September 19, 2025 • 40 mins
Chrissy and Katie are back with their most honest episode yet - a candid conversation about alcohol from two cousins who openly admit they know very little about drinking! With Katie's last drink being in June and Chrissy having maybe one or two glasses of wine per month, they bring you a refreshingly research-based (rather than experience-based) discussion on alcohol and health.
From biblical wine at Jesus' first miracle to Paul's advice to Timothy about using wine for stomach troubles, they explore what Scripture actually says about alcohol consumption. But don't worry - they also dive into the modern health implications, including why the US Surgeon General is now recommending cancer warning labels on alcoholic beverages and why that trendy "glass of wine a day" advice from the 80s has been debunked.
Whether you're sober curious, an occasional drinker, or just want to make more informed choices, this episode offers a balanced, biblical perspective on alcohol without any judgment or pretense of expertise.
Random Revelation of the Week: Oregano oil outperforms amoxicillin in killing bacteria according to a high school science fair project (that's been getting major recognition).
Helpful Links & Products Mentioned
Health Information Sources:
- US Surgeon General's Advisory (January 2025) - Recommended cancer warning labels for alcohol
- RFK Jr. Health Initiatives - Redesigning the food pyramid and addressing alcohol labeling
- Cancer Risk Research - Links between alcohol and breast, colorectal, and liver cancers
Alcohol Alternatives & Mocktails:
- Spindrift Sparkling Water - No natural flavors, real fruit juice
- Available at Costco and Amazon for bulk purchases
- Recommended flavors: Fuji Apple, Guava, and the pink can variety
- Arnold Palmer - Unsweetened tea and lemonade combination
- Hot Toddy - Traditional remedy with bourbon and tea (mentioned for historical context)
- Sparkling Water with Lime/Lemon - Classic mocktail option
Remember: This episode is from two self-proclaimed non-experts sharing research-based information. Always make decisions that align with your personal health needs, family situation, and spiritual convictions.
Connect With Us:
Join Our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/crunchychristianmama
Follow us on Instagram @crunchystewardship
FREE How to Afford Non-Toxic Living Workbook: https://crunchystewardship.com/how-to-afford-non-toxic-living
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Katie (00:00):
Hello, and welcome to Crunchy Stewardship.
My name is Katie Fiola Jones
Chrissy (00:05):
And my name is Chrissy Rombach.
We are two cousins who arepassionate about learning and
sharing knowledge to equipothers to steward their
spiritual, mental, emotional,financial, and physical health
in order to honor God in everyaspect of their lives.
Katie (00:20):
In our podcast, we take deep dives into what it means to
steward our lives as Godoriginally intended for us with
the resources that he has givenus.
We look at topics like food,medicine, finances.
Mental health and lots morethrough a natural lens and with
a biblical foundation.
Chrissy (00:38):
A few weeks ago, we introduced a new segment into
our podcast called RandomRevelations.
This is a time period where oneof us will reveal a random
revelation that may or may notbe related to our week's topic
that we just thought wasinteresting.
So, Katie, what was your randomrevelation this week?
Katie (01:00):
Yeah, so I have been going down some more rabbit
holes about essential oils.
I know, I think we actuallytalked maybe about some last
week or the week before that,and I've just been more and more
curious about it.
And I actually stumbled onanother interesting fact about
essential oils that I actuallyreally am curious to try out.
(01:21):
But I found out that oregano oildoes a better job killing
bacteria than amoxicillin, whichis an antibiotic for those who
aren't familiar.
But, um, yeah, I, I stumbledupon it on some random Facebook
post about a study from a highschooler.
(01:42):
Um, he's a freshman and he dida.
a high school science fairproject, and he discovered in
his project that oreganooutperforms amoxicillin in
killing bacteria.
And so with just one drop oforegano oil, you can actually
kill a hundred percent.
Of the bacteria that he wastesting and, and this,
(02:03):
apparently this study that hedid, um, through his Science
fair project has been gettinglike a ton of recognition
because people are like, oh mygosh, this kid discovered this
thing.
And it's like, no, actuallywe've known this for a long
time, but does that really helpbig pharma sell things like
amoxicillin or does it do quitethe opposite?
(02:26):
So because oregano oil, while,buying just a small thing of
oregano oil is kind ofexpensive, like per ounce.
If you're like looking at itfrom that kind of cost
perspective, um, it's, it'sexpensive, but it's also.
Less harmful to your body.
So it's, it's healthier, it'snatural, and it's not killing
(02:49):
all of the, like,
Good.
bacteria from, from my understanding, it's like it
kills just the bad stuff, Iguess.
Um, I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know all the specifics,but I ran across that and so I
looked it up a little bit moreand they make like special
oregano oils that are kind ofmeant for like.
You know, cold and flu seasonwhen you, when all the germs and
(03:09):
bacteria and stuff are goingaround.
And so I actually ordered somethat I wanna keep on hand
because a lot of people arelike, yeah, it's really great to
do during cold and flu season.
And I read that people oftenwill add like a drop or two and
make kind of like a, an elixirkind of drink and do like a flu
(03:33):
season drink to help you getthrough that and, and not get
sick.
Or when you are sick you cantake it and then it kills off
all the bad stuff so that youdon't get sick.
Um, so yeah, I thought it waskind of interesting and I'm
like, I would totally do thatversus doing some more
antibiotics'cause I've gone downthat route and I don't need to
(03:54):
kill off all my good bacteriasanymore.
So there you go.
That is my random revelation forthe week.
Chrissy (04:04):
I love that that was what it was so funny'cause I'm
actually looking into usingessential oils to combat a
little bit of mold that I havegrowing in my shower stall.
Um.
I just noticed it starting and Iwas like, I don't wanna use
bleach, and so I did find arecipe that is oregano oil,
(04:26):
rosemary oil, and clove oiltogether to combat mold.
So stay tuned.
I have to buy all three ofthose, which is a pretty penny,
but as soon as I get all ofthem, I will use them and we'll
see how it works.
But Anyways, onto today'sepisode, we are not talking
(04:48):
about essential oils, but we aretalking about a different form
of disinfectant.
One that Paul told Timothy touse to ease his hurting tummy at
one point in the Bible.
Um, we are talking about alcoholnow.
Um, Katie and I are not alcoholconnoisseurs.
(05:10):
We don't really drink all thatmuch.
Uh, Katie, when was the lasttime you actually had a drink of
alcohol?
Katie (05:20):
Yeah, good question.
The last time I actually had adrink of alcohol, um, currently
was June 21st, 2025.
And that's actually a quite along time.
Um, it is currently thebeginning of September as we are
recording this.
And it's probably like, I'venever actually paid attention
(05:44):
to, like time in between drinksand stuff.
Again, Chrissy said that both ofus are not big drinkers.
So I, Wes and I, Wes actuallydoes not drink any alcohol.
He's never had alcohol, ever,um, like literally ever.
And so we just don't really keepalcohol in the house because.
I, it just kind of feels weirdsometimes drinking by myself.
(06:06):
So we just don't really keep itaround.
And I primarily drink when I'mlike out with some girlfriends
or with family or something likethat.
I don't really like, I, I'm,it's not that I abstain from
alcohol completely, but I don'tdrink it a lot.
And it's not that I payattention, but the reason why I
(06:26):
have paid attention to this iskind of decided that I'm like
giving up alcohol.
Not like officially, not likeI'm totally abstaining or
anything, but kind of trying tosee how long I can go without
drinking any, and it's like justsomething in my head that I've
kind of decided I wanted to try.
Kind of like we talked about inour, our coffee episode that I
(06:49):
would like to try to eliminatecoffee if possible, and like
caffeine, because I, I oftenfind that when I'm listening to
health professionals talk ontheir podcast that some of the
main things that they avoid orthat they recommend people avoid
for longevity, especially likeif you're really looking to
stay, like keep your body intiptop shape long term.
(07:13):
Those are the two that I oftenfind people saying are like,
things like seed oils and stufflike that, like a lot of the
toxins, but like something that.
Most of us partake in or ca likecaffeine and alcohol and I don't
know, it's just like somethingthat I'm like, for me, the
alcohol is much easier'cause I,again, I already don't drink a
(07:33):
lot, so now I'm kind of like,what if I just totally give it
up?
I don't know.
Um, it's been interesting.
So the few I, I've have actuallyvery few occasions where I'm
presented with alcohol.
It's actually primarily at myparents' house when I go visit
them.
Um, they usually have wine andstuff, but my parents, they've
also been like weaning downtheir alcohol.
(07:54):
And so I mean, oftentimes whenwe come over, they don't even
offer it to us either.
And actually, funny enough, thelast drink of alcohol was at my
dad's birthday party, he, turned70 and we had a big party and my
sister and I had a decent amountto drink.
I mean, again, decent amount waslike maybe two glasses of wine
(08:17):
for me was like a decent amount,but I don't know.
Anyway, that was kind of a longspiel, but Chrissy when was the
last time you had something todrink an alcoholic beverage.
Chrissy (08:29):
I don't remember the exact day, but it was probably
like Mid-August maybe.
So two to three weeks ago, itwas on a date night Max and I
were out.
For a nice, lovely dinner and Ihad a glass of wine with dinner
Katie (08:42):
Yeah.
Chrissy (08:42):
and it was nice.
I enjoyed it.
That's usually the context thatI'll have a drink is out to
dinner.
Uh, like a really nice dinnerper se, not just like going to
Chubby's tacos, you know,
Katie (08:55):
yep.
Chrissy (08:56):
Um, so those are usually the contexts where I'll
have a drink, but, um, yeah,that's mine.
But I would say I probably havemaybe one or two glasses a month
of wine.
Usually if it's not wine, thenit's like a Twisted Tea or
(09:16):
something when I'm visiting myparents, because that's the new
hype at their house, iseverybody's obsessed with
Twisted Tea at my parents'house.
Katie (09:23):
That is really funny.
I don't even know what that is.
What is Twisted Tea?
Chrissy (09:28):
Oh, it's literally like a sweet tea with alcohol in it,
Katie (09:32):
I guess I could
Chrissy (09:32):
and sometimes
Katie (09:33):
that.
Chrissy (09:33):
so imagine.
Imagine Arizona green tea with ashot of rum
Katie (09:41):
Oh, okay.
Chrissy (09:42):
and there you go.
Katie (09:43):
I would, I would enjoy
Chrissy (09:43):
So,
Katie (09:44):
I were there, I would be like, yeah, I'll have one I I
like,
Chrissy (09:47):
but it comes in a can.
Katie (09:48):
I usually, oh really?
Chrissy (09:51):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Like you buy it?
Katie (09:52):
maid, like you make it at home.
Chrissy (09:54):
No, no.
Katie (09:56):
so it's like actually like a brand.
Chrissy (09:58):
This just shows how much Katie knows alcohol we
have.
Katie (10:01):
gosh.
Nothing.
It's so funny, my, so my sister,uh, during college was a
bartender and then now she is inlike the hospitality industry,
works at a, you know, fancyhotel and often runs their bar
and makes drinks and, and workswith food and beverage and
stuff.
And so she is very, very wellversed all the beverages in, in
(10:25):
general, but just very muchknows her alcohol, knows like
what to pair things with allthis stuff.
And she'll say things and theyliterally, I mean just like
this, this was like a classiclike moment for me of just like
anything alcohol.
All relating just like goes overmy head.
But it's even like worse for Wesbecause again, he just doesn't
drink.
So someone will say somethingand he, like, someone will name
(10:48):
like, oh, the other day,literally, okay, I'm, I'm kind
of calling him out.
He doesn't listen to thispodcast, but now people will
know that this was really funny.
Someone said something aboutJack Daniels and Wes was like,
who's that?
And it was just so funny becauseI'm like.
Oh, babe.
No, it's not really like a who.
It's a what, because that'slike, don't even know actually.
(11:09):
Is that rum or is that I don't,I see.
I, I know it's at least alcohol.
Chrissy (11:13):
I think it's whiskey.
Katie (11:16):
We obviously don't know what we're talking about on this
podcast, and it's kind
Chrissy (11:21):
So we are giving ourselves a lot of credibility
at this point in regards toalcohol.
So with that, our repertoire ofknowledge that we have in
regards to alcohol is not reallyfrom a personal experience.
It is more so from aneducational learning experience
(11:45):
that we have gone down therabbit trails of.
Intentionally learning aboutalcohol and learning about how
it interacts with our body, andthat's where we're getting most
of our information here.
Not from college fun weekends,and not from sneaking it in high
school.
(12:07):
But we have listened to multiplepodcasts and, uh, read a few
research articles about.
Alcohol, and so that's where theinformation is coming from.
Katie (12:20):
Yeah, actually, I mean, it's quite interesting even when
you look at it from kind of likea biblical perspective, wine is
obviously talked about in theBible.
Many times, and people love tobring that up.
Um, in fact, Jesus' firstmiracle that he performed like
his first recorded miracle washim turning water into wine.
And so people love bringing thatlike miracle up of like, okay,
(12:44):
obviously Jesus loves a goodparty and that he loves his wine
and because he provided thiswine for this wedding and all
this stuff.
Chrissy (12:55):
Personal opinion, I don't think Jesus created all
that wine because he loves agood party.
I think he did that for the sakeof the wedding hosts that so
that they wouldn't get likeoutcasted from the city for
running out of wine because thatwas a thing in that time period.
(13:16):
So I think he did that actuallyto protect them.
And to care for them and less sobecause he wanted a good party,
but that's just my 2 cents.
Katie (13:27):
No, I, I would agree with you is that it was much more
cultural in that sense.
And the way that I've heardabout it with the wine, and I
don't know how much this istrue, someone, if, if someone
knows more about this, you canlet me know.
But I've heard that wine backthen was more along the lines of
(13:48):
like a vinegar, kind of likefermented drink.
And so it's not to the potencyor the strength that we have
today.
So the, the kind of wine thatJesus was probably drinking was,
I would even like kombucha.
I, I don't know a lot aboutkombucha, but kombucha is also
(14:09):
like a fermented drink and itcan have like enough
fermentation that it's likealcoholic that you, you know,
they have to label it as havinga certain percentage of alcohol
in it.
And so would probably venture toguess that maybe their wine was
almost like more on the kombuchaside.
As far as fermentation, I'vebeen learning a lot more about
(14:31):
fermenting things in general andthat their benefits and stuff.
I mean, Chrissy, you mentionedthe whole like tummy stuff and
fermented foods and drinks areso good for your gut bacteria
especially.
So I have been making so manyfermented foods.
I made sauerkraut just this pastweek, but I've made like some
(14:54):
fermented ginger carrots and,um, pickled green beans and
pickled uh.
What are they jalapenos?
The jalapenos were not formyself, they were way too spicy,
but they're for west for sure.
But just things like that.
Or like drinks, like kefir andeven yogurts, like all these
things are fermented and youeven think about like sourdough
is a fermented like bread, andso all these things are good for
(15:18):
your gut bacteria.
But now I feel like we havegotten to a point where we've
fermented things almost like tooheavily where like.
There's like that potency in thealcohol that you can easily get
intoxicated off of.
So I mean, obviously they couldhave, because they did warn
about it in the Bible, so it'slike their fermented drinks and
(15:40):
stuff obviously could have ledto that, but
Chrissy (15:43):
So I would guess that maybe their level of alcohol in
their beverages was probablyalong the levels of a beer.
Maybe like 5% alcohol.
'cause it, I can,
Katie (15:54):
makes
Chrissy (15:54):
be willing to bet it's really hard to get drunk off of
kombucha.
Um, but Jesus do does warn like,do not be drunk with wine.
You know, stay alert, bevigilant.
And so, yeah.
But also maybe not as strong aslike a hunter proof, you know,
But nonetheless, strong enoughto create drunkenness.
And that is one thing that, um,with this conversation about
(16:16):
alcohol, we are going to gothrough like benefits of alcohol
because crazy enough, like thereare some health benefits that
some naturopathic practitionersdo agree that are beneficial
from alcohol, but in no meansare we condoning drunkenness
(16:38):
because that is a sin and, oncethe consumption of alcohol gets
to the point of drunkenness,that is when you have gone
completely beyond the healthbenefits of it.
There is no health benefits ofdrunkenness and there is no
social benefits of drunkenness.
Um, so that's not what we aregetting at.
But we are getting at like trulythe health benefits of alcohol
(16:59):
in the context of when Paultells Timothy, put a little bit
of wine in your water to helpwith your upset stomach.
You know, that is the kind ofthing that we're talking about
of like.
Uh, nowadays we have the drinkthat's called, that's a hot
toddie that Max always wants togive me when I have an upset
stomach.
Um, where you put a little bitof, um, bourbon into, I don't
(17:24):
even know what it is.
He always makes it for me.
But either way, the idea is,
Katie (17:29):
a
Chrissy (17:29):
huh?
Katie (17:30):
some tea.
I've, I've
Chrissy (17:31):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Katie (17:32):
but I don't know much more than that.
Chrissy (17:36):
So the idea is to have just enough to like make
yourself feel better.
Um, and there are some healthbenefits.
Even red wine even has someantioxidants in it, just from
the grape skins themselves.
Um, so that's also interesting.
But all in all, alcohol inmoderation.
It's never good to have too muchof it.
Katie (17:55):
Now, so it is interesting because yeah, like they alcohol,
can have some benefits.
The one interesting thing that Iheard recently, and I actually,
I, I probably should have lookedit up and maybe while you're
sitting there, Chrissy, and I'msaying this, you could look it
up, but I heard from a friendthat someone, I don't remember
(18:16):
who official was saying thatthey are going to start needing
to like label alcoholicbeverages as, um, carcinogenic.
Does that sound familiar to you?
Or, I so.
Chrissy (18:30):
Definitely
sounds like
something RFK would say.
Katie (18:33):
Yeah, and this was actually when I heard this, I, I
think it was pre RFK beingcommissioned.
I heard that they're gonna haveto start putting warning labels
on like wine and beer and sayinglike, this thing causes cancer.
Kind of like they do oncigarettes.
So I don't know the specifics,but I would at least.
(18:57):
In my mind, I feel like thatkind of lines up with some of
the other things I've heard,just in the sense of like a lot
of health professionals saylike, you really should stay
away from it and, anyway.
Chrissy (19:10):
So According to my quick Google search in regards
to that, it says quote unquote,alcohol is not currently
required to have a cancerwarning label in the United
States.
Though US Surgeon General'sadvisory was issued in January
of 2025 recommending such labelsdue to research linking alcohol
to cancers like breast,colorectal, and liver cancer,
(19:34):
which makes a lot of sense,especially in the liver cancer
section because, uh, the liveris the part of the body that
filters through all of thealcohol.
And so if you overload the liverwith all of the toxins from the
alcohol.
It's gonna stop working and um,yeah, it's where you get cancer
from.
It's when your cells stopworking.
(19:56):
So.
Katie (19:56):
Yeah.
So I don't know.
I think that.
I will just continue this hiatusfrom alcohol again.
Like when I, when I had thatdrink, it wasn't like I told
myself, this is the last one I'mever gonna have.
I just kind of, I didn't have,like, I wasn't offered alcohol
for a long time.
(20:17):
And then.
I don't know.
It just kind of came to my headafter like listening to a
podcast or something and I waslike, maybe I could just decide
that I'm not going to drinkanymore.
And, and I feel like it'sactually kind of becoming a
little bit more normal,actually.
Like normalized to not drink.
I feel like.
Uh, and maybe I, I don't know ifthis is me getting older and now
(20:39):
I'm like, it doesn't matter whatpeople think or if it actually
is kind of becoming more trendyto do like mocktails and things
like that.
But I just, I, that's kind ofwhat I feel like I'm sensing
from the general public is like,Hey, it's okay.
It's kind of cool even to saythat you're sober.
I don't know.
Chrissy (21:00):
We'll, think about it this way.
Back in, what was it?
The eighties doctors recommendedthat a glass of wine.
A day was very beneficial for aperson's health to prevent
cancer and promote longevity andthings like that.
But as research has shown,they've discovered that a glass
a day really is not beneficialfor health.
(21:22):
And so even coming from doctors,like in medical field, doctors
have a lot of respect and theycontrol a lot of what people
purchase at grocery stores andwhat people consume.
And so when doctors startedsaying like, Hey, actually
alcohol is not all that good foryou like we thought it was, the
(21:45):
consumption of alcohol hastrended downwards since that
narrative has been changed fromalcohol's.
Good for you.
You should have one glass a day.
To alcohol's actually not thatgood for you.
You shouldn't drink very much atall, if any.
And so I think because doctorscontrol so much of consumption
(22:06):
of, food and beverages, that'sprobably where the trendiness
came from is, or at least whereit started, and then it kinda
caught on and became a thing.
Katie (22:17):
Well, and speaking of that, I actually just heard an
announcement that was made byRFK and his team that they are
going to be like redesigning thewhole food pyramid because the
food pyramid itself was kind ofdesigned.
In order to sell certain things,in order to sell certain foods,
(22:41):
and it was made with an agendain mind and that a lot of it
actually is not really exactlywhat is healthy as far as like
quantities and things like thatto be eating.
And so it, it's quite.
Interesting to me, especiallythrough this like lens of almost
more conspiracy theories becauseyou start to like look at it
(23:04):
with your eyes more open as tolike, maybe the food pyramid
isn't necessarily for mybenefit, but it's more to the
benefit of these companies thatare trying to sell stuff to you.
Um, I actually, I have to goback and redact a comment from
one of our podcast episodes ofsomething that I said.
I think it was the whole like,how much of stuff you should be
(23:27):
eating, what are those called?
The macro nutrients.
Chrissy (23:32):
Macronutrients.
You said the fist is the proteinand the hand is the carbs and
the thumb is the fat?
Katie (23:40):
Yeah.
And I think it's actually theopposite.
I think it's the, the hand hasto be protein and then the fist.
Why don't you correct me theother day?
You're shaking your
Chrissy (23:49):
That's a good question.
I very much Might have editedthat out actually.
Katie (23:53):
so funny.
No, I don't think you didbecause I re-listened to it and
I was
Chrissy (23:56):
Okay.
Katie (23:56):
huh, I think I said that wrong.
But anyway, you heard it herefirst.
We get things wrong people, andthat is okay that we obviously
do not claim to be the expertsin any sense with this stuff.
But, um, yeah, I, well, all thatbeing said is that.
The food pyramid actually hasit, like, if you remember the
food pyramid from our childhoodsor depending on who you're
(24:19):
listening, who, what age you arewhen you're listening.
Maybe it was when you were ayoung
Chrissy (24:23):
Or the myplate.gov.
Katie (24:26):
Yes.
Oh my gosh.
And they show like having lotsand lots of carbs and, and it
also really depends on whereyour carbohydrates come from
because obviously carbs fromfruits and vegetables are very
different from like cereal.
And I think that was just likeone of those things that.
They were like, you, need tonsof bread and then you need some
(24:47):
fruits and veggies and someprotein.
And then, you know, they havethe sweets on top and it's the
only, the only thing they reallygot right was having like very
moderate amount of sweets.
But even at that, like honestly,if you wanna be, like, if you're
really going for like ultimatehealth, you just don't do sugar
at all.
Like just don't do like thewhite refined sugars like that
(25:08):
is like those are really bad foryou.
And we've kind of talked aboutthat before and how they like
that can cause cancer.
Chrissy (25:15):
So speaking of sugar, alcohol is a very large
contributor to sugar intake.
There's especially, um, beer hasa lot of carbohydrates.
That's where people get thatbeer belly from is the lots of
intake of carbohydrates fromthat.
(25:35):
In addition to the carbonation,that's, that also kind of causes
the inflammation there.
Um, and then wine also has a lotof calories.
You know, um, it's, it'simportant to think about alcohol
not just as it's ABV, but moreso as like.
(25:57):
What it truly is, like how manycarbohydrates are in it, how
much protein is in it, if any.
Um, what are the otheringredients that are in this
alcohol that make it flavorful?
Like where does it get itsflavor from?
If you get cherry flavoredvodka, okay, are they putting
sugar in that vodka?
(26:18):
Are they putting natural flavorsin it?
Is it artificial flavoring?
Um, or even just thinking oflike seltzers.
If you have the little trulys,you know, a lot of those trulys
have natural and artificialflavors in them, and so those
are very important to keep aneye out for because,
manufacturers can hide otheringredients in their alcoholic
(26:41):
beverages.
Katie (26:42):
Well, and now, and this was another thing that I
remembered from an episode froma while ago, and it was
something that I'm like, oh mygosh, I didn't even consider
this before, here I am trying tolike now switch over to all
organic produce and fruits andveggies and all, all the stuff,
right?
(27:03):
Trying to switch organic.
And I never even considered thefact that, yeah, like your wine
and beer can be organic or nottoo, because it depends on where
they're getting.
Uh.
You think about the wine madefrom grapes, were those grapes
sprayed or not?
Because now if they're using thenon-organic versions the
(27:24):
conventionally grown ones, thenyou also have glyphosate or at
least some sort of pesticide orherbicide or fungicide or some
something in there.
So now it's like double whammyof.
Not very good stuff at all.
So, I feel like alcohol is atouchy subject a lot of people.
(27:50):
Because, and I, I guess a lot ofthe stuff that we talk about,
food and drinks and yourlifestyle habits, like all of it
is kind of touchy and can.
Push buttons.
I mean, there's, everyone'sgonna have that one thing where
you're like, oh, that's an easyswitch.
Like for me, getting rid ofalcohol, like no big deal.
(28:11):
Like whatever, I, I caneliminate it and it's not going
to impact my life at all.
And a lot of the people that wehang out with in general don't
really drink.
And so us not drinking is not abig social factor at all.
And so, but I can imagine thatin many situations, um.
(28:33):
Getting rid of it or even havingthis conversation, like even
thinking about potentiallyreducing or eliminating alcohol
from your life might be a weirdthing just depending on what
your relationship is with it.
Um, it, it is a very socialthing I feel like a lot of
people have been trained tothink that.
(28:56):
When you show up to a party, youhave to have alcohol.
Or when you show up to awedding, you have to have
alcohol or where whenever you'rewith certain people that you
have to have alcohol either tohave a good time either to get
through the event because ofmaybe.
Relationship statuses with otherpeople and you feel like you're
(29:17):
not gonna be able to handle itwithout having a drink or
something.
Because don't know, we've justbeen like programmed to think
that alcohol is this sociallubricant and I can definitely
attest.
There are moments where I'mlike, oh wow.
It definitely helps take theedge off of whatever situation
that you are in or helps youfeel more lighthearted.
(29:38):
But then at that point you'rekind of like, is this.
Is any of this real?
I don't know, because now I'mkind of being influenced to feel
certain ways or act certainways.
Chrissy (29:50):
At that point though, it more so acts as something to
take the guard down so that youcan be more naturally yourself
after one drink.
You know, it's after multipledrinks is when it starts really
influencing how you act andchanging the way that you would
act naturally.
But the one drink, I would argueactually enhances the way you
(30:14):
would act naturally because itdoes, cloud our judgment and
our.
Logic processing part of thebrain.
And so because of that, ourfilter kind of goes away a
little bit.
After one drink, it's notcompletely gone.
The filter is still definitelythere.
We can still make soundjudgments, but after one drink,
(30:36):
it's just the, the filter hasbeen removed ever so slightly,
and so a person can feel alittle bit more relaxed and
less.
Hard on themselves and liketheir true self can come out a
little bit more, um, which canbe very beneficial for improving
conversation and improvingrelationships.
(30:57):
Once it gets beyond that though,that's when it becomes a
problem.
Katie (31:01):
Do you think that it's can you say that?
I, I don't know.
I think I have a hard time withthat.
Thinking that you would needsome sort of intervention in
order to.
Be more yourself.
I don't know.
Does that make sense?
Like it just seems like, again,it's that mentality of, oh, I
(31:23):
need this drink in order to bethis person, or I don't know.
Like I sometimes I have a hardtime with that because like,
again, Wes my husband has neverhad a drink of alcohol in his
life.
And so you're like, I don'tknow.
I'm like, now I'm thinking aboutit.
Kind of funny.
Like, has he ever been his moreof his true self?
(31:45):
Which I don't, I can't even likeget through saying that without
laughing.
'cause I'm like, I don't know.
I couldn't, like at this pointnow it's been, been together for
coming on, what, 11 years?
Or is it 10 years?
10 or 11 years.
Somewhere around there.
That on it kind of like botheredme a little bit that he like
(32:06):
didn't drink.
'cause I'm like, oh, come on.
Like everybody drinks.
And like, then again here I'msaying this and it sounds like
peer pressure to like go drinkalcohol.
But he just always stood hisground and was just like, Nope.
Like I just, I feel called notto have any alcohol.
And it was never like a holierthan thou thing or it just, it
was just like, I just don't wantto drink it.
And I've seen what it's done toother people and I just.
(32:30):
really feel like I need that.
And know, like now thinkingabout him drinking is kind of
like to me because he's neverhad any alcohol that I'm like, I
couldn't even imagine himactually having a drink of
anything.
Um, but anyway, my point islike, it just sounds, it, it
sounds strange to me saying youneed some sort of intervention
(32:52):
in order to be you, I don'tknow.
Do.
Do you see where I'm going atleast?
Chrissy (32:59):
yeah, I see what you're trying to say.
I think where I'm going is itdecreases the amount of like
self-consciousness, you knowwhat I mean?
Like if somebody's veryself-conscious, they're going to
guard their words and theiractions a little bit more, which
(33:19):
is not their true self.
And so.
With one drink of alcohol, itdecreases that
self-consciousness and so themore natural self comes out.
So that, that's kind of what I'mtrying to get at.
Katie (33:34):
I will say this is a totally new, like this is, I
heard it.
Someone.
was like, Hey, you shouldn'thave any more alcohol in order
to like take the edge off kindof like that in order for you to
like feel more relaxed and, youknow, alcohol is not good for
your system, blah, blah, blah,whatever.
And their suggestion was ifyou're looking for something
(33:55):
more natural replace that with,to consider CBD.
And I don't know enough aboutCBD or anything, but for me, I
like, I was like, oh yeah, wellI don't, I don't know if I would
ever do anything like that.
This was not someone telling meto do this.
This was someone postingsomething about it on somewhere.
(34:16):
I don't even remember where, butI heard that and I was like,
that's kind of an interestingthought.
But anyway, I don't know.
Chrissy (34:25):
Yeah, I have heard that about CBD.
I know I have some familymember.
We have some family members whouse CBD and they speak very
highly of it.
They very much enjoy it.
Um, but I've never tried itbefore, so can't really speak
(34:45):
much anecdotal evidenceregarding.
CBD Another thing that I'veheard about that I have not
tried and so cannot attest to iskava.
It's spelled KAVA.
It is a root that people often,um, you can like put into a
drink, like a tea sort of thing.
(35:06):
And it does have similar effectsto alcohol of like, um.
Kind of taking the edge off ofthings, creating a more relaxed
state.
I have some mixed reviews onwhether or not it's addictive,
'cause alcohol is addictiveobviously.
Um, I've heard from scienceypeople that kava is not
(35:29):
addictive, but I have taken careof two patients in the two and a
half years that I've been anurse, I've taken care of two
patients who are withdrawingfrom kava.
So I don't actually know if it'saddictive or not, because I hear
through studies that it's not.
But then I see that it is,unless these people are really
(35:51):
withdrawing from something elseand they're just saying it's
Kava.
But that is also a realpossibility.
But anyways.
So Katie, if you were to be in asituation where people were
around you and everybody washaving a drink of something
alcoholic, but you did not wantto have an alcoholic beverage,
(36:12):
what would be your go-tomocktail so to say, or
non-alcoholic beverage that youwould have to still fit in with
the crowd?
Katie (36:22):
feel like right now, I mean all the time, I really like
any kind of sparkling water and.
Preferably my favorite actuallyis Spindrift And Spindrift is
awesome because it doesn't havenatural flavors in it to flavor
water and it's really good.
(36:44):
And they have literally some ofthe best flavors that I've
tasted in any sparkling waterkind of thing.
We found out, so they do sellthem at Costco, but we found out
that they have some better dealsfor bulk.
Like drinks, like packages ofthem on Amazon.
And so I don't know if it's likeall the time, but at least the
(37:07):
other day when we ordered abunch, had a better deal for
them on Amazon.
So we ordered like bulk of somelike a Fuji apple and this like
guava.
It was basically like a reallyawesome tropical drink.
And then there's like a, a pinkcan is something else really
good too.
Anyway, they are so deliciousand That is my go-to kind of
(37:28):
fun, fancy drink if other peopleare drinking And honestly, if
there are other sparkling watersand they have natural flavors in
them, that's, that's typicallymy choice of drink.
Um, when I'm going out to.
You know, parties or whatever.
Oftentimes I feel like peopleare offering those as an
(37:49):
alternative, which is greatbecause both Wes and I really
like them.
So yeah, that's, that's probablyour typical go-to Do you have
like a go-to drink or something?
Chrissy (38:00):
Yeah, so I am one of those weird special individuals
who does not actually enjoysparkling water.
Usually if I'm having sparklingwater, it's either because
there's no other options and I'mthirsty, or I'm just in a really
weird mood.
Katie (38:20):
funny.
Chrissy (38:21):
So with that, if I were to be out.
Say like at a restaurant or abar sort of scene, and a lot of
other people are drinking, but Ididn't wanna drink.
If I'm in the mood, I might geta sparkling water with lime or
lemon.
(38:42):
Um, which sometimes thoseenvironments make me feel like I
wanna sparkling water becauseit's similar to alcohol.
I don't even know.
Um.
But yeah, so I would do that orif I was just in like at my
parents' house or something likethat, I would potentially make
(39:04):
myself an Arnold Palmer of likeunsweet tea and lemonade
combination, and then put alittle lemon on top and then it
looks.
You know, honestly, just put alittle lemon wedge on the corner
of your drink if it'scarbonated, has a lemon wedge.
It automatically looks like acocktail, so there you go.
Katie (39:23):
It's like fancy.
Chrissy (39:24):
So I know this episode was.
A little short and also notincredibly informative, but I
hope that you guys took awaysomething from it, whether it
be, um, advice that Paul gaveTimothy, or, uh, commands that
Jesus gave us in regards toalcohol or even just alcohol.
(39:47):
Alternatives.
Um, whatever it is, I hopeyou're walking away with
something.
Uh, just know that we are verythankful for all of you who
listen to our podcast.
Make sure you go and subscribeto our podcast.
Leave us a five star rating thatis super helpful for helping
other people find it in thefuture.
(40:08):
And if you haven't already doneso.
Make sure you also, go join usover in our Facebook group,
Crunchy Christian Mamas on aBudget where we can continue
this conversation with peoplewho maybe know a little bit more
about alcohol than we do,because we don't really have
very much personal experiencewith it.
(40:28):
So anyways, with that, my nameis Chrissy.
Katie (40:32):
Katie.
Chrissy (40:34):
And thanks for listening to Crunchy
Stewardship.
Katie (40:36):
Hi.
Hello, and welcome to Crunchy Stewardship.
My name is Katie Fiola Jones
Chrissy (00:05):
And my name is Chrissy Rombach.
We are two cousins who arepassionate about learning and
sharing knowledge to equipothers to steward their
spiritual, mental, emotional,financial, and physical health
in order to honor God in everyaspect of their lives.
Katie (00:20):
In our podcast, we take deep dives into what it means to
steward our lives as Godoriginally intended for us with
the resources that he has givenus.
We look at topics like food,medicine, finances.
Mental health and lots morethrough a natural lens and with
a biblical foundation.
Chrissy (00:38):
A few weeks ago, we introduced a new segment into
our podcast called RandomRevelations.
This is a time period where oneof us will reveal a random
revelation that may or may notbe related to our week's topic
that we just thought wasinteresting.
So, Katie, what was your randomrevelation this week?
Katie (01:00):
Yeah, so I have been going down some more rabbit
holes about essential oils.
I know, I think we actuallytalked maybe about some last
week or the week before that,and I've just been more and more
curious about it.
And I actually stumbled onanother interesting fact about
essential oils that I actuallyreally am curious to try out.
(01:21):
But I found out that oregano oildoes a better job killing
bacteria than amoxicillin, whichis an antibiotic for those who
aren't familiar.
But, um, yeah, I, I stumbledupon it on some random Facebook
post about a study from a highschooler.
(01:42):
Um, he's a freshman and he dida.
a high school science fairproject, and he discovered in
his project that oreganooutperforms amoxicillin in
killing bacteria.
And so with just one drop oforegano oil, you can actually
kill a hundred percent.
Of the bacteria that he wastesting and, and this,
(02:03):
apparently this study that hedid, um, through his Science
fair project has been gettinglike a ton of recognition
because people are like, oh mygosh, this kid discovered this
thing.
And it's like, no, actuallywe've known this for a long
time, but does that really helpbig pharma sell things like
amoxicillin or does it do quitethe opposite?
(02:26):
So because oregano oil, while,buying just a small thing of
oregano oil is kind ofexpensive, like per ounce.
If you're like looking at itfrom that kind of cost
perspective, um, it's, it'sexpensive, but it's also.
Less harmful to your body.
So it's, it's healthier, it'snatural, and it's not killing
(02:49):
all of the, like,
Good.
bacteria from, from my understanding, it's like it
kills just the bad stuff, Iguess.
Um, I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know all the specifics,but I ran across that and so I
looked it up a little bit moreand they make like special
oregano oils that are kind ofmeant for like.
You know, cold and flu seasonwhen you, when all the germs and
(03:09):
bacteria and stuff are goingaround.
And so I actually ordered somethat I wanna keep on hand
because a lot of people arelike, yeah, it's really great to
do during cold and flu season.
And I read that people oftenwill add like a drop or two and
make kind of like a, an elixirkind of drink and do like a flu
(03:33):
season drink to help you getthrough that and, and not get
sick.
Or when you are sick you cantake it and then it kills off
all the bad stuff so that youdon't get sick.
Um, so yeah, I thought it waskind of interesting and I'm
like, I would totally do thatversus doing some more
antibiotics'cause I've gone downthat route and I don't need to
(03:54):
kill off all my good bacteriasanymore.
So there you go.
That is my random revelation forthe week.
Chrissy (04:04):
I love that that was what it was so funny'cause I'm
actually looking into usingessential oils to combat a
little bit of mold that I havegrowing in my shower stall.
Um.
I just noticed it starting and Iwas like, I don't wanna use
bleach, and so I did find arecipe that is oregano oil,
(04:26):
rosemary oil, and clove oiltogether to combat mold.
So stay tuned.
I have to buy all three ofthose, which is a pretty penny,
but as soon as I get all ofthem, I will use them and we'll
see how it works.
But Anyways, onto today'sepisode, we are not talking
(04:48):
about essential oils, but we aretalking about a different form
of disinfectant.
One that Paul told Timothy touse to ease his hurting tummy at
one point in the Bible.
Um, we are talking about alcoholnow.
Um, Katie and I are not alcoholconnoisseurs.
(05:10):
We don't really drink all thatmuch.
Uh, Katie, when was the lasttime you actually had a drink of
alcohol?
Katie (05:20):
Yeah, good question.
The last time I actually had adrink of alcohol, um, currently
was June 21st, 2025.
And that's actually a quite along time.
Um, it is currently thebeginning of September as we are
recording this.
And it's probably like, I'venever actually paid attention
(05:44):
to, like time in between drinksand stuff.
Again, Chrissy said that both ofus are not big drinkers.
So I, Wes and I, Wes actuallydoes not drink any alcohol.
He's never had alcohol, ever,um, like literally ever.
And so we just don't really keepalcohol in the house because.
I, it just kind of feels weirdsometimes drinking by myself.
(06:06):
So we just don't really keep itaround.
And I primarily drink when I'mlike out with some girlfriends
or with family or something likethat.
I don't really like, I, I'm,it's not that I abstain from
alcohol completely, but I don'tdrink it a lot.
And it's not that I payattention, but the reason why I
(06:26):
have paid attention to this iskind of decided that I'm like
giving up alcohol.
Not like officially, not likeI'm totally abstaining or
anything, but kind of trying tosee how long I can go without
drinking any, and it's like justsomething in my head that I've
kind of decided I wanted to try.
Kind of like we talked about inour, our coffee episode that I
(06:49):
would like to try to eliminatecoffee if possible, and like
caffeine, because I, I oftenfind that when I'm listening to
health professionals talk ontheir podcast that some of the
main things that they avoid orthat they recommend people avoid
for longevity, especially likeif you're really looking to
stay, like keep your body intiptop shape long term.
(07:13):
Those are the two that I oftenfind people saying are like,
things like seed oils and stufflike that, like a lot of the
toxins, but like something that.
Most of us partake in or ca likecaffeine and alcohol and I don't
know, it's just like somethingthat I'm like, for me, the
alcohol is much easier'cause I,again, I already don't drink a
(07:33):
lot, so now I'm kind of like,what if I just totally give it
up?
I don't know.
Um, it's been interesting.
So the few I, I've have actuallyvery few occasions where I'm
presented with alcohol.
It's actually primarily at myparents' house when I go visit
them.
Um, they usually have wine andstuff, but my parents, they've
also been like weaning downtheir alcohol.
(07:54):
And so I mean, oftentimes whenwe come over, they don't even
offer it to us either.
And actually, funny enough, thelast drink of alcohol was at my
dad's birthday party, he, turned70 and we had a big party and my
sister and I had a decent amountto drink.
I mean, again, decent amount waslike maybe two glasses of wine
(08:17):
for me was like a decent amount,but I don't know.
Anyway, that was kind of a longspiel, but Chrissy when was the
last time you had something todrink an alcoholic beverage.
Chrissy (08:29):
I don't remember the exact day, but it was probably
like Mid-August maybe.
So two to three weeks ago, itwas on a date night Max and I
were out.
For a nice, lovely dinner and Ihad a glass of wine with dinner
Katie (08:42):
Yeah.
Chrissy (08:42):
and it was nice.
I enjoyed it.
That's usually the context thatI'll have a drink is out to
dinner.
Uh, like a really nice dinnerper se, not just like going to
Chubby's tacos, you know,
Katie (08:55):
yep.
Chrissy (08:56):
Um, so those are usually the contexts where I'll
have a drink, but, um, yeah,that's mine.
But I would say I probably havemaybe one or two glasses a month
of wine.
Usually if it's not wine, thenit's like a Twisted Tea or
(09:16):
something when I'm visiting myparents, because that's the new
hype at their house, iseverybody's obsessed with
Twisted Tea at my parents'house.
Katie (09:23):
That is really funny.
I don't even know what that is.
What is Twisted Tea?
Chrissy (09:28):
Oh, it's literally like a sweet tea with alcohol in it,
Katie (09:32):
I guess I could
Chrissy (09:32):
and sometimes
Katie (09:33):
that.
Chrissy (09:33):
so imagine.
Imagine Arizona green tea with ashot of rum
Katie (09:41):
Oh, okay.
Chrissy (09:42):
and there you go.
Katie (09:43):
I would, I would enjoy
Chrissy (09:43):
So,
Katie (09:44):
I were there, I would be like, yeah, I'll have one I I
like,
Chrissy (09:47):
but it comes in a can.
Katie (09:48):
I usually, oh really?
Chrissy (09:51):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Like you buy it?
Katie (09:52):
maid, like you make it at home.
Chrissy (09:54):
No, no.
Katie (09:56):
so it's like actually like a brand.
Chrissy (09:58):
This just shows how much Katie knows alcohol we
have.
Katie (10:01):
gosh.
Nothing.
It's so funny, my, so my sister,uh, during college was a
bartender and then now she is inlike the hospitality industry,
works at a, you know, fancyhotel and often runs their bar
and makes drinks and, and workswith food and beverage and
stuff.
And so she is very, very wellversed all the beverages in, in
(10:25):
general, but just very muchknows her alcohol, knows like
what to pair things with allthis stuff.
And she'll say things and theyliterally, I mean just like
this, this was like a classiclike moment for me of just like
anything alcohol.
All relating just like goes overmy head.
But it's even like worse for Wesbecause again, he just doesn't
drink.
So someone will say somethingand he, like, someone will name
(10:48):
like, oh, the other day,literally, okay, I'm, I'm kind
of calling him out.
He doesn't listen to thispodcast, but now people will
know that this was really funny.
Someone said something aboutJack Daniels and Wes was like,
who's that?
And it was just so funny becauseI'm like.
Oh, babe.
No, it's not really like a who.
It's a what, because that'slike, don't even know actually.
(11:09):
Is that rum or is that I don't,I see.
I, I know it's at least alcohol.
Chrissy (11:13):
I think it's whiskey.
Katie (11:16):
We obviously don't know what we're talking about on this
podcast, and it's kind
Chrissy (11:21):
So we are giving ourselves a lot of credibility
at this point in regards toalcohol.
So with that, our repertoire ofknowledge that we have in
regards to alcohol is not reallyfrom a personal experience.
It is more so from aneducational learning experience
(11:45):
that we have gone down therabbit trails of.
Intentionally learning aboutalcohol and learning about how
it interacts with our body, andthat's where we're getting most
of our information here.
Not from college fun weekends,and not from sneaking it in high
school.
(12:07):
But we have listened to multiplepodcasts and, uh, read a few
research articles about.
Alcohol, and so that's where theinformation is coming from.
Katie (12:20):
Yeah, actually, I mean, it's quite interesting even when
you look at it from kind of likea biblical perspective, wine is
obviously talked about in theBible.
Many times, and people love tobring that up.
Um, in fact, Jesus' firstmiracle that he performed like
his first recorded miracle washim turning water into wine.
And so people love bringing thatlike miracle up of like, okay,
(12:44):
obviously Jesus loves a goodparty and that he loves his wine
and because he provided thiswine for this wedding and all
this stuff.
Chrissy (12:55):
Personal opinion, I don't think Jesus created all
that wine because he loves agood party.
I think he did that for the sakeof the wedding hosts that so
that they wouldn't get likeoutcasted from the city for
running out of wine because thatwas a thing in that time period.
(13:16):
So I think he did that actuallyto protect them.
And to care for them and less sobecause he wanted a good party,
but that's just my 2 cents.
Katie (13:27):
No, I, I would agree with you is that it was much more
cultural in that sense.
And the way that I've heardabout it with the wine, and I
don't know how much this istrue, someone, if, if someone
knows more about this, you canlet me know.
But I've heard that wine backthen was more along the lines of
(13:48):
like a vinegar, kind of likefermented drink.
And so it's not to the potencyor the strength that we have
today.
So the, the kind of wine thatJesus was probably drinking was,
I would even like kombucha.
I, I don't know a lot aboutkombucha, but kombucha is also
(14:09):
like a fermented drink and itcan have like enough
fermentation that it's likealcoholic that you, you know,
they have to label it as havinga certain percentage of alcohol
in it.
And so would probably venture toguess that maybe their wine was
almost like more on the kombuchaside.
As far as fermentation, I'vebeen learning a lot more about
(14:31):
fermenting things in general andthat their benefits and stuff.
I mean, Chrissy, you mentionedthe whole like tummy stuff and
fermented foods and drinks areso good for your gut bacteria
especially.
So I have been making so manyfermented foods.
I made sauerkraut just this pastweek, but I've made like some
(14:54):
fermented ginger carrots and,um, pickled green beans and
pickled uh.
What are they jalapenos?
The jalapenos were not formyself, they were way too spicy,
but they're for west for sure.
But just things like that.
Or like drinks, like kefir andeven yogurts, like all these
things are fermented and youeven think about like sourdough
is a fermented like bread, andso all these things are good for
(15:18):
your gut bacteria.
But now I feel like we havegotten to a point where we've
fermented things almost like tooheavily where like.
There's like that potency in thealcohol that you can easily get
intoxicated off of.
So I mean, obviously they couldhave, because they did warn
about it in the Bible, so it'slike their fermented drinks and
(15:40):
stuff obviously could have ledto that, but
Chrissy (15:43):
So I would guess that maybe their level of alcohol in
their beverages was probablyalong the levels of a beer.
Maybe like 5% alcohol.
'cause it, I can,
Katie (15:54):
makes
Chrissy (15:54):
be willing to bet it's really hard to get drunk off of
kombucha.
Um, but Jesus do does warn like,do not be drunk with wine.
You know, stay alert, bevigilant.
And so, yeah.
But also maybe not as strong aslike a hunter proof, you know,
But nonetheless, strong enoughto create drunkenness.
And that is one thing that, um,with this conversation about
(16:16):
alcohol, we are going to gothrough like benefits of alcohol
because crazy enough, like thereare some health benefits that
some naturopathic practitionersdo agree that are beneficial
from alcohol, but in no meansare we condoning drunkenness
(16:38):
because that is a sin and, oncethe consumption of alcohol gets
to the point of drunkenness,that is when you have gone
completely beyond the healthbenefits of it.
There is no health benefits ofdrunkenness and there is no
social benefits of drunkenness.
Um, so that's not what we aregetting at.
But we are getting at like trulythe health benefits of alcohol
(16:59):
in the context of when Paultells Timothy, put a little bit
of wine in your water to helpwith your upset stomach.
You know, that is the kind ofthing that we're talking about
of like.
Uh, nowadays we have the drinkthat's called, that's a hot
toddie that Max always wants togive me when I have an upset
stomach.
Um, where you put a little bitof, um, bourbon into, I don't
(17:24):
even know what it is.
He always makes it for me.
But either way, the idea is,
Katie (17:29):
a
Chrissy (17:29):
huh?
Katie (17:30):
some tea.
I've, I've
Chrissy (17:31):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Katie (17:32):
but I don't know much more than that.
Chrissy (17:36):
So the idea is to have just enough to like make
yourself feel better.
Um, and there are some healthbenefits.
Even red wine even has someantioxidants in it, just from
the grape skins themselves.
Um, so that's also interesting.
But all in all, alcohol inmoderation.
It's never good to have too muchof it.
Katie (17:55):
Now, so it is interesting because yeah, like they alcohol,
can have some benefits.
The one interesting thing that Iheard recently, and I actually,
I, I probably should have lookedit up and maybe while you're
sitting there, Chrissy, and I'msaying this, you could look it
up, but I heard from a friendthat someone, I don't remember
(18:16):
who official was saying thatthey are going to start needing
to like label alcoholicbeverages as, um, carcinogenic.
Does that sound familiar to you?
Or, I so.
Chrissy (18:30):
Definitely
sounds like
something RFK would say.
Katie (18:33):
Yeah, and this was actually when I heard this, I, I
think it was pre RFK beingcommissioned.
I heard that they're gonna haveto start putting warning labels
on like wine and beer and sayinglike, this thing causes cancer.
Kind of like they do oncigarettes.
So I don't know the specifics,but I would at least.
(18:57):
In my mind, I feel like thatkind of lines up with some of
the other things I've heard,just in the sense of like a lot
of health professionals saylike, you really should stay
away from it and, anyway.
Chrissy (19:10):
So According to my quick Google search in regards
to that, it says quote unquote,alcohol is not currently
required to have a cancerwarning label in the United
States.
Though US Surgeon General'sadvisory was issued in January
of 2025 recommending such labelsdue to research linking alcohol
to cancers like breast,colorectal, and liver cancer,
(19:34):
which makes a lot of sense,especially in the liver cancer
section because, uh, the liveris the part of the body that
filters through all of thealcohol.
And so if you overload the liverwith all of the toxins from the
alcohol.
It's gonna stop working and um,yeah, it's where you get cancer
from.
It's when your cells stopworking.
(19:56):
So.
Katie (19:56):
Yeah.
So I don't know.
I think that.
I will just continue this hiatusfrom alcohol again.
Like when I, when I had thatdrink, it wasn't like I told
myself, this is the last one I'mever gonna have.
I just kind of, I didn't have,like, I wasn't offered alcohol
for a long time.
(20:17):
And then.
I don't know.
It just kind of came to my headafter like listening to a
podcast or something and I waslike, maybe I could just decide
that I'm not going to drinkanymore.
And, and I feel like it'sactually kind of becoming a
little bit more normal,actually.
Like normalized to not drink.
I feel like.
Uh, and maybe I, I don't know ifthis is me getting older and now
(20:39):
I'm like, it doesn't matter whatpeople think or if it actually
is kind of becoming more trendyto do like mocktails and things
like that.
But I just, I, that's kind ofwhat I feel like I'm sensing
from the general public is like,Hey, it's okay.
It's kind of cool even to saythat you're sober.
I don't know.
Chrissy (21:00):
We'll, think about it this way.
Back in, what was it?
The eighties doctors recommendedthat a glass of wine.
A day was very beneficial for aperson's health to prevent
cancer and promote longevity andthings like that.
But as research has shown,they've discovered that a glass
a day really is not beneficialfor health.
(21:22):
And so even coming from doctors,like in medical field, doctors
have a lot of respect and theycontrol a lot of what people
purchase at grocery stores andwhat people consume.
And so when doctors startedsaying like, Hey, actually
alcohol is not all that good foryou like we thought it was, the
(21:45):
consumption of alcohol hastrended downwards since that
narrative has been changed fromalcohol's.
Good for you.
You should have one glass a day.
To alcohol's actually not thatgood for you.
You shouldn't drink very much atall, if any.
And so I think because doctorscontrol so much of consumption
(22:06):
of, food and beverages, that'sprobably where the trendiness
came from is, or at least whereit started, and then it kinda
caught on and became a thing.
Katie (22:17):
Well, and speaking of that, I actually just heard an
announcement that was made byRFK and his team that they are
going to be like redesigning thewhole food pyramid because the
food pyramid itself was kind ofdesigned.
In order to sell certain things,in order to sell certain foods,
(22:41):
and it was made with an agendain mind and that a lot of it
actually is not really exactlywhat is healthy as far as like
quantities and things like thatto be eating.
And so it, it's quite.
Interesting to me, especiallythrough this like lens of almost
more conspiracy theories becauseyou start to like look at it
(23:04):
with your eyes more open as tolike, maybe the food pyramid
isn't necessarily for mybenefit, but it's more to the
benefit of these companies thatare trying to sell stuff to you.
Um, I actually, I have to goback and redact a comment from
one of our podcast episodes ofsomething that I said.
I think it was the whole like,how much of stuff you should be
(23:27):
eating, what are those called?
The macro nutrients.
Chrissy (23:32):
Macronutrients.
You said the fist is the proteinand the hand is the carbs and
the thumb is the fat?
Katie (23:40):
Yeah.
And I think it's actually theopposite.
I think it's the, the hand hasto be protein and then the fist.
Why don't you correct me theother day?
You're shaking your
Chrissy (23:49):
That's a good question.
I very much Might have editedthat out actually.
Katie (23:53):
so funny.
No, I don't think you didbecause I re-listened to it and
I was
Chrissy (23:56):
Okay.
Katie (23:56):
huh, I think I said that wrong.
But anyway, you heard it herefirst.
We get things wrong people, andthat is okay that we obviously
do not claim to be the expertsin any sense with this stuff.
But, um, yeah, I, well, all thatbeing said is that.
The food pyramid actually hasit, like, if you remember the
food pyramid from our childhoodsor depending on who you're
(24:19):
listening, who, what age you arewhen you're listening.
Maybe it was when you were ayoung
Chrissy (24:23):
Or the myplate.gov.
Katie (24:26):
Yes.
Oh my gosh.
And they show like having lotsand lots of carbs and, and it
also really depends on whereyour carbohydrates come from
because obviously carbs fromfruits and vegetables are very
different from like cereal.
And I think that was just likeone of those things that.
They were like, you, need tonsof bread and then you need some
(24:47):
fruits and veggies and someprotein.
And then, you know, they havethe sweets on top and it's the
only, the only thing they reallygot right was having like very
moderate amount of sweets.
But even at that, like honestly,if you wanna be, like, if you're
really going for like ultimatehealth, you just don't do sugar
at all.
Like just don't do like thewhite refined sugars like that
(25:08):
is like those are really bad foryou.
And we've kind of talked aboutthat before and how they like
that can cause cancer.
Chrissy (25:15):
So speaking of sugar, alcohol is a very large
contributor to sugar intake.
There's especially, um, beer hasa lot of carbohydrates.
That's where people get thatbeer belly from is the lots of
intake of carbohydrates fromthat.
(25:35):
In addition to the carbonation,that's, that also kind of causes
the inflammation there.
Um, and then wine also has a lotof calories.
You know, um, it's, it'simportant to think about alcohol
not just as it's ABV, but moreso as like.
(25:57):
What it truly is, like how manycarbohydrates are in it, how
much protein is in it, if any.
Um, what are the otheringredients that are in this
alcohol that make it flavorful?
Like where does it get itsflavor from?
If you get cherry flavoredvodka, okay, are they putting
sugar in that vodka?
(26:18):
Are they putting natural flavorsin it?
Is it artificial flavoring?
Um, or even just thinking oflike seltzers.
If you have the little trulys,you know, a lot of those trulys
have natural and artificialflavors in them, and so those
are very important to keep aneye out for because,
manufacturers can hide otheringredients in their alcoholic
(26:41):
beverages.
Katie (26:42):
Well, and now, and this was another thing that I
remembered from an episode froma while ago, and it was
something that I'm like, oh mygosh, I didn't even consider
this before, here I am trying tolike now switch over to all
organic produce and fruits andveggies and all, all the stuff,
right?
(27:03):
Trying to switch organic.
And I never even considered thefact that, yeah, like your wine
and beer can be organic or nottoo, because it depends on where
they're getting.
Uh.
You think about the wine madefrom grapes, were those grapes
sprayed or not?
Because now if they're using thenon-organic versions the
(27:24):
conventionally grown ones, thenyou also have glyphosate or at
least some sort of pesticide orherbicide or fungicide or some
something in there.
So now it's like double whammyof.
Not very good stuff at all.
So, I feel like alcohol is atouchy subject a lot of people.
(27:50):
Because, and I, I guess a lot ofthe stuff that we talk about,
food and drinks and yourlifestyle habits, like all of it
is kind of touchy and can.
Push buttons.
I mean, there's, everyone'sgonna have that one thing where
you're like, oh, that's an easyswitch.
Like for me, getting rid ofalcohol, like no big deal.
(28:11):
Like whatever, I, I caneliminate it and it's not going
to impact my life at all.
And a lot of the people that wehang out with in general don't
really drink.
And so us not drinking is not abig social factor at all.
And so, but I can imagine thatin many situations, um.
(28:33):
Getting rid of it or even havingthis conversation, like even
thinking about potentiallyreducing or eliminating alcohol
from your life might be a weirdthing just depending on what
your relationship is with it.
Um, it, it is a very socialthing I feel like a lot of
people have been trained tothink that.
(28:56):
When you show up to a party, youhave to have alcohol.
Or when you show up to awedding, you have to have
alcohol or where whenever you'rewith certain people that you
have to have alcohol either tohave a good time either to get
through the event because ofmaybe.
Relationship statuses with otherpeople and you feel like you're
(29:17):
not gonna be able to handle itwithout having a drink or
something.
Because don't know, we've justbeen like programmed to think
that alcohol is this sociallubricant and I can definitely
attest.
There are moments where I'mlike, oh wow.
It definitely helps take theedge off of whatever situation
that you are in or helps youfeel more lighthearted.
(29:38):
But then at that point you'rekind of like, is this.
Is any of this real?
I don't know, because now I'mkind of being influenced to feel
certain ways or act certainways.
Chrissy (29:50):
At that point though, it more so acts as something to
take the guard down so that youcan be more naturally yourself
after one drink.
You know, it's after multipledrinks is when it starts really
influencing how you act andchanging the way that you would
act naturally.
But the one drink, I would argueactually enhances the way you
(30:14):
would act naturally because itdoes, cloud our judgment and
our.
Logic processing part of thebrain.
And so because of that, ourfilter kind of goes away a
little bit.
After one drink, it's notcompletely gone.
The filter is still definitelythere.
We can still make soundjudgments, but after one drink,
(30:36):
it's just the, the filter hasbeen removed ever so slightly,
and so a person can feel alittle bit more relaxed and
less.
Hard on themselves and liketheir true self can come out a
little bit more, um, which canbe very beneficial for improving
conversation and improvingrelationships.
(30:57):
Once it gets beyond that though,that's when it becomes a
problem.
Katie (31:01):
Do you think that it's can you say that?
I, I don't know.
I think I have a hard time withthat.
Thinking that you would needsome sort of intervention in
order to.
Be more yourself.
I don't know.
Does that make sense?
Like it just seems like, again,it's that mentality of, oh, I
(31:23):
need this drink in order to bethis person, or I don't know.
Like I sometimes I have a hardtime with that because like,
again, Wes my husband has neverhad a drink of alcohol in his
life.
And so you're like, I don'tknow.
I'm like, now I'm thinking aboutit.
Kind of funny.
Like, has he ever been his moreof his true self?
(31:45):
Which I don't, I can't even likeget through saying that without
laughing.
'cause I'm like, I don't know.
I couldn't, like at this pointnow it's been, been together for
coming on, what, 11 years?
Or is it 10 years?
10 or 11 years.
Somewhere around there.
That on it kind of like botheredme a little bit that he like
(32:06):
didn't drink.
'cause I'm like, oh, come on.
Like everybody drinks.
And like, then again here I'msaying this and it sounds like
peer pressure to like go drinkalcohol.
But he just always stood hisground and was just like, Nope.
Like I just, I feel called notto have any alcohol.
And it was never like a holierthan thou thing or it just, it
was just like, I just don't wantto drink it.
And I've seen what it's done toother people and I just.
(32:30):
really feel like I need that.
And know, like now thinkingabout him drinking is kind of
like to me because he's neverhad any alcohol that I'm like, I
couldn't even imagine himactually having a drink of
anything.
Um, but anyway, my point islike, it just sounds, it, it
sounds strange to me saying youneed some sort of intervention
(32:52):
in order to be you, I don'tknow.
Do.
Do you see where I'm going atleast?
Chrissy (32:59):
yeah, I see what you're trying to say.
I think where I'm going is itdecreases the amount of like
self-consciousness, you knowwhat I mean?
Like if somebody's veryself-conscious, they're going to
guard their words and theiractions a little bit more, which
(33:19):
is not their true self.
And so.
With one drink of alcohol, itdecreases that
self-consciousness and so themore natural self comes out.
So that, that's kind of what I'mtrying to get at.
Katie (33:34):
I will say this is a totally new, like this is, I
heard it.
Someone.
was like, Hey, you shouldn'thave any more alcohol in order
to like take the edge off kindof like that in order for you to
like feel more relaxed and, youknow, alcohol is not good for
your system, blah, blah, blah,whatever.
And their suggestion was ifyou're looking for something
(33:55):
more natural replace that with,to consider CBD.
And I don't know enough aboutCBD or anything, but for me, I
like, I was like, oh yeah, wellI don't, I don't know if I would
ever do anything like that.
This was not someone telling meto do this.
This was someone postingsomething about it on somewhere.
(34:16):
I don't even remember where, butI heard that and I was like,
that's kind of an interestingthought.
But anyway, I don't know.
Chrissy (34:25):
Yeah, I have heard that about CBD.
I know I have some familymember.
We have some family members whouse CBD and they speak very
highly of it.
They very much enjoy it.
Um, but I've never tried itbefore, so can't really speak
(34:45):
much anecdotal evidenceregarding.
CBD Another thing that I'veheard about that I have not
tried and so cannot attest to iskava.
It's spelled KAVA.
It is a root that people often,um, you can like put into a
drink, like a tea sort of thing.
(35:06):
And it does have similar effectsto alcohol of like, um.
Kind of taking the edge off ofthings, creating a more relaxed
state.
I have some mixed reviews onwhether or not it's addictive,
'cause alcohol is addictiveobviously.
Um, I've heard from scienceypeople that kava is not
(35:29):
addictive, but I have taken careof two patients in the two and a
half years that I've been anurse, I've taken care of two
patients who are withdrawingfrom kava.
So I don't actually know if it'saddictive or not, because I hear
through studies that it's not.
But then I see that it is,unless these people are really
(35:51):
withdrawing from something elseand they're just saying it's
Kava.
But that is also a realpossibility.
But anyways.
So Katie, if you were to be in asituation where people were
around you and everybody washaving a drink of something
alcoholic, but you did not wantto have an alcoholic beverage,
(36:12):
what would be your go-tomocktail so to say, or
non-alcoholic beverage that youwould have to still fit in with
the crowd?
Katie (36:22):
feel like right now, I mean all the time, I really like
any kind of sparkling water and.
Preferably my favorite actuallyis Spindrift And Spindrift is
awesome because it doesn't havenatural flavors in it to flavor
water and it's really good.
(36:44):
And they have literally some ofthe best flavors that I've
tasted in any sparkling waterkind of thing.
We found out, so they do sellthem at Costco, but we found out
that they have some better dealsfor bulk.
Like drinks, like packages ofthem on Amazon.
And so I don't know if it's likeall the time, but at least the
(37:07):
other day when we ordered abunch, had a better deal for
them on Amazon.
So we ordered like bulk of somelike a Fuji apple and this like
guava.
It was basically like a reallyawesome tropical drink.
And then there's like a, a pinkcan is something else really
good too.
Anyway, they are so deliciousand That is my go-to kind of
(37:28):
fun, fancy drink if other peopleare drinking And honestly, if
there are other sparkling watersand they have natural flavors in
them, that's, that's typicallymy choice of drink.
Um, when I'm going out to.
You know, parties or whatever.
Oftentimes I feel like peopleare offering those as an
(37:49):
alternative, which is greatbecause both Wes and I really
like them.
So yeah, that's, that's probablyour typical go-to Do you have
like a go-to drink or something?
Chrissy (38:00):
Yeah, so I am one of those weird special individuals
who does not actually enjoysparkling water.
Usually if I'm having sparklingwater, it's either because
there's no other options and I'mthirsty, or I'm just in a really
weird mood.
Katie (38:20):
funny.
Chrissy (38:21):
So with that, if I were to be out.
Say like at a restaurant or abar sort of scene, and a lot of
other people are drinking, but Ididn't wanna drink.
If I'm in the mood, I might geta sparkling water with lime or
lemon.
(38:42):
Um, which sometimes thoseenvironments make me feel like I
wanna sparkling water becauseit's similar to alcohol.
I don't even know.
Um.
But yeah, so I would do that orif I was just in like at my
parents' house or something likethat, I would potentially make
(39:04):
myself an Arnold Palmer of likeunsweet tea and lemonade
combination, and then put alittle lemon on top and then it
looks.
You know, honestly, just put alittle lemon wedge on the corner
of your drink if it'scarbonated, has a lemon wedge.
It automatically looks like acocktail, so there you go.
Katie (39:23):
It's like fancy.
Chrissy (39:24):
So I know this episode was.
A little short and also notincredibly informative, but I
hope that you guys took awaysomething from it, whether it
be, um, advice that Paul gaveTimothy, or, uh, commands that
Jesus gave us in regards toalcohol or even just alcohol.
(39:47):
Alternatives.
Um, whatever it is, I hopeyou're walking away with
something.
Uh, just know that we are verythankful for all of you who
listen to our podcast.
Make sure you go and subscribeto our podcast.
Leave us a five star rating thatis super helpful for helping
other people find it in thefuture.
(40:08):
And if you haven't already doneso.
Make sure you also, go join usover in our Facebook group,
Crunchy Christian Mamas on aBudget where we can continue
this conversation with peoplewho maybe know a little bit more
about alcohol than we do,because we don't really have
very much personal experiencewith it.
(40:28):
So anyways, with that, my nameis Chrissy.
Katie (40:32):
Katie.
Chrissy (40:34):
And thanks for listening to Crunchy
Stewardship.
Katie (40:36):
Hi.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.