According to current Australian research; our goddesses are depending more and more on alcohol as a social tool, an escape and an acceptable means of dealing with issues they are faced with. But…

For 16 per cent of these women, the drinking was high-risk leading to dependence.

This equated to 624,000 women aged between 35 and 59 struggling with risky drinking or alcohol problems.

Lead researcher Dr Janice Withnall said among those  women there were those who had limited coping abilities or nowhere else to turn and took solace in alcohol. Is this because of the pressures facing the modern woman?

According to Dr Withnall said when women in this generation acknowledged they had a problem, they were often condescended to or ignored.

She called for the next national alcohol strategy to include more acknowledgment of the challenges of this demographic and support.

Her study showed such women could be helped if their anxiety-based triggers were identified early and they were given a multi-faceted treatment program.

You just have to scroll a face-book feed to see the jokes about how large can your wine glass be or how early is too early to start drinking with a funny meme.  In Australia there is a strong connection between social events in business, personal lives and alcohol. It is so ingrained within the fiber of our social gatherings with the potential for real harm.

As a Naturopath the concern holistically for our patients is the effect alcohol has on the body in the short term and long term emotionally and physically. Some of the physical effects we see are:

• Hypercholesterolaemia
• Hyperglycaemia
• Hypertension
• Insomnia
• Nervous system diseases
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Decreased libido
• Obesity
• Increase in menopausal symptoms.

This is not to mention the other effects alcohol can have mentally and emotionally. It has become apparent that the belief attached to alcohol damage is attributed to the stigma of alcoholism, however this attitude needs to change.  Women are effected by alcohol in regular small amounts and general health and well being can be compromised.

If you have been indulgent and would like to detox the body especially the liver and kidneys from the effects of alcohol there are many herbal remedies available that can be tailored for you and resources available. Having a healthy body and mind equals freedom and as women we need to give our body every possible chance of health without impeding it with excess.

Dr. Withall’s research can be found here: http://www.uws.edu.au/newscentre/news_centre/more_news_stories/women_to_take_control_on_binge_drinking

 

If you do think you might have a drinking problem you can contact http://au.reachout.com/signs-you-might-have-a-drinking-problem

And

http://www.aa.org.au/

You can also contact us and book an appointment for a Holistic Health Check