"I quit drinking at age 54": A complete record of "food and detox" that helped me achieve a drug-free body after 30 years of drinking every day

* This article was originally published in August 2025, but since 11 months have passed since I became sober, I have made some minor additions and revisions to the content and republished it.

Good evening, this is Miko, the manager of Kokako Shoten!

This August is my birthday month and I will be turning 54, so I thought it was about time I started recording my thoughts on this year's major theme of abstinence from alcohol.

By the way, I completely stopped drinking alcohol on February 3rd of this year, and it has now been seven months since I quit drinking.

To be honest, I'm still only halfway there, so I'm not really in the mood to write about alcohol... (The truth is, I don't really want to think about alcohol lol), but I thought that if I didn't write about it now, I might forget how I felt and what was important at the time, so I decided to persevere and pick up my pen.

If you have ever thought about quitting drinking, or if you have tried and failed to quit drinking several times in the past, I hope that my methods and mindset will be of some help to you, even though I am still in the process of learning.

And let's do our best together! Let's get started!

▼ \ It's not just alcohol? Causes of physical discomfort /

Click here to learn about the "poisons in our lives" that we unknowingly accumulate and how to get rid of them.

▶︎ [ More frightening than alcohol! The ultimate detox method to protect your body from the chronic toxins that pervade your life ]

1. First things first: the dark history of my drinking habits that lasted for over 30 years

I have had a long relationship with alcohol, first experiencing it during summer vacation at the age of 16. I started drinking regularly around the age of 23 when I moved to Italy. In Italy, wine was as cheap as water, so I learned to always enjoy wine with dinner.

After living like that for four and a half years, I returned to Japan. The job I got was very demanding, so I started having a drink every night after coming home late to relieve stress.

I moved to Taiwan when I entered my 40s, but my nightly drink remained an essential part of my life.

A year after moving, I unexpectedly started my own business, and struggled every day without understanding the language. The stress was immense, and my drinking steadily increased.

I continued living like this for 10 years, and before I knew it, I had gained weight, suffered from insomnia, and spent my 40s looking and feeling terrible.

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After I entered my 50s, I closed my company due to illness, and the COVID-19 pandemic just started. I successfully lost weight while filming videos, and since then my attitude towards many things has changed.

My illness prompted me to change my lifestyle and I even tried to quit drinking several times. However, at the time, I still hadn't made up my mind, so I would often go back to drinking after only a few weeks or even a few days.

Looking back, these are all just excuses, but I was being self-indulgent, thinking, "It's our daily routine to relieve stress by having a drink together in the evening..." On busy days, my husband and I would easily down two bottles of wine, or at least one. I think this was already a full-blown case of alcoholism.

I try my best to eat healthy, get enough sleep, and exercise... but I just can't quit drinking alcohol, which helps me relieve stress.

With this dilemma, I felt self-loathing every morning because I didn't feel well.

Looking back, I've been drinking alcohol almost every day for over 30 years. Even if I resolve to quit drinking the next morning after drinking too much, I always end up falling back into my old drinking habits as soon as the sun goes down.

It was really just a repetition of that.

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▼ ＼ As a result of continuing this lifestyle, my body began to cry out in pain.／

I developed a severe autoimmune disease as a result of 30 years of drinking. I will share my complete story of how I overcame it on my own, without the use of medication, after being addicted to steroids.

▶︎ [ What I learned from my experience with the autoimmune disease Palmoplantar Pustulosis: The fear of steroids and a fundamental solution that doesn't rely on medication ]

2. The "discomfort" with alcohol and the fateful February 2nd

In fact, even before I quit drinking, there was something that had been bothering me somewhere in the back of my mind. I often see scandals and problematic behaviors of celebrities on TV and the internet. This is because many of these incidents occurred at drinking parties.

"I always believed that alcohol was supposed to be fun, but in reality, it can ruin your life..."

To be honest, unlike young people today, our generation in our 50s had a very high alcohol consumption rate, and there were very few people around me who couldn't drink. Moreover, whether at work or in private, alcohol was always present in most gatherings, and it was used solely as a communication tool.

There was even a time when I had such an extreme image that "not drinking alcohol means giving up socializing."

However, the scenes I saw at drinking parties, which were supposed to be ``adult social gatherings,'' looked completely different from when I was younger.

• Someone who says rude things while drunk
• People who say things that don't exist, perhaps because they're delusional
• Someone who sleeps anywhere and causes trouble for those around them
• People who are unsteady on their feet and fall or get injured
• People who say the next day, "I don't remember drinking it."
• People who repeat the same story over and over again...

These are just a few examples (laughs). The actions and words that I could laugh off when I was younger have become painful to deal with as I've gotten older, and they've become more noticeable to those around me.

The "fear" I felt seeing myself on the screen

As the saying goes, learn from others' mistakes, and I was no exception. Thanks to my YouTube channel, I had many opportunities to objectively see myself drunk through videos.

What I saw there was me, drunk and slurring my words . When I realized this, I felt more than embarrassment; I felt a bottomless fear.

"Alcohol is the most addictive drug I have access to."

I had no choice but to realize this. Looking back at my own drinking habits, I think I may have already reached the point of addiction. I had always had the thought, "I wonder if I can somehow quit..." but I still couldn't quit until today.

▼ ＼For those who still want to continue drinking／

"Suddenly quitting drinking is too difficult..." For those of you who feel this way, I'd like to introduce you to my "ultimate companion" that I used to drink when I was a heavy drinker to protect my body from the damage caused by my daily evening drinks.

▶︎ [ Uncovering the secrets of "Okin Powder and Spring Turmeric Powder," Okinawa's long-lasting medicinal herbs loved by a heavy-drinking couple! ]

And then the moment of "graduation" arrived

The turning point came suddenly. I will never forget it: at dusk on February 2nd of this year.

It was Sunday. I hadn't received any work calls, and the fridge was full of ingredients. "Let's have a drink!" my husband and I agreed, and in the afternoon we got into the kitchen and started cooking. We pulled out our favorite natural wine from the wine cellar and opened it. It was the start of our usual "home drinking party," where we lazed around eating and drinking.

It's so much fun to pair food with alcohol. Until this moment, I had never thought it possible for such a blissful experience to disappear from my life.

But something was different that day. I haven't been able to drink much lately, and it doesn't taste as good as it used to. And more than anything, I feel really sluggish after drinking... I was vaguely thinking about these things.

On this day, we finished eating around 5pm. It was still light outside. I'm a "starter" so I'd already finished my drink, but my husband is a "slow starter" so he started with a beer and was still sipping it.

Suddenly, I sighed and said, "I can't drink any more. Phew."

"Oh, me. I think I've just finished drinking a lifetime's worth of alcohol."

Strangely enough, the thought just came naturally to me: "So it's time to say goodbye to alcohol."

3. The 6 steps I took to quit drinking

I'll explain how I actually succeeded in quitting drinking, starting the day after I made the decision. I'll explain it in six steps, from mindset to concrete action.

① First, gather information (find words and methods that resonate with you)

The day after I decided to quit drinking, I started by reading books about quitting drinking at the library and on my Kindle. I also read "The Abstinence Therapy" by Allen Carr, who is well-known in the alcohol-abstinence community, but perhaps because the author is from overseas, it didn't really resonate with me in terms of the situation.

However, the next day, he found a book in the library that contained words that would change his life.The book was "Look Up at Alcohol: Confessions of a Former Alcoholic Columnist" (Mishimasha, 2018) , a memoir by columnist Takashi Odajima, who overcame alcoholism.

There was one sentence in this book that really struck me: the author's doctor said, "You seem to be an intellectual, so I'll examine you, as there's a chance you could be cured."

I thought, "Huh? What does that mean?" and continued reading, and the reason was explained as follows:

According to the professor, quitting alcohol isn't just a matter of enduring it or persevering for the rest of your life. To quit drinking, you have to consciously restructure your life around alcohol. It's not a matter of determination or perseverance, but rather a complete restructuring of your life plan from scratch, something that only an unintelligent person could do. But when I actually tried it, I found that to be the case. After all, the task of redesigning a life without alcohol from scratch is, in reality, a very artificial undertaking.

When I read this passage, a bolt of lightning struck me.

"That's exactly right! The reason I've failed so far is because I've tried to quit drinking without changing my lifestyle!"

For 30 years I had believed that drinking alcohol was a way to relieve stress, but I was trying to cut out alcohol without finding an alternative way to release stress. This would only turn into a test of endurance, and it was only natural that I would fail eventually. I became convinced that "the only way to break old habits is to overwrite them with new habits!"

② Understand your relationship with alcohol

The next thing I did was to objectively reexamine my relationship with alcohol.

In my case, the fact is that I can never stop after just one drink . I can make up any number of convenient excuses, like "moderate amounts are good for my health." But in my 30 years of experience, I have never been able to stop after just one drink. In fact, once you start drinking, that's the gateway to addiction.

One day a week became two, one beer became two. I could see myself gradually drinking every day. So, I decided, "If I'm going to quit, I'll do it completely and not drink a drop from now on." Rather than making some half-hearted rule like "only on weekends," I decided that it would be better for me to cut it to zero.

Rather than spending my life constantly worrying about things like, "Is today a good day to drink?" or "I've been invited out, but what should I do?", I realized that it would be easier mentally to just decide, "I'm not a drinker."

3) "Brainwash" yourself (using past successes)

You might laugh at me here, but this is what I convinced (brainwashed) myself to do.

"I'm not an intellectual, but when it comes to changing my lifestyle, I can beat anyone!"

• My time in Italy: Thirty years ago, before smartphones or computers, I spent four and a half years adapting to a different culture.
• Taiwanese time: He started his business without being able to understand the local language at all, and in 10 years he managed to expand to multiple stores.
• YouTube: Started with 1,000 followers and steadily grew it to 400,000 over three years.
• Online shop (cross-border e-commerce): I am currently launching a new shop in an industry where I don't know my left from my right.

"I've always created something from nothing. My special talents are the ability to execute and the grit to see things through. So, this time, all I have to do is change my lifestyle to a "drink-free lifestyle" ! Compared to the turning points I've had in my life up until now, that's so easy!"

That's how I motivated myself and convinced myself that I could definitely do it.

④ Announce it to those around you and decide on alternative investments

In terms of what I did, I first declared to my husband, "I'm going to quit drinking, so don't try to persuade me to drink. If you do, I'll seriously divorce you!" (laughs).

For the first week, the motivation and determination I got from the book meant I had no desire to drink alcohol at all. Physically, I became even more insomniac, and I constantly felt a heavy, sluggish feeling in my internal organs, as if my liver was swollen.

So these are the withdrawal symptoms... I was hit one after the other by the same ailments I'd read about in a book, but I had a firm confidence that "this time I can definitely quit."

However, a week after I started to feel better, I suddenly had a strong urge to drink alcohol.

So I decided that it was time to reset the money and time I had been spending on alcohol and turn it into a new habit, and I decided, "From now on, I'm going to bet all my money on investing in my health!"

Since I wasn't quitting alcohol to save money, I decided to use all of the resources I saved to "create a new me."

⑤Once I made the decision, I acted immediately! My encounter with Pilates

When I was thinking about what to do, I remembered that a Pilates studio had opened nearby, so I quickly signed up for a trial. I went the next day (lol) and was shocked by how much fun it was.

"This might be good!" I immediately signed up for the 8-times-a-month course, and then quickly changed to the 16-times-a-month course in the middle of February. It was perfect for relieving stress in between work, and the effects started to appear quickly. I've now signed up for the highest level of Master membership and attend almost every day.

6. Focus your attention on your new habits and keep going!

I redirected all my attention that had been focused on alcohol to Pilates and body control. I bought stylish clothes and socks, started with my shape, and enjoyed watching the changes in myself in the mirror.

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After three months, I saw vertical lines on my stomach that I had never seen before, and I thought, "Even at 54, your body can change so much depending on whether you do it or not!" The excitement I felt completely overrode the pleasures of alcohol.

Now my husband has been influenced by my training and is training hard with me. What makes me happiest is the change in my skin . My blemishes and wrinkles have decreased, and people around me are often surprised and say, "You look younger!" and "Your skin is whiter!"

Also, during my sobriety, I took Yaeyama Chlorella to care for my liver and detoxify it. It not only replenishes nutrients that tend to be lacking, but also helps to expel toxins (mold toxins, heavy metals, harmful substances) that have accumulated in the body, helping to eliminate toxins that had built up over the years of drinking.

As Takagi Tsuyoshi writes in his book, chlorella is particularly amazing because it's effective against the "lifebuoy-like fat" that develops around the waist in middle age. This is because toxins (mold toxins, heavy metals, harmful substances) are easily soluble in fats and oils, so they accumulate around the waist. I believe that chlorella not only helps to eliminate this fat, but also has the ability to repair the damage caused by alcohol, making it my ultimate companion in my sobriety.

▼ \ Learn all about chlorella! / 

The definitive guide to a flawless chlorella lifestyle, including its effects, how to drink it, and how to choose it, is here!

▶︎ [ Complete Edition] What is Chlorella? Everything you need to know about this superfood that even doctors are paying attention to .

By the way, what I drink at dinner time at home is... Instead of alcohol, I enjoy "Special Koji Water Sour" ! This is a substitute for beer or sour! Lol

It's easy to make! Simply mix Kawachi Genichiro Shoten's "Kawachikin Powerful Yellow Koji Powder" or "Kawachikin Powerful White Koji Powder," both of which are sold in our store, with carbonated water and add Hikari Foods' organic yuzu juice or organic sudachi juice . The power of citric acid and koji makes it perfect for intestinal health! It's also great for your skin! It makes your food taste better than alcohol, and your skin will be incredibly radiant the next morning.

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▼ \I successfully quit drinking at age 54! The simple and surprising power of koji water, which I chose as a "substitute for alcohol"/

I drank alcohol every day for 30 years. But I was able to quit that habit without difficulty thanks to koji water, which is recommended by a leading doctor. I'll reveal the secret to the ultimate "homemade non-alcoholic koji sour" that detoxifies from the inside and restores both mind and body.

▶︎ [ Successfully quit drinking at age 54! My "Homemade Non-Alcoholic Koji Sour" - a simple and surprisingly powerful alternative to alcoholic drinks - packed with the surprising power of koji water ]

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4. Seven major benefits of quitting drinking

So, I'd like to summarize the benefits I've experienced in these seven months of sobriety. To be honest, I never expected my life to improve this much.

① Economic effect (investment destination changed!)

By eliminating the daily drinking expenses, I am saving tens of thousands of yen a month, which is a considerable amount over the course of a year.

I can now use the money I saved without hesitation to pay for Pilates classes or to purchase安心・安全な健康食材, like those sold in the shop I run. Simple consumption has turned into an investment in myself, and I can now eat delicious, nutritious meals, dramatically improving the quality of my diet and my lifestyle.

▼ Why can't supplements make you healthy? 

The reason we insist on natural balance is based on the Dobeneck Barrel Theory , a fundamental principle of nutrition. This theory states that if one nutrient is lacking, other nutrients will leak out, and if you understand this theory, you can understand why choosing a multivitamin can be a mistake.

▶︎ [For those whose health isn't improving even after taking supplements: 96% of modern people suffer from "hidden mineral deficiencies" – explained using Dobeneck's barrel theory!] 

② Clarity of thought and lightness of body

From the moment I wake up in the morning, my mind is clear and my thoughts are clear. Previously, I would feel like my head was in a fog in the morning, but now my concentration has improved dramatically. I can read at night, and I feel like I have a deeper understanding of the content.

My body has also become firmer thanks to the synergistic effect of Pilates and abstaining from alcohol, and my swollen face has slimmed down. As for my weight, I had already been successful with the detox diet and have been taking Yaeyama Chlorella for over five years, so my weight hasn't changed. However, what surprised me was that my clothing size has gone down by one size. My waist and hips in particular have become even looser, so I've had to buy some new pants this winter. Lol

Perhaps it's because I've lost the fluid that caused swelling and gained muscle mass. And now, even though I'm in my 50s, I'm very satisfied with the glow of my skin and feel like it's the best it's ever been!

▼ [Also effective for dieting!]

I have been using Yaeyama Chlorella for the past five years. I have compiled a detailed summary of the five scientifically proven health benefits it can have, including beautiful skin, intestinal health, and immune support.

▶︎ [ Doctors are paying attention!] 5 amazing benefits of Yaeyama Chlorella: Scientific evidence for beautiful skin, intestinal health, and anti-aging .

3. Make effective use of your time (time to take care of yourself)

Naturally, I no longer have time to drink or think about alcohol. By attending Pilates in the daytime, I have been able to create a new rhythm for my day, and just having a better body and skin has boosted my motivation.

Before, when I was taking a bath, all I could think about was "I want to get out quickly and drink!", so I was literally taking a quick bath (laughs). Now, I take a long bath, massage my body, and do some light exercise after dinner. The time I used to waste drinking has now turned into a luxurious time to face myself and take care of myself.

4. My worries about future health risks have disappeared

There is an immense sense of relief in being freed from the worry of various alcohol-related diseases, such as the burden on the liver, the risk of cancer, and the risk of dementia.

I've always avoided additives, gluten, refined sugar, etc., so alcohol was the only "biggest risk factor" for me. Moreover, it is said that if a woman continues to drink alcohol every day after turning 50, these risks increase dramatically.

When I think about it like that, I realize that maybe I was lucky to be able to quit at this time. This sense of relief is priceless.

▼ \ Actions speak louder than words! I examined the changes in my body at age 54! /

While I was abstaining from alcohol, I also completely stopped consuming vegetable oils. As a result, I got some surprising results in my health checkup. I'm publishing my actual blood data!

▶︎ [ Achieved an All-A on Health Checkup by Cutting Out Vegetable Oils! 54-Year-Old Woman's Blood Fatty Acid Fractions Prove the Benefits of Traditional Japanese Diet ]

5. Dramatic improvement in sleep quality

Alcohol makes you temporarily sleepy, but I realized that it was actually just lowering the quality of my sleep. In the past, there were many times when I would wake up in the middle of the night or wake up in the morning unable to fall back asleep. I thought it might be because of stress from work, but it was actually just withdrawal symptoms after the alcohol had worn off.

Also, this might be a bit gross, but my pillow doesn't smell at all anymore (lol). Of course, my body is working hard every day to deal with the deadly poison acetaldehyde, so I tend to sweat a lot and smell bad when I sleep. I realized that I was really putting a strain on my body.

Now I can sleep deeply, I don't wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, and I don't sweat. I'm amazed every morning, thinking, "I never knew waking up in the morning could be so refreshing!"

▼ \ Remove toxins and restore the body /

Not only have I quit drinking, but I've also released a video about my "lifestyle routine to prevent toxins from accumulating" that I practice on a daily basis. If you watch this, you'll understand the secret behind why I've managed to stay so healthy at 54!

⑥ Decluttering and improving relationships

I no longer had to worry about getting into trouble at a drinking party, and I found that I could have a deeper conversation with the other person when sober.

Also, although I no longer find it difficult to attend drinking parties, I make sure to firmly decline the occasional seat where someone tries to force me to drink or makes fun of me. I'm still only halfway there, so I don't want to have a bad experience like that.

Choosing a banquet in this way has helped me to "declutter my relationships" in a good way. I've decided that I don't need relationships that require alcohol at this point. And interestingly, I've noticed that many of the people I truly respect don't drink (or are able to control their alcohol intake), which makes me a little happy.

7. Improved self-esteem (this is the best!)

Freed from the guilt of "not being able to quit, " I feel like I have control over myself , which gives me great self-confidence.

Rather than enduring it, I felt a positive feeling of "I've graduated!" and "I've regained a life that isn't controlled by alcohol!" Breaking free from alcohol, an addictive substance that over 90% of people can't quit, gave me a tremendous amount of confidence in my life.

First of all, can you keep your promise to yourself? Quitting alcohol is not for anyone else, it's a promise you make to yourself .

5. Summary: The secret to continuing and my future

Looking back on why I've been able to maintain abstinence from alcohol for seven months, it started with "learning from books" and "self-brainwashing," then as an "alternative habit," I turned the time I would have spent drinking to "exercise such as Pilates," replaced alcohol with "koji water sours," and detoxified the toxins and unnecessary substances I had accumulated up until then with "Yaeyama chlorella"!

I think these things were extremely important. I was able to see the changes quickly, such as my body getting toned and my skin becoming more radiant, and I think that helped me maintain a high level of motivation.

"Are you able to maintain sobriety for the rest of your life?"

If you asked me that question now, I still can't say, "It's 100% fine!" Because my husband continues to enjoy a drink next to me every day, just as he always has.

However, what is a little different from before is the quality of the sake he is drinking. Because of the nature of our work, we carry great sake from all over Japan, so we have a clear direction for our selection.

Only "genuine products made using traditional Japanese methods, with everything from the ingredients to the manufacturing process being natural."

My husband drinks these as part of his work tastings, and says that unlike cheap alcohol that is full of additives, they go down smoothly, he can drink too much, and he doesn't get a hangover the next day.

Having that kind of delicious "real alcohol" right in front of me all the time... If it were me back then, I would definitely have reached for it (laughs). That's why I think it will take me a little more time to fully accept that I've graduated from it.

Someone once said, "Abstinence is a lifelong journey." I think that's true. It's not that easy, after over 30 years of heavy drinking. That's why I decided to write down my current feelings here so that I can always return to my roots.

*Updated December 19, 2025: Current location after 11 months of sobriety

It's been 11 months since I started sobriety, and now it's the season when there are many drinking events, such as year-end parties and Christmas parties. In the past, I would have attended every drinking event without refusing, and would have finished my glass faster than anyone else.

But this is the first year since I stopped drinking. Strangely enough, no matter how much fun everyone around me seems to be having drinking, I no longer feel the urge to drink.

Rather, you can appreciate the taste of delicious food more sensitively than before, enjoy a sober conversation to your heart's content, and start the next morning feeling refreshed rather than hungover. These joys far exceed the pleasures of alcohol.

Suddenly, when I look at the people who are drunk and having fun, I see my former self in the picture... "Ah, I've graduated from that," I think to myself with a deep sense of relief.

When I wrote this article seven months into the year, I honestly wrote that I still can't say I'm 100% okay, but now that a year has almost passed, I can finally say that with confidence.

I realized that I wasn't "holding back" from alcohol, but had truly "graduated" from it.

By the way, even when I was abstaining from alcohol, I took Yaeyama Chlorella to care for my liver and detoxify it. It also supplements nutrients that are often lacking, so it was truly an indispensable companion in my sobriety.

A life with alcohol is wonderful, but a life without it can also be surprisingly rich and vibrant. Whether you're trying to quit drinking or just enjoy a moderate amount, I hope your choices are kind and considerate to yourself.

Related articles you might want to read

▼ \ The surprising future that awaits you after quitting alcohol! /

In January 2026, the US government finally acknowledged the dark side of food. After laying the foundation for abstinence from alcohol, I discovered the truth behind cell investment, which allows you to "eat and lose weight" and achieve the vascular age of someone in their twenties. I'm publishing my latest report.

▶︎ [2026 Latest News] Official announcement from the US government. "Eat and lose weight" will become common sense around the world! A 54-year-old store manager teaches us about cell investment that has helped him achieve the vascular age of someone in his 20s!

▼ \ My skin is exposed! /

If you want to achieve truly beautiful skin, you should definitely try "subtractive beauty." I'll be revealing my current skin condition and explaining the secrets of simple skin care!

▶︎ [ True beautiful skin comes from [subtractive beauty] - The secret of simple skin care ]

At Kokako Shoten, I, the owner, personally use and offer only carefully selected Japanese seasonings and foods that I truly believe to be the "real thing."

🛒 [ Click here for the Kokako Shoten online store ]