Several years into her sobriety, Logan Denzer decided to try nonalcoholic beer and mocktails while others around her drank real booze.
“A lot of people feel out of place” when everyone else is imbibing, said the 27-year-old from Los Angeles, who considers these beverages “an excellent solution.”
Millions of Americans agree — including others recovering from addiction, people trying to cut down on their drinking and the rising number of young adults forgoing alcohol altogether.
They’ve fueled a booming industry. Recent research shows that drinking less, or nothing at all, is a much healthier way to go. Alcohol has been linked to cancers, injuries and a host of other problems.
Still, health experts say nonalcoholic beverages aren’t for everyone, especially if they might trigger cravings for alcohol. These so-called NA drinks are meant to mimic alcohol in many ways, such as appearance, smell and taste.
“It’s important to recognize that these are probably not one-size-fits-all products,” said researcher Molly Bowdring of Stanford University. “You might see peers or friends or family members use them and have no problem with them, but it really comes back to your own individual experience.”
‘Zebra striping’ helps cut back on booze
Retail sales of nonalcoholic wine, beer and spirits surged to $823 million last year. That's according to market research firm NielsenIQ, which says more than nine in 10 NA customers also buy alcohol.
“They’re wanting to not necessarily drink during the week, or they’re wanting to switch out at a particular occasion,” said Marcos Salazar of the Adult Non-Alcoholic Beverage Association. “So they may have an alcoholic beverage and then an adult nonalcoholic beverage. That’s called zebra striping ... and it kind of extends the night.”
Retiree Ann Kopp Mitchell, who recently tasted various NA beverages at Monday Morning Bottle Shop in San Diego, does a version of this.
“If I want a glass of wine with my dinner, I don’t feel guilty. I can enjoy that glass of wine. And if I wanna have a spirit because we’re celebrating someone’s birthday, or champagne, I will do that. But I’ll only have one, and then let it go, and then maybe go to a nonalcoholic," she said. “It’s a way of continuing with that social pattern of drinking that I enjoy.”
While a typical beer has about 5% alcohol by volume, NA drinks are only allowed to have up to 0.5%, about the same as a ripe banana. People sometimes pick them when they don’t want to be intoxicated, like before exercise or driving.
More mocktails on the menu is a positive health trend — but watch the sugar
An online survey Bowdring conducted with colleagues found that the vast majority of people who drink both beverages say NA drinks help them reduce their alcohol use.
That makes their growing popularity a positive trend overall, said Dr. Joseph Lee, CEO of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, an addiction treatment and advocacy organization.
“More and more when I go to restaurants, mocktails are just offered, like they’re on the menu and it’s just part of the norm now,” said Lee, an expert in psychiatry and addiction medicine. “Those are really healthy things to see on a broader public health level.”
But there is a catch: Some drinks, like mocktails made with soda and sweet syrups, have high levels of sugar. The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugars to no more than about six teaspoons a day for women and nine teaspoons a day for men. A 12-ounce can of soda on its own contains 10 teaspoons.
Who should be wary of NA beverages?
The picture gets murkier for people with drinking problems.
Those entering treatment for alcohol use disorder say they've had mixed success using NA beverages to reduce or stop their drinking, Bowdring said.
"They do contain a lot of the alcohol-related cues,” she said. “Because they are so similar to alcohol, it could be that they actually trigger craving for full strength alcohol and may lead people to revert to alcohol use.”
When Denzer first got sober seven years ago, she and her friends avoided drinking NA beverages.
“We were pretty opposed to it because we were like, ‘Well, this tastes like beer and we’re a year sober, and so we’re going to associate that taste with actual alcohol,’" said Denzer, who was treated at Hazelden Betty Ford. “As time went on, we became more open to it.”
But it's not for everyone, she said, "particularly for people who are either newer in recovery or who are on shaky ground.”
Experts agreed that NA drinks are more appropriate for those further along in recovery.
“Everyone’s journey is going to be a little bit different,” Bowdring said. “I encourage folks to just sort of be aware of how these drinks are impacting them.”
That’s the bottom line, even for those who aren't dealing with alcoholism.
You should have “an honest appraisal, without judgment, about your own health risk in much the same way that most people can look at their family history and gauge their risk for everything from diabetes to breast cancer,” Lee said. “What it comes down to is: You really need to know yourself.”
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Video journalist Javier Arciga contributed to this story from San Diego.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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