‘tis the season’ to consume
Welcome December & all of your nonsense, because ‘tis the season’ to consume a few more drinks than normal, a bit more food than you really need and a little less exercise and sleep that what your body is used to.
I am sure most of us fall into the category of enjoying the occasional, or more than occasional, alcoholic beverage. We do call it the silly season for a reason, but with that in mind you can still take control of your health & enjoy the festivities that Christmas brings.
I want you to feel empowered to live a balanced healthy lifestyle, which means indulging once & awhile without feeling guilty but also educated & inspired to take charge of your health. December can make us all feel a little burnt out, there are deadlines to meet before Christmas, lots of social gatherings & indulgent foods at our fingertips. Instead of depriving yourself of a piece of Christmas cake, glass of wine or your mum’s pav, enjoy it and nourish yourself with all the good stuff between your extravagant social calendar.
We know through clinical trials there is a link between drinking alcohol & the disruption of the beneficial bacteria in your digestive tract. Probiotics help counteract the damage of alcohol and help restore optimal levels of healthy bacteria within your digestive system. When alcohol hits the stomach it tends to increase the amount of HCL (gastric acid) that your stomach produces. Increased gastric acid can erode the mucous membranes within your stomach, leading to irritation, inflammation & damage to the beneficial bacteria in the gut.
The human body cannot excrete alcohol; it has to be converted into acetaldehyde by the liver, and then the acetaldehyde can be excreted. This is the nasty substance that can give us a headache the next day.
Elevated liver enzymes in a drinker are usually a sign of liver inflammation from alcohol exposure.
In a recent study
- Liver enzymes decreased after being mildly elevated prior to supplementing with probiotics.
- The fact that their liver enzymes dropped after the probiotics likely means there was some improvement in liver inflammation in these subjects after supplementing their gut flora with beneficial bacteria.
PONO probiotics will help support your body at this time of the year, think a big hug from your insides. Swallowing a few thousand beneficial bacteria each day is one of the key elements of optimal health and vitality. So don’t fall into the festive season trap of over indulging all summer long. Nourish your body so you feel vibrant, energised & empowered to live a healthy lifestyle.
Place your focus on strengthening wellness rather than treating illness.
Merry Christmas.
Gina Urlich
BHSc Nutritional Medicine
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