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CancerRethinking Drinking: Know the Harmful Effects of Alcohol

Rethinking Drinking: Know the Harmful Effects of Alcohol

Many people associate having a drink with a feeling of relaxation or a warm ‘buzz’, essentially using alcohol as a means of harmless fun. Whilst one or two glasses of wine, or a few beers, can be a nice way of unwinding, excessive consumption can have a significant impact on your health. So how does alcohol affect your body? Slurred speech, poor coordination, nausea, vomiting, lack of judgement, volatile emotions, and blackouts can all follow excessive alcohol consumption. Most people will have experienced one or more of these effects at some point, crossing the line from a moderate intake to an unhealthy consumption.

For most people, it’s perfectly okay to enjoy a drink now and then, but it’s important to be mindful of how much you consume. Drinking more than two standard drinks per day is associated with an increased risk of alcohol-related disease or injury while drinking more than four standard drinks at any given time is classified as binge-drinking, which can have damaging effects on your physical, mental and social health.

Although excessive consumption is harmful to everyone, long-term alcohol misuse affects each person differently and can impact the following:

  • Brain: Alcohol negatively affects the way the brain, central nervous system, and body communicate with each other, leading to symptoms of impaired cognitive function, such as slurred speech and poor coordination. If alcohol is misused over a number of years, it can even lead to brain and nervous system damage;
  • Liver: The liver is responsible for detoxifying and eliminating potentially harmful substances from our body, including alcohol. Regular intake can burden the liver’s detoxification pathways and cause inflammation that may damage liver cells, reduce liver function and, in extreme cases, cause liver disease;
  • Pancreas: The harmful effects of alcohol can cause inflammation of the pancreas, known as pancreatitis, which negatively affects digestive processes, leading to gut symptoms including recurrent abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. The pancreas also produces hormones that control blood sugar regulation (such as insulin) and in extreme cases, chronic alcohol abuse can contribute to diabetes;
  • Stomach: Excessive alcohol intake can cause the stomach to produce more acid than usual, which may lead to bouts of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea;
  • Microbiome: Alcohol harms beneficial gut bacteria, promoting inflammation of the gut lining that can lead to a condition known as ‘leaky’ gut. A healthy gut lining acts as a barrier, keeping toxins and other potentially harmful substances within the gut, and out of the bloodstream. If the gut lining is ‘leaky’, these substances can cross the gut barrier increasing the risk of a diverse number of chronic diseases, such as ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, allergies, arthritis, and obesity. For more information about the microbiome contact us.
  • Heart: Alcohol can disrupt the electrical signals sent to and from the heart, which can affect the heartbeat. This can increase the risk of developing hypertension (high blood pressure), cardiovascular disease, ischaemia (restricted supply of blood to the heart), heart disease and stroke;
  • Cancer: Alcohol consumption has been shown to increase the risk of many different types of cancer, including cancers of the oesophagus, pancreas, gallbladder, stomach, bowel, endometrium, ovary, kidney, breast and prostate.

Alcohol is a big part of many people’s social lives. Whether it’s relaxing at home with your partner over a glass of wine, ending the working week with a few drinks, or celebrating special occasions, it can be hard to moderate your drinking. Whatever the scenario, employing these strategies can help you reduce your alcohol intake:

  • Keep track of standard drinks and avoid exceeding four drinks (preferably consuming two or less) on any given occasion;
  • Drink slowly and put your glass down between sips to avoid continual drinking; 
  • Don’t let people top up your drinks as this makes it hard to keep track of how much alcohol you have consumed;
  • Avoid ’rounds’ to ensure you drink at your own pace;
  • Avoid salty snacks as these increase your thirst and stimulate you to drink more;
  • Pace yourself by having a ‘spacer’, such as water or another non-alcoholic drink between drinks;
  • Try low-alcohol alternatives, such as light beers and low alcohol premixed drinks;
  • Volunteer to be the designated driver for the night;
  • Aim for at least three alcohol-free days each week to give your body a break from drinking, or better yet
  • Participate in Dry July and have an alcohol-free month. Click here for more information about how you can use Dry July as an opportunity to ‘spring-clean’ your liver and get your health on track.

Skip a drink now and then.

Indulging in a drink or two may be a way to unwind from life’s pressures, however, before those two drinks turn into four, take the time to consider the detrimental impact alcohol has on your health when you next reach for a drink. 

References

Harper C. The neuropathology of alcohol-related brain damage. Alcohol & Alcoholism. 2009:136-140.

Shield KD et al. Chronic diseases and conditions related to alcohol use. Alcohol Res. 2014;35(2):155-171.

Engen PA, Green SJ, Voigt RM, Forsyth CB, Keshavarzian A. The gastrointestinal microbiome: alcohol effects on the composition of intestinal microbiota. Alcohol Res. 2015;37(2):223-36.


 

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Cancer Fatigue

Cancer-related is one of the most common side effects of cancer and its treatments. Like fatigue, cancer fatigue is whole-body exhaustion that you feel no matter how much sleep or rest you get. Cancer fatigue takes exhaustion a step further: You feel physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted most of the time. Cancer fatigue may last a few weeks (acute) or for months or years (chronic).

To improve energy effectively, we provide modalities ranging from mindfulness-based cognitive therapy therapies, to herbal medicine and targeted nutritional interventions.

Pain Management

Providing quality care and services to our patients is our utmost commitment. Our approach prioritises a holistic and integrative method to health and wellness, ensuring that each patient receives personalised and effective treatment.

Our acupuncture services, including traditional acupuncture, medical acupuncture, and laser acupuncture, are designed to stimulate the body's natural healing processes, reduce pain, and improve overall health. In addition to acupuncture, we provide specialised physiotherapy services aimed at restoring movement, improving function, and alleviating pain Our commitment to quality care is reflected in our dedication to continuously improving our services and staying abreast of the latest advancements in medical and complementary treatments.

We are devoted to helping our patients achieve the best possible health outcomes through compassionate, comprehensive, and patient-centred care.

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Recovery

Helping you to thrive into enduring wellness after the conclusion of cancer treatments is our goal. At Vitawell Wellness we understand that an optimised immune system comes from a foundation of basics. Quality of sleep, exercise, enjoying nature, and practising meditation are incredibly important elements to aid in your recovery.

Our holistic approach focuses on rebuilding all the components that form your unique profile, from weight and movement to mind-body connection; from good energy to healthy weight; from sleep to finding happiness in small things.  Recovery also depends upon restoring imbalances in your immune system, nervous system, neurotransmitters, gut health, adrenal and hormonal systems. At Vitawell Wellness we will provide you with the essential tools and the appropriate program to achieve and to maintain optimal health and enduring wellness.

Stress Management

The state of mind impacts health through the mind-body connection. We believe that  that body and mind are one, that the mind feeds the body just as the body feeds the mind. Since emotions, feelings, thoughts, beliefs, actions, and behaviour impact and literally shape wellbeing, we provide the necessary tools to  strengthen your mental and emotional inner life.

We strive to help you cultivate and maintain hope, calm, optimism, and inner-peace. We want to know how you feel; we listen and support you in regaining power with positive actions, step-by-step into wellness. 

Clinical Detox

After the conclusion of cancer treatments, we strongly recommend that you follow our clinical detoxification program. At Vitawell Wellness we are aware tht some common side-effects from chemotherapy or radiation therapy treatments can have lasting effects such as brain fog, loss of energy and gastro-intestinal dysfunction.

We strongly believe in the power of detoxification as a method of steadily reducing toxins` accumulation and regaining strength, balance, and imporve wellness. Our personalised program is sensible, gentle but effective, and includes stress reduction technique and lifestyle changes.

Personalised Diet

The relationship between cancer, diet, energy, muscle mass and optimal weight is extremely important. At Vitawell Wellness we focus on addressing your current nutritional status and develop the right diet for you.  "One size does not fit all" principle applies to your diet. Each person is unique and therefore variability exists between nutrient-sense diets.

We provide personalised and appropriate dietary plans before, during and after cancer treatments. We provide 7 day menu plan, shopping lists and recipes that reflect food preferences and sensitivities. The menu plans are easy to follow. Each food is selected for its specific content of nutrients. Healthy foods positively support your whole person wellness.

For some, reaching wellness means improving body weight, muscle mass, digestion, assimilation and gut microbiome. 

For some, reaching wellness means reducing body weight, improving muscle mass, digestion, bowel function and gut microbiome. Obesity and overweight have been shown to increase cancer risk.

Preventive Care

The Functional Medicine model is an individualised, patient-centred, science-based approach that empowers patients and practitioners to work together and to address the underlying causes of disease and promote optimal wellness.

Functional Medicine is gaining attention as a new approach to care in large institutions and Universities around the world. This is leading to new approaches to investigate ways to research outcomes of Functional Medicine designed to discover and remedy root causes of problems instead of suppressing symptoms. Random controlled trials are beginning to be conducted, and a new body of literature is beginning to emerge in this realm as a result.

Nutritional Medicine

Nutrition medicine is a personalised medicine that deals with primary prevention and addresses underlying causes instead of treating symptoms for serious chronic diseases. By shifting the traditional disease-centred focus of medical practice to a more patient-centred approach, nutritional medicine individualises the patient's nutritional needs based on genetic, environmental, and personal considerations.

Nutritional medicine focuses on shifting dietary habits to optimise personal health stimulating the powerful inert healing mechanism within each person by providing nutrient protocols and specialised diets for each individual need.

Herbal Medicine

Herbalism today is based on remedies and techniques tried and tested through generations of use, but increasingly re-evaluated in the light of modern medical refinements. A key feature of herbalism is that remedies are used to support and modify disturbed body functions.

Herbal medicine is the oldest and still the most widely used system of medicine in the world today. It is medicine made exclusively from plants. It is used in all societies and is common to all cultures.

Herbal medicine is increasingly being validated by scientific investigation which seeks to understand the active chemistry of the plant. Many modern pharmaceuticals have been modelled on, or derived from, phytochemicals found in plants. Increasing research on herbal medicine demonstrates that liquid botanicals play a critical role during, before and after a diagnosis of cancer.

Individualised Plans

Cancer requires negotiation and navigation. Decisions must be made. Directions must be pursued. The decisions and directions often occur in the middle of stress, fear, trauma, and many other challenging emotions. The skills with which people negotiate and navigate their cancer journey are better supported by combining conventional treatments with evidence-based natural medicine.

At Vitawell Wellness, we design individual programs to support you regardless of your diagnosis and the stage of your cancer. We collect all critical information about your state of health and help you in your decision-making process with the wisdom and the experience that comes from years of clinical practice. We work in alignment with what you think, feel, say, and do. In this way, we honour your self-awareness, your knowledge and views and integrate them in safe practices.