Breaking up with booze

It’s Dry July this month and we’re almost three weeks in at the Urban Remedy HQ. Surprisingly enough, it hasn’t been that hard – okay, so we’re lucky enough to have lots of yummy juice at our disposal (that definitely helps) but interestingly the real challenge has been other people’s reactions. Ranging from “Really, no booze for a month?”, to “Kudos but I wouldn’t” or simply “Why?”, we had quite the range! On the whole though, friends and family have been very encouraging and the motivation of supporting such a worthy cause (adults living with cancer) has really kept us going.

This week, we wanted to share a few of our thoughts surrounding alcohol by asking 3 simple questions…

1. How does booze affect you?

We all know that alcohol hits our livers hard. This poor overworked organ can only process ½ an ounce of ethanol in an hour – that’s one beer, one shot or a small glass of wine. Any more than that and it goes into overdrive, and you get… well, inebriated. What’s actually happening is the alcohol your liver can’t handle is circulating throughout your body; yes, we know… not the nicest of thoughts. It therefore makes sense that our other detoxification organs (namely the skin) feel the strain when our liver can’t keep up with our drinking. For a full breakdown of the physical effects, check out our blog on alcohol and the liver.

But the effects of booze are not just physical. Alcohol affects our mental state and mood as well. The immediate repercussions of drinking include increased confidence, elation and (cough cough) stupidity. Not to mention beer goggles. But what about the day after? When we’re hung over, we feel less than joyful and are definitely not functioning at full capacity. It’s not rocket science; our body is still playing catch up and trying to clear the toxins from the night before.

2. What place does alcohol occupy in your life?

When it comes to drinking, it’s pretty simple: most of us do too much of it too often. But why do we do it? We drink out of social custom, peer pressure, habit, boredom… We also drink to relieve stress and increase confidence. The problem is that alcohol is such an integral part of our social fabric that we sometimes fail to examine the place it occupies in our own lives, or whether our relationship with it could do with a little tune-up.

Are you drinking alone? Drinking too fast? Drinking too often? Drinking without thinking? Drinking to drown sorrows? Most of us are guilty of one of the aforementioned charges. Does that mean that we are all alcoholics? Probably not. What it does mean is that it may be time to look at the role alcohol plays in our lives…

3. How can you improve your relationship with alcohol?

There are many ways to improve your relationship with booze. If you’re already asking yourself this question, you’re on the right track. We’re not about extreme views at UR, so we’re not suggesting you never have a glass of wine or beer again. BUT… ask yourself how rich your life is without alcohol. If the canvas is looking rather blank, it could be time to add some other activities in! The best way to take stock of this is to have a mini-break from alcohol. Split up for a little while; you can always get back together, on your terms this time. There are so many organised ways to take a vacation from booze – FebFast, Dry July and Hello Sunday Morning are our faves.

So bottom’s up to Dry July! Green juice in hand of course.

The Urban Remedy 'Easy Guide to Summer'

With summer fast approaching, we’ve narrowed down our 10 top tips to get you feeling and looking great.

1. Drink a glass of warm boiled water first thing in the morning to flush out your lymphatic system – this is an amazing (free) home remedy for combatting cellulite, fluid retention, bloating and enhancing digestion and detoxification. We say boiled as the body can then use it immediately rather than processing (digesting) the mineral content.

2. Hydrate throughout the day: don’t guzzle your 1.5-2L in one sitting. Sip on water throughout the day to stay continuously hydrated. And avoid drinking with meals as this dilutes your digestive juices!

3. Do some gentle weights or toning exercises every morning. You don’t need a gym or even gym gear to do this! Tricep dips on the bath are a sneaky whole-body toning exercise (they get your legs and tum toned too if done correctly). Simply do 2 sets of 25, et voilà!

4. Moisturise and protect. If you want to stay youthful and avoid the dreaded leather-face look, moisturising and applying SPF is the ONLY way. Think 15+ not factor 4 coconut oil, unless you’re trying to re-enact a scene from Hot Shots.

5. Fake it to make it. Yep, we’re talking about fake tan. Not the orange kind but a nice subtle hint of summer in a bottle… You can get some pretty good ones now (even organic), either applied in salon or at home. For you Sydney peeps, we like Fleur De Lys MediSpa in Woollahra – $25 tans every Friday, all summer. Yes please.

6. Get 15 minutes of SPF-free sunshine every day to boost your vitamin D levels.

7. Keep it clean throughout the silly season. Make sure your liver is getting the TLC it needs by supplementing with milk thistle and detoxing regularly to avoid toxic overload. We often recommend cleansers with busy social calendars try weekly mini-cleanses throughout December, working their way towards a longer ‘new year cleanse’ in January.

8. Give your summer drinks a makeover. Claire from the Saha Space shared some of her lovely ice tea recipes with us last week. Check them out here. We also recommend choosing your alcoholic mixers carefully – soda water and fresh lime is always a good option. Avoid pre-mixed drinks, soft drinks (even diet), fruit juice (you can bet the stuff at the bar isn’t good for you) and milky cocktails.

9. Avoid yeast and sugar to beat the bloat. We often think wheat/gluten is the culprit (and it is for some people) when in fact it is more likely to be yeast. If you’re OK with pasta but not with bread and pizza, yeast is not your friend. Try sourdough bread if this is the case.

10. Tune in to summer cravings (good ones that is). Fresh fruit, fresh veg, grilled fish, seafood, barbecues… We naturally eat differently according to the season so it’s time to break out of your winter food rut and embrace summer.

Are you ready to sizzle at the races?

Preparation

Depending on how much preparation you want to put in, do the following for 3-7 days prior:

1. Eat dinner before 7pm
2. Get to bed before 10pm: more sleep = less fat
3. Cut out sugar and refined carbs (if you haven’t already) – wholegrains OK
4. Avoid yeast in food to beat the dreaded bloat
5. Do a mini-detox (and a tan) for glowing skin!

On the day

Make sure you’re on a winning streak (not just a streak) with these handy tips:

6. Support your liver with a milk thistle supplement in the morning (we like Flordis Legalon)
7. Eat a hearty breakfast: think poached eggs on sourdough or bircher muesli
8. Eat a light meal before you head out – include wholegrains, healthy protein and good fats
9. Drink a glass of water for every glass of bubbly
10. Place your bets sensibly!

Are you toxic?

Take this super easy quiz to find out.

First, answer A, B or C to the following questions:
• A = Often
• B = Sometimes
• C = Never

1. Do you feel tired or sluggish?
2. Do you feel exhausted upon waking?
3. Do you wake between 1am and 3am?
4. Do you suffer from night sweats?
5. Do you suffer from insomnia or poor sleep?
6. Do your energy levels vary dramatically?
7. Do you have trouble staying focused?
8. Do you feel spacey or distant?
9. Do you experience headaches?
10. Do you have bad breath or body odour?
11. Do you get skin breakouts or irritations?
12. Do you suffer from allergies?
13. Do you get colds and flus easily?
14. Do you suffer from gas or bloating?
15. Are you irregular or constipated?
16. Do you experience food intolerances?
17. Do you eat a lot of sugar and/or yeast?
18. Do you eat a lot of meat and/or dairy?
19. Do you eat a lot of processed foods?
20. Do you drink > 2-3 units of alcohol daily?

Then, add up your total score:
• A = 2 points
• B = 1 points
• C = 0 points

And now for the verdict:
0-5: Your body really is a temple – continue to look after it as you are and detox occasionally to maintain your health.

6-29: You’re on the right track but you could feel better. You need a little something to kickstart your body’s own detoxification mechanisms.

30-40: Your body needs a mini-overhaul. You’re finding it hard to feel your best and need to press the re-set button.

How does alcohol affect your liver?

Since we’re in the business of detoxing and all that jazz, we thought it was high time we got up close and personal with that lovely (not so little) organ of ours: yes, the liver.

The liver is the largest internal organ in the human body (the largest organ overall being on the outside: the skin). Soft pinkish-brown in colour, our liver weighs approx 1.4 to 1.6 kilos (yikes!). It sits in the upper right hand side of the abdominal cavity, just below the diaphragm.

Its job: multi-faceted. The liver is the master of all trades: detoxification, metabolism, glycogen (glucose) storage, protein synthesis and hormone production to name a few.

But let’s get down to the nitty gritty, the question we all have playing on our minds. How have the end of year (and new year) festivities taken their toll on our livers?

How is your liver really doing? To get a clearer picture, here are a few useful facts:

• When you sip on that beautifully chilled glass of pinot gris, you’re essentially asking your liver to halt all of its normal activities and deal with the incoming toxin of the moment: alcohol. Processing alcohol (or more specifically its component ethanol) is the priority – normal metabolism slows down; toxins build up.
• Your liver can only metabolize about ½ an ounce of ethanol (contained in a beer, a shot, a small glass of wine) in an hour. Any more than that (put your hand up if you're guilty) and the alcohol spills into other parts of your body (yuck!), circulating until your liver is ready to metabolize it. This is one of the reasons we feel so awful the day after a bender - your body is deperately trying to catch up.
• If you drink in excess frequently, your liver’s ability to break down lipids (yes, fat) can be reduced on an ongoing basis and these lipids then build up in the liver (hence the term ‘fatty liver’). 
• Symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, skin trouble, bloated tummy (to name a few) are all signs that your liver needs some TLC.

There is still hope to repair your poor liver. Aside from moderating your alcohol intake (try drinking a glass of water for every alcohol drink… this really helps you to pace yourself!), we suggest that you give your liver a break every now and again to allow it to rest and repair. Detoxing your diet is a great place to start but a juice cleanse can really push your liver cleanse that step further!

Oh, and if you really want to give your liver that extra bit of love and attention, supplement with milk thistle. Flordis do a great supplement called Legalon.