I just need to pick up my bottles of Seedlip, CleanCo, and Pentire to see they’re sugar-free, the latter boasting that its “distilled coastal botanicals” are free of artificial colors and flavors. Botivo’s sugar content, the label tells me, comes from its use of unpasteurized British honey. Once again, it is those nolo liqueurs that contain fruit aromas and therefore their sugars that you need to watch out for. The same goes for soft drinks and wines: one of the most conscientious is Thomson and Scott’s “Noughty” sparkling Chardonnay. The brand started life creating low-sugar “skinny” Prosecco and has carried that spirit into its nolo offering.
It’s also important to think about how you’re drinking, not just what. If you’re having a low-sugar nolo beer instead of a cola, likely to be a better choice as fizzy drinks can be high in sugar and caffeine. But if you are looking for a nolo drink instead of water? “It doesn’t compare,” says Hallett. “Water is always going to be the healthiest option. But who wants to drink water at the end of the day?
The key is change. “If you replace what you normally drink with a low-alcohol or no-alcohol option, that certainly reduces the risk of health problems that alcohol could cause,” says Peter Anderson, professor of substance use, policy and practice at the University from Newcastle. “But he needs to be a replacement. If you just add a non-alcoholic product to existing drinks, that doesn’t do anything.”
A study by the Social Market Foundation think tank in September 2020 found that 40 per cent of Britons drank nolo drinks in addition to their existing alcohol consumption.
Why turn on the tap to quench your thirst, when there’s a cold fizzy drink waiting in the fridge?
Hallett is similarly adamant about the need to change, having cut several beers a week and “a lot more” on weekends, to 2-3 a month. “It’s about replacing those times when I normally would have been drinking,” he says. “Part of that for me was that ritual at the end of the day…alcohol has a relaxing effect. But there are studies that show that non-alcoholic drinks can cause the same feeling. Your brain is waiting for the kind of reward that alcohol gives you, and then because the taste is the same, you get the same effect..”
One benefit of the slightly higher sugar and carb content, she adds, is that they can give you energy, which could be good if you’re working out. In fact, a study published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise in 2012 suggested that non-alcoholic beer could help our immune systems, as polyphenol compounds found in hops and grains have “strong anti-aging properties.” antioxidants, antipathogenic and anti-inflammatory”. ”. German non-alcoholic Erdinger beer is even marketed as “isotonic”: it contains electrolytes that can help the body rehydrate and are absorbed faster than water.
In social situations, Hallett advises alternating alcoholic beverages with nolo. “Maybe every second or third drink is non-alcoholic; you’re being sociable, but it’s not a case of getting drunk. When I’m not drinking, I still feel like people are asking questions, but if you have a nolo drink in your hand, it doesn’t provoke them.”
Not to mention the benefits the next morning, plus no hangover. “Heavy drinking has a strong association with mood swings, depression, anxiety, sleep changes and the way you relate to your family and friends – people get drunk and you end up arguing,” says Professor Anderson. . “If you drink less, all those things will improve.”
However, there are challenges. Professor Anderson cites price (almost on par with alcoholic equivalents) and lack of accessibility as barriers. In this, the UK lags behind European countries such as Spain, where nolo drinks hold prominent positions in supermarkets and 14 per cent of all beers consumed in the country are now non-alcoholic.
“The basic message is that all of us who drink would benefit from drinking less,” he adds. “In England, the group that really needs to get involved is the middle aged. They are causing the most problems and are the ones who could really benefit from the change.
“The savings on alcohol far outweigh any other potential consequences of calories, sugar or anything else.”
Tom Hallett’s Best Non-Alcoholic Beers
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