O’douls In Recovery: Is It Okay To Drink Non-Alcoholic Beer?

Giving up alcohol is not an easy task. For people who are hooked into this substance, it can be a daunting process to just stop drinking altogether. Even people who have undergone rehab can find it difficult to avoid temptations and maintain their sobriety. The taste, smell, and the overall lifestyle associated with alcohol drinking can be very hard to get away from.

This is where non-alcoholic beer comes in. There are many different brands of non-alcoholic beverages but one of the more popular non-alcoholic beverages today is the brand O’douls.  Since it mimics beer without the buzz, many people in recovery question whether this is a good substitute when trying to quit. Of course, there are contrasting opinions until now whether it is actually helping or worsening the recovery process.

What is O’douls?

O’douls is a malt beverage that has a rich taste and aroma of real beer. Because of this, it is often referred to as “near beer”. O’douls, however, only contains 0.4% alcohol so it falls under the non-alcoholic beverage category under the law which states that any beverage with under 0.5% alcohol is considered non-alcoholic.

The look and feel of O’douls imitates a real alcoholic beer. If you are in a bar, it would look like your drinking a regular beer instead of a non-alcoholic one. Because of the beer-like taste, drinking O’douls could make you believe that you’re not really missing out by shunning an alcoholic drink. This makes it popular with people who are cutting down on their alcohol consumption and for designated drivers.

Can I get drunk from O’douls?

Many people who drink O’douls do not realize that this drink actually contains alcohol. Some people who learn this fact tend to freak out because they think what they’re drinking is alcohol-free. However, there’s really no need to panic because a couple of bottles of O’douls will not really affect you blood alcohol levels.The low alcohol percentage in an O’douls beverage and other non-alcoholic beer will not make you drunk. This is the reality.

When you drink O’douls and other non-alcoholic drinks, the small alcohol amount will be processed by your body immediately, almost at the same moment you drink it. This means it will not really go into your blood and your brain to make you feel intoxicated. In fact, according to one experiment, you would have to drink more than 50 bottles of O’douls within 60 minutes for you to be considered legally drunk. So, unless you’re binge drinking or playing an O’douls drinking game, the possibility of getting drunk is slim to none.

So, if you can’t get drunk from drinking O’douls, why do some people discourage alcoholics in recovery from enjoying this drink?

Can you drink O’douls in recovery?

For someone who is a casual alcohol drinker, drinking O’douls as a substitute for real beer can be a good thing. This means you can enjoy the taste of beer and the social aspects attached to it without getting the harmful side effects of alcohol. However, for someone who was an alcoholic trying to quit drinking beer, it might not be that helpful in the long run.

When you go to a rehabilitation facility to pursue sobriety, one of the first steps is to detox from all the harmful substances that you are abusing. The goal is for you to gradually develop healthier habits in order to continue being sober even outside the treatment center. The reason why many recovery experts discourage people in recovery from drinking O’douls and other non-alcoholic beer is because there is a possibility that this could become a gateway for them to relapse.

If you are in recovery and you start drinking O’douls after a long while of not drinking any kind of beer, it could remind you of the taste, the aroma, and all the things that made you addicted to beer in the first place. While drinking it once or twice in order to avoid drinking alcohol may seem like a good idea, drinking it regularly could develop into another beer-drinking habit. Because it is an alcoholic drink, you won’t feel the same effects which may push you either to drink more of it or seek out an alcoholic beverage like your favorite craft beer. It could make you think that one beer won’t hurt. This is how relapse usually starts.

In essence, drinking non-alcoholic beverages while in recovery is discouraged not really because there is a miniscule amount of alcohol in it. O’douls is not likely to give you alcohol poisoning but the risk is that drinking O’douls can be habit-forming and can trigger a relapse.

Instead of going for non-alcoholic beer, it may be better to eliminate beer even if it’s non-alcoholic from your lifestyle. Consider drinking healthier choices like water, coconut water, dairy, and fresh juices. If you are in a bar, go for sparkling water or iced tea instead.

If you are struggling with alcohol addiction, contact Anaheim Lighthouse today to learn more about how we can be of help.