Did you know its Alcohol awareness week?
As more of us are turning to that alcoholic drink to quench our thirst, or because it helps us feel better, at the end of a busy & or stressful day, have you ever thought of the consequences to your health?
🍷The more we drink and as we age, with hormonal changes and other chemical exposures to our body, the harder our body has to work to detoxify and eliminate those unwanted toxins that can be detrimental to health?
Drinking responsibly is fine, for example 1 to 2 units per week!
Here are my 3 top tips to help you reduce your alcohol cravings to ensure you drink responsibly, which will help support your mind and physical health!👇
1. Reducing or managing stress will help break that cycle of reaching for alcohol.
Supplement with high levels of vitamin C, as Vitamin see will be required and is used in abundance when you are stressed - vit C will also help with production of stress hormones to help you more able to cope, as well as supporting collagen production for healthy skin (skin can suffer with over consumption of alcohol). Vit C has also been found to lower blood pressure to help with stress reduction.
Exercise, yoga, breathing, mediation, relaxation therapy, mindfulness will all help reduce stress to improve serotonin production & help you feel calmer.
Improving Blood Sugar spikes to help improve energy, by eating dark green leafy vegetables such as broccoli, rocket, watercress etc will improve chromium levels along with eating good quality organic protein with each meal, such as cold water salmon, chicken, grass fed venison, eggs, beens and pulses, especially at lunch time, will help stave off sugar cravings at tea time, when you are more likely to reach for that glass of wine 🍷.
If you need to snack throughout the day keep nuts & seeds in your pocket or bag, car or desk at work or munch on some chopped vegetables & fruit!
2. Improving sleep will help produce serotonin (the feel good hormone)! So how do you improve sleep?
Prebiotic foods such as vegetables and fruit (eat a rainbow a day), will help support gut and liver health. Along with fermented non pasteurised kimchi or sauerkraut, water or yogurt kefir and olive oil will all help feed those good bugs in the gut to help with production of B vitamins (to help us deal with the effects of stress)!
Epsom salt bathes every 2-3 days, as Epsom salts contain essential electrolytes that get lost when we drink alcohol or we are stressed, such as magnesium (natures natural tranquilliser)!
3. Hydration - if you’re not thirsty you may not want to quench your thirst with a pint or glass of wine 🍷🍻😉.
Staying hydrated will also help with gut and liver function to ensure you are not constipated to further improve gut health!
So if you do have a drink or know you'll be drinking more than usual as party season approaches.
Look at liver support and take some milk thistle before you start drinking!
Have fun and drink responsibly 🍻🤗
If you're experiencing symptoms, or have been affected by something in this article, please book in with me for a free 20 minute consultation on how I can help you.