Australian Olympic volleyball star Mariafe Artacho del Solar rarely drinks alcohol because she feels ‘comfortable’ in her own skin and has ‘just as much fun without it’.
The right-side defender, 27, who won a silver medal with partner, Taliqua Clancy, 29, at the Tokyo games in August, says she has never been a big drinker and can count on one hand the number she has in a year.
‘Personally I’ve just never really found the enjoyment. I don’t mind having one or two every now and then, but I don’t need it for confidence,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
The super-fit athlete, who moved from Peru to Sydney’s beachside suburb of Manly when she was 11 years old, may not be partial to a tipple, but there are two guilty pleasures she finds hard to resist.
Australian Olympic volleyball star Mariafe Artacho del Solar (pictured) rarely drinks alcohol because she feels ‘comfortable’ in her own skin and has ‘just as much fun without it’
The super-fit athlete (pictured) may not be partial to a tipple, but there are two guilty pleasures she finds hard to resist: chips and salted caramel ice cream
‘I live a very healthy lifestyle so I do tend to love all the “boring” foods like green vegetables, but I have a weakness for chips and salted caramel ice cream,’ she said.
Artacho del Solar is an intuitive eater, shunning strict diets in favour of fuelling herself with slow releasing, nutritious snacks whenever she feels hungry.
‘I think it’s so important to listen to your body. I feel like if you ignore it and don’t allow yourself to indulge every so often, it’s worse,’ she said.
Fresh from their silver medal win at Shiokaze Park in Tokyo two months ago, Artacho del Solar and partner Clancy are already back on the sand with their sights set on Paris 2024.
‘We had a nice break straight after quarantine, but we’re back training now, taking it slow with just one session a day,’ the Peruvian-born star explained.
The right-side defender, 27, says she has never been a big drinker and can count on one hand the number she has in a year
Fresh from their silver medal win in Tokyo two months ago, the Peruvian-born athlete (left) and partner Taliqua Clancy (right) are already back on the sand with their sights set on Paris 2024
She feels blessed to play alongside the talented left-side blocker who she also counts as a close friend.
‘We have a unique chemistry that makes our partnership really special, you don’t find it very often,’ she said.
‘I think we’re aligned as a team and as individuals. It’s awesome to be able to share all of it with her.’
Artacho del Solar keeps herself in peak physical condition by eating a diet built on fresh, wholefoods and keeping her sugar intake to a minimum.
‘My body is my temple, it’s my career so I have to be cautious,’ she said.
At gala events and on nights out with friends, Artacho del Solar opts for alcohol-free alternatives such as the sugar-free mocktails from Melbourne brand, Naked Life, which contain just five calories per can.
Artacho del Solar (pictured) keeps herself in peak physical condition by eating a diet built on fresh, wholefoods and keeping her sugar intake to a minimum
The Australian beach volleyball stars (pictured) are already back in training after their silver medal win
‘The odd time I do drink, it’s a sugary cocktail. I love these because they taste the same with next to none of the calories, plus they look like alcohol,’ she said.
The brand which has just released 11 new flavours, including Australia’s first non-alcoholic ‘amber spirit’ inspired by rum and bourbon mixed drinks.
The range also includes a non-alcoholic margarita, negroni, Italian spritz, gin and tonic, and Canadian rye dry and lime, with packs of four selling for $15.
Nutritionist Dani Guy called the drinks a ‘great option for anyone on the hunt for alternatives to sugary alcoholic cocktails, without compromising on taste’.
Naked Life founder David Andrew says that’s exactly what they are intended to be.
‘We saw the growing trend of sober-curious people, with more people redefining their moments coming out of lockdown and demanding more alcohol-free options than ever before,’ he said.
‘We sought to fill that need in a way that didn’t compromise the taste of a cocktail unlike others in the market.’
READ RELATED: Vitamin B12 deficiency: Has your overall mood changed? Low levels could be a symptom
Instead of carb-laden beer or wine, Artacho del Solar opts for alcohol-free alternatives like sugar-free mocktails from Melbourne brand, Naked Life (pictured)
Made with natural botanical ingredients, the range took more than a year to develop, with food scientists going so far as to create a burning sensation in some of the flavours to mimic the experience of drinking alcohol.
Artacho del Solar is just one of dozens of high-profile Australians promoting the benefits of being (almost) teetotal.
While many are rapt to return to the pub after gruelling lockdowns in NSW and Victoria, almost two million Australians are now living an alcohol-free lifestyle.
Recent figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveal more than a quarter of Australians (28.9 per cent) are mostly abstaining from alcohol, while a further 9.5 per cent are drinking less than they were this time last year.
The number of ex-drinkers in Australia is estimated to have risen from 1.5million to 1.9million over the past four years.
This growing sober scene is largely fuelled by hordes of Instagram influencers including fitness mogul Kayla Itsines, 30, who says she hasn’t touched a drop since the age of 19.
Kayla Itsines (pictured) has been famously teetotal since the age of 19 after having nothing but negative experiences with hangovers and sickness
The hospitality industry is taking note, with the nation’s first-ever non-alcoholic bar Brunswick Aces opening its doors in Melbourne on May 1, pouring a menu of more than 100 alcohol-free beers, wines and cocktails to teetotal punters.
But while many coped with lockdown by turning away from the bottle, more than 18 months of restrictions has sent a worrying number of Australians into a spiral of heavy drinking.
Household alcohol spending skyrocketed across Australia after coronavirus turned normality on its head, with Aussies dropping a staggering $2billion more than usual on booze last year.
Drinkers spent an average of $1,891 per household on alcohol in 2020 – an increase of $270 on the 2019 total, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show.
The alarming trend worsened in the winter of 2020 when Melbourne’s five million residents were forced into a type of protective custody during the world’s harshest lockdown which lasted more than four months.
Victoria’s alcohol services experienced a surge in demand as locked-down residents turned to the bottle, with a survey from the Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association revealing alcohol featured either ‘a lot more’ or ‘a bit more’ as a drug of concern.
Bingeing is already taking a toll on the nation’s health.
A revolutionary health calculator developed by AIA Vitality recently claimed Australians are ageing a staggering nine years faster than they should be.
The free five-minute test gives an alarming insight into the true ‘health age’ of Australians by analysing the answers to a range of behavioural questions about diet, exercise and most importantly, alcohol consumption.
A 2019 study funded by St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne found excess alcohol consumption causes more harm to Australians’ physical and mental wellbeing than any drug, surpassing both crystal methamphetamine (ice) and heroin.
Source:
