embraced a new way of life. They are still clinging to old behaviors, and true sobriety is a completely new start.

Non-Alcoholic Beer: Is it a relapse?

The decision to drink non-alcoholic beer in recovery is a personal one. There are dangers for doing so, so a person needs to carefully examine his or her motives for drinking non-alcoholic beer. Drinking non-alcoholic beer may not be a relapse, but it is certainly relapse behavior.

Non-Alcoholic Beer: What’s the alternative?

There are plenty of alternatives to drinking non-alcoholic beer such as every other beverage in existence that does not contain alcohol. Some people get sick of carbonated drinks when they are in a social setting that includes alcohol. This may be because they are drinking soft drinks in the same way they would drink a beer. There’s no need to drink these soft drinks quickly, and if you get a stomachache, you can switch to water, juice, or tea.

Source:

http://alcoholrehab.com/alcohol-rehab/non-alcoholic-or-low-alcohol-beers-for-people-in-recovery/