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The Wellness Blueprint: With Dr. Caleb Davis
Welcome to The Wellness Blueprint with Dr. Caleb Davis, where we uncover the secrets to living a long, active, and pain-free life. Hosted by Dr. Caleb Davis, an orthopedic surgeon and fitness enthusiast, this podcast is your ultimate guide to musculoskeletal health, injury prevention, and wellness.
Dr. Davis combines his expertise as a shoulder and elbow specialist with a passion for empowering people to take charge of their health. From deep dives into cutting-edge restorative medicine to practical tips on avoiding surgery and optimizing recovery, The Wellness Blueprint offers valuable insights for anyone seeking to preserve their body and thrive at every stage of life.
Join us each week for professional guidance, fascinating medical discussions, and actionable strategies that help you move better, feel stronger, and stay functional for years to come. Whether you're an athlete, a weekend warrior, or someone looking to age gracefully, The Wellness Blueprint provides the tools to design a healthier you.
The Wellness Blueprint: With Dr. Caleb Davis
Bonus Episode: "No Booze, No Blues: The Unexpected Benefits of Dry January"
Prepare to challenge your assumptions and reevaluate your relationship with alcohol as we embark on a journey through Dry January.
Discover how a month of sobriety can serve as a powerful foundation for resilience and long-term success. We unpack startling statistics that link alcohol consumption to significant health and societal challenges, such as its contribution to 140,000 deaths annually in North America. By examining historical contexts like Prohibition and modern cultural phenomena, we aim to equip you with the knowledge needed to make informed decisions about alcohol use.
Join us in debunking common myths about alcohol that are often perpetuated by marketing and societal norms. From the perceived heart health benefits of red wine to the rise of the "wine mom" culture, we scrutinize the cultural narratives that shape our perceptions of alcohol. Explore how the "French paradox" might not be all it seems and learn how some studies mislead the public into believing moderate drinking is beneficial. As we unravel these misconceptions, we provide insights into the true impact of alcohol on your health and offer alternative views that may inspire you to reassess your drinking habits.
Lastly, we delve into the societal pressures surrounding sobriety and the challenges faced by those who choose to abstain from alcohol. Through personal stories and practical advice, we emphasize the importance of tracking personal growth and understanding that progress, not perfection, is the goal. Embrace this honest conversation about the health risks of alcohol, its classification as a carcinogen, and the benefits of a sober lifestyle. As we step into the New Year, let's commit to humility, happiness, and health, empowering ourselves to make positive lifestyle changes and embrace a brighter future.
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Hey everybody and welcome back to the Wellness Blueprint with Dr Caleb Davis. I'm your host, dr Caleb Davis, and as usual, I'm joined by the lovely and talented Nicole Davis.
Speaker 2:Happy New Year, nicole. Happy New Year, dr Big Guy.
Speaker 1:Today I wanted to discuss dry January, which is the concept of giving up alcohol consumption for the month of January. Simple as that sounds, there can be a lot of thought that goes into this and a lot of reasons why it may be something that you want to consider, so I wanted to dive into some of what I think are the more compelling reasons you might want to consider giving up alcohol for at least the month of January.
Speaker 2:I think January is a good time to talk about giving up things. It's like January and then for people who celebrate Lent, like those are natural times to give up things. I've seen some friends of mine post that they want to try a social media cleanse as well and take January to be off of social media.
Speaker 1:Everyone's talking about dopamine cleanses, social media purging, giving up things, like you said for Lent. There's a lot more research going into this entire idea of depriving yourself and growing your brain and your capacity to do hard things, so that is something that's really been a hot topic, which it really appeals to me as somebody who's had to deprive themselves of things throughout his life in terms of during undergraduate school and medical school and residency. I had to say no to a lot of things all the time that I'd like to do to achieve a longer term goal, and I think sometimes, when we're dealing with impulse control and things that feel good and pleasurable in the short term, sometimes we're not thinking about our long term goals.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure, but I digress a little bit. Let's go ahead and get straight into it. We're going to focus on numbers in North America, in the United States, mostly because the CDC has a lot of good statistics on this, as does the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. So a lot of these statistics I'm going to rattle off during this episode comes from those two websites, just so you can double-check my numbers if you want to later. The CDC reports that excessive alcohol use causes 140,000 deaths annually in the United States. That's nearly 380 deaths every single day.
Speaker 2:Oh wow, I didn't realize it was that high actually.
Speaker 1:And that doesn't necessarily mean people are having alcohol overdose every day, but it could be alcohol related, like a car accident or liver disease or something that's directly attributable to alcohol.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah.
Speaker 1:During the COVID-19 pandemic, alcohol-related deaths increased by 29%. The average American consumes about 2.3 gallons of alcohol annually, which equates to about 3.6 drinks per day. Now remember drinks doesn't necessarily equal an ounce. It has to do with the amount of alcohol percentage you're drinking. So think a beer, a glass of wine or a shot. Just in general terms the definition varies slightly. It's not just about alcohol consumption and deaths. There are a lot of societal costs with alcohol use as well. Some of the studies that I looked at, they're all over the place. So any of these numbers that I talk about on how alcohol you have to take with a grain of salt, because you'll find different numbers quoted in different studies.
Speaker 1:When you're specifically talking about America and North America right, all of these numbers are talking about North America.
Speaker 2:But I've got to say I've read some articles about alcohol and how it's adversely affected Japan and their culture there and everything. Different health agencies in different countries are also evaluating this on their end as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I'm actually going to talk about the World Health Organization's take on this too, near the end of the episode. Some people estimate that up to 53% of violent crimes are related to alcohol use. Now that number seems a little bit far-fetched to me, but you can think people lose impulse control. Violent crimes, things like that could be attributed to alcohol use. Domestic abuse is often associated with alcohol use as well. A lot of that might be what's contributing to that number. It's also estimated that between 25% to 50% of all domestic violence cases involve alcohol in some shape or form. It's also estimated that alcohol abuse costs the US economy up to $250 billion annually in health care expenses, lost productivity and criminal justice costs, so it's a huge economic burden as well.
Speaker 2:I kind of wish we had the numbers back during the prohibition of alcohol, like if they had any kind of numbers that affect society in terms of okay, when theoretically people were not allowed to have alcohol, although I know there were speakeasies and underground places where you could get alcohol how that affected things like the violence rate and domestic abuse and things like that. If you watch Peaky Blinders, a lot of that's still going on.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was in Birmingham wasn't it. Yeah, but prohibition, that's a whole different topic because we're talking about government-enforced illegal alcohol consumption, which created its own black market and violent criminal ring. So there's all sorts of problems that come with interventions of trying to get people not to drink alcohol.
Speaker 2:What the government causes problems.
Speaker 1:You heard it here first. I got a number of cost estimates on how much people spend on alcohol annually and they seemed low to me. I saw anywhere from $300 to $1,500 a year. Maybe I'm hanging out with the wrong people, but I know people who will drop $50 to $100 a night if they go out drinking at a nice restaurant having some cocktails.
Speaker 2:Let me put it in perspective. We're in our mid-30s, so if we go out to a nice dinner with professionals in kind of our age range, we're typically going out to a place that has expensive entrees expensive entrees being like between 30 and $60 per entree. That's expensive. And then you talk about cocktails, you talk about glasses and wine and they charge you something like $14 to $20 on average for a cocktail or a glass of wine. It depends on the glass of wine and the size and everything, but it is not abnormal to be spending that much for one drink. Most people are drinking at least two drinks or maybe they're having a drink before they sit down to dinner. So that's where Caleb's kind of getting that that number is. In the particular social economic stance that we are in, that is what people spend money on. I'm sure it's very different for people who maybe spend a lot more money on six packs for beer.
Speaker 1:If you do most of your drinking at home and just buy beer wholesale or in the grocery store, it's probably quite a bit less money.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I could spend 20 bucks on a bottle of wine and that would last me a couple of days or depending on if there were friends coming over or whatever. But if I go out and uh, consume a glass of wine at a restaurant, then we're talking that's at least 15 bucks for that glass of wine yeah, it adds up quickly, is all I can say.
Speaker 1:Is I? I just felt the number. Actually I would have guessed it would have been a lot higher. Yeah, um, but maybe those numbers are out of date, although the um National Institute or I'm going to just call it the NIAAA, so I can stop saying its full name talks about how the consumption and cost amount of money spent on alcohol increases by 30% to 40% during the holidays. You're going to a lot more holiday parties, you're going out to social events and drinking more liquor.
Speaker 2:Well, it's a common gift to bring a host or hostess as well. Yeah, that too, it's a common gift to bring a host or hostess as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that too. But even beyond money, to continue highlighting some of the societal problems that we have with alcohol abuse couples who have heavy drinking habits are at a significantly higher risk for divorce. Heavy drinkers are 33% more likely to miss work, leading to decreased workplace efficiency or risk of losing their employment. And that only really scratches the surface. If you want to talk about some other alarming statistics in relation to alcohol-related traffic fatalities increased to 13.5 thousand in 2022, which is the highest it's been since 2008. Alcohol-related overdose deaths are listed as one out of every six related drug overdose deaths in 2020 and 2021. Death certificates listing alcohol increased 25% during the COVID-19 pandemic and then went up another 10% in 2021. Following that, alcohol-related deaths and abuse and emergency department visits and hospitalizations still surpass that of opioid abuse, which everyone talks about the opioid epidemic and fentanyl and heroin and those types of drugs which it's a huge problem. But alcohol still surpasses that and people still think of alcohol as this benign thing in a lot of ways and the normal part of our culture and society.
Speaker 2:Oh, it's definitely normalized and expected. And there's this great skit that I saw like a reel on Instagram, and it was a comedian. Do you recall? He was talking about how he tells people he doesn't drink and they treat him like he's like a criminal, like something's wrong with him.
Speaker 1:I have seen people online say if someone doesn't drink at all, you shouldn't trust them Really. Yeah, I've seen that. I shouldn't be surprised by anything I see online anymore.
Speaker 2:I've seen that multiple times, where people say, oh, you can't trust someone who doesn't drink at all.
Speaker 1:Do they think you're like a cop or something? I don't know. Maybe the theory is that if you can't imbibe alcohol and have it in moderation, then maybe you're someone who has no moderation. I don't know. Nicole, what are some of the things you've heard people say why they do drink alcohol or why they think maybe there's some benefit to alcohol.
Speaker 2:Well, I've heard popularized in the last couple of decades that a glass of red wine is somehow good for your heart. I've seen that in the like, the breaking news, like here's some science, so I definitely have seen that it's a very normal social cultural thing. Unfortunately, there was an uptick in the last like two decades about the mom drinking culture, so the idea that you can only get through the day as a mother toddlers being crazy if you were drinking, or you would find relief in like drinking or that was like the way you treated yourself at the end of a long day yeah, I call those wine moms, wine moms.
Speaker 2:Yeah yeah that I feel like a lot of people who are on the internet probably know what I'm talking about yeah and then certainly there was the madman era, which my grandfather was a part of the men who worked in advertising in new york, and then it was very common to drink during work hours, but also afterwards. It was expected that you would go out, especially if you're trying to woo clients, and that was a very accepted thing. Also, my grandmother who's still alive before we go out to dinner, she asked us to come over for like a pre-dinner cocktail. So that's like still normal for her to drink before dinner and to socialize surrounding alcohol. So those are things that I have seen personally.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there still seems to be this concept that alcohol in low amounts is heart healthy or cardio protective, or even I feel like some people even said cancer protective or cardio protective, or even I feel like some people even said cancer protective. But I feel like most people are aware of what heavy drinking does. There's a lot of risk to it. I think almost everyone is aware of that. But it seems to me that most people are still under this perception that small amounts of alcohol are good for you and you're actually better off drinking small amounts of alcohol than no alcohol at all.
Speaker 2:Have you ever heard that? Yeah, I feel like that that's. I don't know if they would say you're better off, but it's more like a this isn't bad for you, so don't worry about it.
Speaker 1:I feel like I've just heard so many people say oh, I drink one glass of wine a night with dinner because my doctor said it's good for my heart.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay. Well, maybe that's your patient realm I haven't heard that personally.
Speaker 1:What I've heard is that a wine has a chemical called resveratrol and that chemical is supposed to be good for heart health and longevity. So a typical five-ounce glass of red wine contains about 0.2 to 2 milligrams of resveratrol, and in many studies they talk about dosing about 100 to 500 milligrams daily of resveratrol to get any sort of appreciable effect.
Speaker 2:So you'd have to drink a lot of wine.
Speaker 1:That math works out to about 250 to 2,500 glasses of wine daily to get that dose of resveratrol.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, don't do that.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, don't do that, and there are even people who say that the studies that talk about any benefit from even megadoses of resveratrol are dubious at best that they'd give you any real benefit. So that's my take on it. I think a lot of that stuff has been debunked.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, what we see here from the last couple of episodes we've done on this podcast is there's a clear trend of marketers who do their job well by taking a portion of something and then advertising it as hey, this is healthy, this is good for you, you're going to want to consume this because we incorporate this ingredient in our product, but in reality it's. If you don't do the research yourself, then you're just duped into thinking that they don't have nefarious purposes, where really all they care about is your money.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the bottom line, and people just want an excuse to drink alcohol.
Speaker 2:Yeah, or eat the whatever Right.
Speaker 1:Whatever little thing they can find in a study to glom onto to say, okay, this is a reason I can do X, that's what they're going to stick to and they're going to ignore all the other evidence. I think that's just human nature.
Speaker 2:You know what this potato is? Gluten-free Caleb.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:That makes it better than every other potato.
Speaker 1:Oreos are vegan. They're good for you. That's another one I've heard too. There was a study where they looked at a group of people in France who have daily low to moderate alcohol intake, looked at their health outcomes over a long period of time and compared it to other groups of people who don't drink alcohol and looked at their health outcomes. Just off the bat I'm summarizing this kind of sloppy, but just off the bat. Do you see a problem with that study?
Speaker 2:Yeah, how is that reasonable when you have to take into effect things like exercise and their nutrition?
Speaker 1:There's too many variables, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, anytime you look at these population studies where you can compare one group of people to another and look at one variable, you're bound to fail. You're bound to have unusable data because there's so many different variables that cannot be accounted for or the authors of the study simply don't even try to account for, and then you try to take data from that. So a lot of I believe a lot of data came from the French what they called the French paradox and people have hung their hat on that study and I just don't find that compelling at all. And more recent data points much in the opposite direction. So there was a meta-analysis of data from 195 countries found that alcohol provides no net health benefits and increases the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease. Another study published.
Speaker 2:I'm curious to know if it increases risk for things like Alzheimer's as well.
Speaker 1:It does.
Speaker 2:All right.
Speaker 1:We're going to get to that too. There's an article called Alcohol and Cancer Risk in the Journal of Cancer Epidemiology that was published in 2020 that confirmed that alcohol is a group one carcinogen.
Speaker 2:Okay, how does that compare to like burnt bacon?
Speaker 1:I don't know where burnt bacon falls, but group one would be comparing it to cigarette smoke or asbestos or other types of high level carcinogens. This is not benign. This is not a small thing. It's linked to breast cancer, liver cancer, esophageal cancer. So this is not a small thing. And a study published in 2023, more recently in BMJ, called Alcohol Use and Cognitive Decline, showed that alcohol accelerates brain aging and cognitive decline, even in moderate drinkers, people who are not considered heavy drinkers.
Speaker 2:I wonder is there a study that you saw on mental health? Because of course I care about that.
Speaker 1:I did not cite anyone in this particular show notes. For this one, however, there are links to worsening depression and anxiety and most mental health conditions when drinking alcohol.
Speaker 2:I believe that I've read in some of my psychology books that if somebody is depressed, especially if they have something like a suicidal ideation when alcohol is involved, that like skyrockets the potential for them to actually attempt to take their own life.
Speaker 1:I have no trouble believing that whatsoever.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but I don't remember exactly where I read that. I just I've read a lot of psychology books.
Speaker 1:No, I have no trouble believing that alcohol has no place for people who are dealing with any sort of mental disorders, or even as severe as schizophrenia or as benign as, maybe, depression or anxiety Not that those are benign.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was about to be like what.
Speaker 1:I caught myself, don't jump down my throat. Let's define alcohol use disorder. That's the more technical term for alcoholism. So I'm just going to read off a definition real quick. Feel free to stop me. It's a medical condition characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol consumption, despite adverse social or occupational or health consequences. Essentially, bad things are happening to you and you just can't seem to quit or cut back.
Speaker 2:Okay, that makes sense.
Speaker 1:It's considered a chronic brain disorder that ranges from mild to severe depending on criteria, and the symptoms would include compulsive drinking or strong cravings, loss of control over your alcohol intake, tolerance meaning you need more alcohol to feel its effects and withdrawal symptoms like anxiety, nausea or tremors when you're not drinking.
Speaker 2:So I mean, this is like a legit addiction, similar to somebody who's addicted to cocaine or meth or whatever.
Speaker 1:Well, the word addiction gets tough because you can talk about chemical addiction versus psychological addiction, versus an impulse thing versus an actual chemical withdrawal. Alcohol is one of the more unique drugs, meaning when you actually stop taking alcohol, if you're a heavy user, it can kill you. The withdrawal can literally kill you. So that would be a very apparent chemical addiction.
Speaker 2:Oh, I remember what I was going to say. It was for people who struggle with mental health, who may be on medications, or even people who are just on medications for other health reasons. I know that drinking alcohol can be like a very adverse thing when you mix it with any kind of medication.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. In most situations, you should think twice before having alcohol at the same time as any kind of medication.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and by at the same time you just mean while that medication is in your system. It doesn't matter if you took it in the morning, at night, whatever.
Speaker 1:If you're taking regular psychoactive medication like an SSRI, then you may want to think twice about that. At least talk to your physician. It's estimated that alcohol use disorder affects up to 10% of individuals age 12 and older in the United States.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 1:That's just how they broke the statistics down.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but I actually knew a kid in high school when we were in high school that used to come into class drunk and he would have vodka and water bottles. So we're talking about a 16 year old. It's not that uncommon for high schoolers to be drinking to that level.
Speaker 2:Especially if it's in their family culture. Yeah, perhaps one of their parents is alcoholic and there's constant alcohol around.
Speaker 1:That's right. So you see that a lot, too. I would like to make an important note, since we talked about this a little already. If you're considering stopping alcohol cold turkey, I would encourage you to speak to a physician before you do this. Now, if you drink a couple beers a week or something and you want to quit, that's not going to cause you any significant problems. But if you are a heavy drinker, somebody who's drinking six to 10 drinks per day, if you go cold turkey, you could actually have serious medical consequences and side effects that could potentially be lethal. So if this is something you want to consider, I would talk to a professional before doing so and make sure you're doing it safely and appropriately. All right, we've done a lot of doom and gloom and talked about all the horrible things that alcohol does to you and your country and your family. Let's talk about some of the benefits you might enjoy from trying out dry January. Oh, before we get into that, there's one segment I wanted to read from the World Health Organization website and a statement that they published in the Lancet Journal in 2022. And I'm going to just read directly from the article this is the World Health Organization's official stance on alcohol.
Speaker 1:In the modern day, when it comes to alcohol consumption, there is no safe amount that does not affect health. Alcohol is a toxic, psychoactive and dependence-producing substance and has been classified as a group one carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the highest risk group, which also includes asbestos, radiation and tobacco. Alcohol causes at least seven types of cancer, including bowel cancer and female breast cancer. The World Health Organization further noted that ethanol, the primary ingredient in alcoholic beverages, causes cancer through biological mechanisms as it breaks down in the body. This means any beverage containing alcohol, regardless of price or quality, possesses a risk.
Speaker 1:They reported that half of all alcohol-attributable cancers in the World Health Organization Europe region are caused by light and moderate alcohol consumption, such as less than 1.5 liters of wine or 3.5 liters of beer per week. These levels of drinking are responsible for the majority of alcohol-attributable breast cancer in women, especially in the European Union, where cancer is the leading cause of death. Breast cancer in women, especially in the European Union, where cancer is the leading cause of death. Moreover, the WHO clarified that there is no threshold at which the carcinogenic effects of alcohol quote unquote switch on, meaning the risk starts from the first drop. They concluded, we cannot talk about a so-called safe level of alcohol use. It does not matter how much you drink. The risk to the drinker's health starts from the first drop of any alcoholic beverage.
Speaker 2:I am actually shocked to hear that.
Speaker 1:I was surprised to hear that too, that they had such strong language on it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I could not Wow.
Speaker 1:Yeah, speechless, aren't you?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's recent 2022, so that's fairly recent, and this has been my stance on alcohol for years and it's been unpopular.
Speaker 2:Yeah well, you're kind of an unpopular guy.
Speaker 1:I've been massively unpopular my entire life. Yeah, I think Nicole married me because she felt bad for me. Yeah, that must be it was that classic scene where I walk into the cafeteria and I couldn't sit with the jocks of the cheerleaders, so Nicole invited me to her table the table of weirdos we drank grape juice cheerleaders.
Speaker 1:So Nicole invited me to her table Table of weirdos and we drank grape juice. But I just wanted to end on that statement before we got into the dry January benefits, because things are shifting. If you are holding onto this idea that alcohol is safe or even beneficial in small amounts, that should be a big eye-opener for you that even light drinking might increase your risk of breast cancer, which is a huge cause of mortality for women.
Speaker 2:Well, and we've seen a huge increase in the amount of cancers, even in women in young ages.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And I think alcohol is probably a huge contributor to it. So what are some things that you might expect to see if you cut back on alcohol or cut it out completely?
Speaker 2:Improved sleep.
Speaker 1:There you go. That was number one on my list. Yes, you know that sleep is a huge priority to me and it's something we talk about a lot on the podcast Improve sleep quality. Alcohol consumption disrupts REM cycles. When you stop drinking alcohol, it leads to deeper and more restorative sleep. Alcohol is also very calorie dense. I think a lot of people don't think about the alcohol itself being calorie dense. They think of beer as being calorie dense. But even liquor a gram of alcohol has about seven calories versus a gram of protein or carbohydrate having four calories, so it's actually fairly calorically dense. So just drinking alcohol, there's just empty, useless calories that are causing you more problems. People report enhanced mental clarity throughout the day, even during the day after they haven't been drinking for a few weeks.
Speaker 2:Well, you described alcohol as a neurotoxin the other night.
Speaker 1:Is that what?
Speaker 2:you called it and my mom was like really, and so I was. I also was like, oh, I've never thought of it that way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I would definitely consider alcohol a neurotoxin. Alcohol interferes with the balance of neurotransmitters in the brain, meaning basically you have decreased motor skills, judgment, memory and emotional regulation. It can lead also to problems, which is why probably so many fights end up in bars and we talked about violent crime. People aren't making good decisions and they become less able to emotionally regulate.
Speaker 2:Or domestic violence too.
Speaker 1:That's right. We saw that in what they said up to 50% of domestic violence cases. Alcohol also is metabolized into a compound called acetaldehyde and it's a toxic compound that could literally damage brain cells. So we're talking about just literally causing cell death in the brain.
Speaker 2:Where it can't regenerate.
Speaker 1:That's correct. Chronic alcohol consumption can lead to the death of neurons and reduce brain volume, particularly in areas like the hippocampus which affect your memory, and the prefrontal cortex, which affects your personality and decision making. And there's all sorts of really interesting medical phenomenon than people who are chronic alcohol users, who can actually have huge losses of brain areas which can lead to dramatic loss of verbal reasoning or being able to comprehend language or speak where they actually have the two centers of their brain disconnected. That's a little bit of an oversimplification, but I said I was going to try to get into more cheery part and not talk about how horrible alcohol is for you, but that's a trend of this episode. Other long-term benefits you can reduce your risk of liver disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, lower your risk of cancer and actually improve your heart and your brain health.
Speaker 2:Okay, let me ask you a question though, yeah. Let's say you're somebody who has been drinking alcohol in a mild to moderate form and you're like, oh man, I do want to cut it out, either during the month of January to see what it feels like, or forever. Can your body cleanse the toxins of alcohol with the more time that you're off of it?
Speaker 1:Unless you've been doing a lot of heavy drinking. In most cases it's reversible. Unless you're doing really heavy, chronic alcoholism levels, you're not going to cause permanent brain damage. You're not causing permanent liver damage, but your liver is very resilient. It can heal itself and recover in large ways if you give it the chance.
Speaker 2:Okay, so basically by cutting out alcohol and allowing your body time to recover and giving it time to repair itself while you sleep, and then also putting in the appropriate nutrients your alcohol may have had on your body.
Speaker 1:Just think of it like any poison. If you stop taking the poison, you'll start healing. Some damage may have been done that cannot be recovered, but it's probably going to be pretty minimal. If you only are a light drinker, the thing that I would think about the most is even light drinkers over the span of 30 years. That's just adding to your potential of getting cancer. That would be my biggest concern. There's a study published in the Journal of Addiction in 2018 that found that people who participate in dry January reduced their overall drinking habits for months afterwards and reported better control over their alcohol consumption. Another study in JAMA in 2021 showed that alcohol abstinence improves cardiovascular markers like blood pressure within six months. So that would be. My pitch to you all is even if you say, okay, I'm not going to stop drinking forever, dry January is still a good idea because you can see in your life how things start to improve for you and what's my favorite way to track how things are affecting your life.
Speaker 2:Food journal.
Speaker 1:Right, it doesn't have to be a food journal in this case, but it's a journal Some way. You okay, let's say it's January 28th and say, wow, I feel good, I'm energetic, I'm not tired, I'm sleeping better, I wake up more rested, I have mental clarity, I'm doing better at work. Find a way to record that. Record the way you feel, record if you're more productive at work, record if your exercise is better. Record if your love life is better Anything Just think about all these different things that alcohol can affect. And you need to look back at that journal and say, okay, I felt really good when I was off alcohol. This may be something I need to consider, at least dramatically cutting back, if not quitting altogether.
Speaker 2:Previously we were going to have some food groups come after us, and now we're going to have big alcohol come after us. I think we're just going to have everyone come after us.
Speaker 1:No one really wants to hear this.
Speaker 2:I know we're not the fun podcast. No, we're not.
Speaker 1:I've had multiple people say Lois, your podcast is just about having a boring life. Okay, Well, if that's what it is, so be it. I have a great life.
Speaker 2:Well, what makes me sad is when people equate alcohol with that's the only acceptable kind of social avenue of fun that they can have, Because we've certainly known people in our lives where they were like, well, what do you mean? You want to get together with people and not drink alcohol? That's not fun, what are you talking about? And I felt really sad for them because I was like man. This means that they truly don't know what it's like to go through life without being impaired in some way, and to me that strikes of more of a moderate to severe drinking levels. If you are completely incapable of trying to be in a social situation without alcohol being your social lubricant.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that's just the culture we have here. Unfortunately, I don't know how to change that culture. I'm hoping that if we can at least debunk this myth that light drinking is healthy, I think that's a great way to start. Yeah, I don't know about your perception, but my perception is that that is still the most commonly held belief that light drinking is actually healthy.
Speaker 2:I don't know if it's so much healthy, but it's just, it's not a big deal. That's kind of how I've always thought of it is okay. Well, light drinking is fine. Like it's not. I'm not in danger of becoming an alcoholic. Like it's not killing my brain cells to the same amount. If I have a glass of wine here and there, I can still enjoy the social realm of things.
Speaker 1:I actually saw a very popular social media figure do a little video short talking about how a glass of wine a day is still healthy. It's actually good for you and that was disappointing to see that, but I still think it's prevalent. But at the very least, you're right. I think everyone thinks that a glass of wine a day, or something along those levels, is harmless, which it's clearly not and I think the more modern studies and the more modern approaches, like the WHO statement, are starting to show that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've never heard anybody say anything that would I consider to be dramatic, and there's no gray area here.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So you talked about my personal reasons for not doing it. I can't do dry January because I don't drink ever at all. That may be a little bit dramatic for people but I have family members not my immediate family members but other family members who have had struggles with alcohol and substance abuse problems, and at an early age. I just seem to look around and say alcohol causes a lot of problems in society. So even if you could drink alcohol with no health side effects and you could do it moderately and safely, it seems like the risks are just too high. It's just too high the violent crimes, the lost productivity, the health care costs when people do abuse it. I just don't want any part of that because I don't want to fall into that trap. So I decided that at a very young age and decided never to drink alcohol alcohol.
Speaker 2:Well, and you also see in yourself that you're a kind of person that you get very invested in things and obsessive, which has been good for you in terms of your medical career, because you have to be that way in order to become a surgeon, and so I think you also saw that nature within yourself that this could turn into a very bad, poisonous decision for yourself.
Speaker 1:Certainly true. All that's very true, and I do see people who drink in moderation and only drink lightly and seem to have a very functional life. My entire reason for doing this podcast is not to judge anyone or say that you're an alcoholic or abusive or a bad person. It's really just to open this message that even light drinking is damaging and it's probably not a good choice, and I would really encourage people to at least try to take alcohol off for the month of January and have a journal and see how they feel and might help them make some decisions down the road on how they want to pursue this topic.
Speaker 2:I consider when I grew up, thinking about DARE like the program in school that came. Dare about drugs, like drugs, something. I don't remember what DARE stands for, but it was always like the cops and stuff who came in to talk about the adverse effects of drugs right, I wasn't in public school, though, so I never had that. Right, I know what it is. So that just means you're better than everyone else.
Speaker 1:Well, at least I was the uncool kid who wasn't allowed to sit with the cheerleaders.
Speaker 2:You didn't want to sit with the cheerleaders anyway. No, I wanted to sit with you. The weirdo table, so definitely. I've always thought of other substances as more dangerous, like marijuana. People say, oh, it's the gateway drug, so that one is less intense of an issue than something like cocaine.
Speaker 1:Right. I'd wager to say that alcohol causes more damage in our society and to people than any of those other drugs.
Speaker 2:But I guess that's what I'm trying to say is like I've always thought of drugs in terms of tiers of danger and alcohol, unless you severely abuse, it has never been a code red kind of tier of issues.
Speaker 1:That's why I'm doing this episode.
Speaker 2:Right, yeah. I've always said like if somebody offered me cocaine right now, I'd be like no, like I'm good, Thanks. Also, you shouldn't do it.
Speaker 1:But if they offer me alcohol, then I'll be like oh, yeah, thanks the way I sound dramatic and I'm not fun at parties. But when people say, hey, would you like to drink this neurotoxic, cancer-inducing drink, I say no thanks, I'm good.
Speaker 2:So you'll stick with your soda instead, huh.
Speaker 1:Well, would you rather drink that or Diet Coke? I'm going to pick the Diet Coke. Should you drink water only? Yeah, you should, but we're not perfect. I just kind of feel like we should have a whole episode on whether soda is a. I plan on doing an episode on that because it's a hot topic and it's something that Well, we're getting down a rabbit trail, but we will do the artificial sweetener.
Speaker 2:I love rabbit trails.
Speaker 1:We will do the artificial sweetener episode. We will. Okay, it's going to be a sad, sad day, sad, sad day.
Speaker 2:Sad day for you, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it is. It certainly is All right. Let's recap Try to find alcohol-free alternatives. Some people like to drink mocktails or sparkling water, something that still has kind of an interesting, intriguing taste or bite to replace that. Just like someone who smokes might take up gum to replace that oral fixation, you might want to do the same when going out to dinner or drinking with friends. Find alcohol-free activities with friends and family. Like Nicole said, some people it's such an alien concept to them that they'd ever go out on a social gathering and not have alcohol. Sometimes you have to fight that and go against the crowd because you know you're doing something healthy for yourself and making long-term decisions for your long-term health and longevity.
Speaker 2:Oh, and prepare to be asked ad nauseum why it is you aren't drinking.
Speaker 1:Yep, that's the big thing. Now most people, I think, will understand the dry January New Year's resolution. I think most people empathize with that. Now, if you tell them you're going to give it up completely, prepare to be bombarded. For me, people just bug me to death about why I didn't drink until I just said hey, alcoholism runs in my family.
Speaker 2:And then they left me alone. Yeah, that was like the only acceptable answer.
Speaker 1:That was pretty much it. Then they would leave me alone. It couldn't just be a oh, it's a personal decision for my health.
Speaker 2:No, no, they would grill you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, track your progress using either apps or journals to so you can remember how you felt and what benefits you had and then remember. This isn't about being perfect. There are people who have slip-ups, people make decisions that aren't always the best for them in the short term or the long term, and it's about just giving your body and mind a break and seeing what the differences you might see.
Speaker 2:Awesome. That was a good, challenging episode.
Speaker 1:It was challenging and I expect a lot of people won't like to hear it, but that's not. My job is not to make you feel good. I hope that this information is helpful to somebody and helps them make some changes that can improve their lifestyle. So remember be humble, be happy, be healthy, stay dry out there. Happy New Year.
Speaker 2:Happy New Year.
