• Sober October encourages us all to take a break from alcohol this month.
• Giving up alcohol can improve sleep and energy levels, save money, and help weight loss.
• Switch your regular half-pint of beer for an orange Henry to reap the benefits.
• The event raises money for Macmillan Cancer Support – it’s not too late to join in!
• We’re serving up a round of the latest alcohol research.
We’re halfway through Sober October, where many are switching half-pints of alcohol for non-alcoholic alternatives. This month the charity Macmillan Cancer Support encourages everyone to take a break from drinking alcohol to improve our health and relationship with the imbibed intoxicant. While research has recently revealed there is no safe level to drink alcohol, the dangers of the harmful use of alcohol, and the higher risks associated with excessive consumption, are long established. Long-term, exceeding recommended daily and weekly alcohol intake guidelines can cause long-term mental and physical dependence, liver disease and failure, plus many other alcoholism-related health conditions.
Millennials and the generations taking part in Sober October will be taking inspiration from Gen-Z, who are much more likely to abstain from alcohol. We’re serving up a round of research to take part in Sober October. Read on to find out how one researcher is looking at using therapeutic cocktails to shake up treatment of alcohol-related liver disease and psychosocial factors that influence excessive alcohol use in Inuit communities in Canada; plus, learn about alcoholism research that won’t break the bank. Cheers to reducing the impact of alcohol on our health.
Therapeutic cocktails – the drink that protects against liver disease
While we are all encouraged this month to switch our regular alcoholic beverage with a non-alcoholic alternative during Sober October, one researcher is looking at using therapeutic cocktails to shake up treatment of alchohol-related liver disease. Find out how Dr Sam W French, a distinguished pathologist from UCLA at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, is investigating how liver disease in alcoholic patients can be prevented by targeting the proteins and genes that play a key role in the causation processes.
Family matters: drinking patterns in Inuit mothers and adolescents
Read the research of Dr Marilyn Fortin, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Laval’s School of Psychology, based in Montreal, Canada. She focuses on the psychosocial factors that influence excessive alcohol use in Inuit communities in Northern Quebec, particularly the intergenerational transmission of binge-drinking habits between mothers and adolescents.
Alcoholism research that won’t break the bank
A pioneering project at the University of Sydney is storing donated brain tissue from alcoholics and healthy control populations to provide researchers with a wealth of samples. Professor Jillian Kril and colleagues at the New South Wales Brain Tissue Resource Centre (NSW BTRC) are using this resource to make significant advances in the understanding of alcohol-related brain damage.
