First stage of reintro: Alcohol?

[Aliawil]

Hi all. I am finishing my Whole30 next Friday and am feeling very stable right now, like i could do this forever. I want to incorporate it into my life after the reintroduction. I don't find myself missing much anymore. I was thinking of reintroducing alcohol next week on my first non-Whole30 day. I literally haven't thought about it since i started and prefer not drinking to drinking. My plan for next week is that I will eat "clean" the whole day and am planning on going out for a drink with my mom in the evening. I will probably limit myself to one or two glasses at most, just one if i start to feel crappy. Is this silly, to introduce it before all else? Also, what alcohol would you recommend that i have?

I sometimes have strange reactions to wine/beer - i get a rash on my face and break out in mild hives. My skin gets really hot. It's happened with a variety of alcohol and i've never been sure what causes it. I have a hunch it might be sulphites. So i can use next week's first drink to test this by drinking something that has sulphites... Is that wise you think? It's not a reaction i get all the time, just occasionally.

Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks!

[rhed]

Hi Aliawil! I'd recommend skipping beer for your alcohol reintro, because it also contains gluten, and you won't be able to tell what's causing whatever reaction you have. I'd also recommend sticking to just one glass/drink, because you don't know how you'll react. When I have my first alcoholic drink coming off a Whole 30, I always feel hungover the next day, even if I only had one. The crappy feeling may not set in immediately, and if you have a second glass, then you may just compound the problems the next day (if you have a bad reaction, anyway).

[emilyelowe]

The other thing to consider is the sorts of food choices you might want to make once you've had a second glass. After a Whole30, I am significantly more sensitive to alcohol and would definitely be tipsy after two drinks and tipsy leads to Taco Bell. No Bueno. 

I think the "safest," alcohol is probably cider because it's both gluten and sulphite-free (to my knowledge), but if it's not something you normally drink, then I'm sure wine is a good choice.