THE METABOLISM- BALANCING PROGRAM: ALCOHOL

Go easy on alcohol. Responsible drinking levels recommended by the National Health and Medical Research Council are as follows:

Safe: Up to 4 standard drinks a day for men.

Up to 2 standard drinks a day for women.

Hazardous: 4-6 standard drinks a day for men.

2-4 standard drinks a day for women.

Harmful: More than 6 standard drinks a day for men.

More then 4 standard drinks a day for women.

Note: A standard drink = 1 middy of regular beer (285 mL), 1 glass of wine (120 mL), 1 glass of port or sherry (60 mL) or 1 nip of spirits (30 mL).

Don’t think that saving up your daily safe levels of alcohol and having them all at once on a Friday or Saturday night is safe. It’s not, and it will do your liver and brain significant harm. If you are on medication check with your doctor before drinking any alcohol.

The early warning signs of alcohol damage to the brain are:

1. Light sleep, shorter sleep duration, unrested after sleep, repressed dreaming, irritability, argumentativeness, denial.

2. Light tremors of the hand (most noticeable where fine motor performance is necessary, e.g. making model aeroplanes, plucking eyebrows or applying eye make-up).

3. Tendency to pessimism, depression and anxiety. Reduced foresight, judgement, creativity and memory. Difficulty in putting things back together—most noticeable when doing repairs on the car or around the house.

Take heart, the brain is resilient and will regenerate on the Metabolism-Balancing Program if over-drinking is stopped early enough. The body can recover from the occasional binge. It is regular alcohol abuse that does the damage. More than four drinks a day produces deficiencies in vitamins A, B3, B6 and C, minerals magnesium and zinc and the essential fatty acids. Remember, the female liver has less alcohol-burning enzymes (alcohol dehydrogenase) than the male liver and females have less muscle to burn alcohol.

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