Some Resources for your Dry January
It's "Resolution Season"
Hi everyone!
I hope you all had a restful holiday, spent exactly however you intended to. I’ve loved watching so many of you make Ghia part of your celebrations throughout the last month. The party may be (almost) over, but in my world of non-alc beverages, January is our Super Bowl. In fact, I said I was taking the week off from Substack to focus on Dry January, but then figured why not send this to both. If you’re here, it might be relevant to you, too. This January, we’ve decided to do something that we rarely do: talk about alcohol.
When I started working on Ghia 5+ years ago, anyone brave enough to order a mocktail was assumed to be pregnant, to have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol, or accused of being a complete buzzkill. Truth is, we have been conditioned, for decades and with $2B of annual marketing dollars, to never question alcohol to be anything but the life of the party. Choosing not to drink meant sitting out on all of the fun.
Today, things are so different! To most, sobriety is a spectrum. The increase in supply of the past few years drove the demand for better alternatives for our social-lubricant, ritual, or even self-medication of choice. In a survey sent to Ghia customers last year, 85% identified as regular alcohol drinkers seeking moderation - not drinking is no longer for people who do not drink, and choosing not to drink can be aspirational in a lot of places. Last year, 30% of Americans observed Dry January, a number that is expected to increase again this year. It is the time of year with the least societal pressure to imbibe - even my father will likely stay off the sauce this upcoming month.
Perhaps the most famous piece of research on booze was a study conducted in the 90s about the benefits of a single daily glass of wine. It has sadly been long questioned and debunked! But it’s in the spirit of choice and intention, two words that guide a lot of our work every day, and in this special time of introspection (“resolution season”) that we wanted to share with you a few stats and materials that caught our attention this year. TLDR: No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health, but for us it’s about consuming more intentionally instead.
If you’re reading this, you’re likely familiar with Ghia - maybe you have been a customer since 2020, or are waiting for your first bottle to arrive to see what all the hype is about. Welcome, and thank you! If you’re trying to build little habits that will last, I can’t recommend a Ghia subscription enough (available within each of our product pages) - you’re locked in at the very best price forever, but you can edit or skip seamlessly, anytime, with a quick text message.
I hope you’ll enjoy this week of rest, and please share your findings with me – my inbox is always open!
Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year,
Melanie and the Ghia team
Some Resources our team enjoyed this year
Taylor Swift credited an alcohol free lifestyle to performing a 3 ½ hour show 60 times this year. Kidding, but relevant nonetheless.
Huberman Lab: What Alcohol Does To Your Body, Brain & Health, Andrew Huberman
Peter Attia: Alcohol, sleep, and stress: A self-fulfilling prophecy
Peter Attia + Arthur Brooks: The Science of Happiness. Not only alcohol related, but Ghia gets a major shoutout ;)
Scott Galloway: No Mercy/No Malice: Firewater
Holly Whitaker: Quit Like A Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol
Melissa Wood Tepperberg: Life With No Alcohol
Dr Amen: The Diary Of A CEO
Jay Shetty + Will Cole: Why Gut Health Is Impacting Your Brain Health & How To Stop Inflammation in Your Body
Jay Shetty + Tom Holland: How to Overcome Social Anxiety & Beneficial Life Lessons You Can Learn from Family. We love this one - so vulnerable and relatable!
Gabby Bernstein: How I’ve Stayed Sober For 18 Years
Joshua Gandee: No Proof
Amanda Eyre Ward: The Sober Lush: A Hedonist's Guide to Living a Decadent, Adventurous, Soulful Life--Alcohol Free