Maybe your nightly glass of wine has turned into two or three. Or you’re overdoing it on the beer and have the gut to prove it.

Giving up alcohol can be tough – but the benefits make it worth the effort, says Damon Raskin, MD, a Los Angeles-based physician who is board certified in addiction medicine. 

“Taking a break from drinking alcohol – even if it’s just for a couple of weeks – is a good idea, especially if you’re regularly consuming more than the recommended daily limit,” Dr Raskin says. That’s generally two drinks a day for men.

Also, if your drinking seems to be affecting your work or personal relationships – regardless of how much booze you’re knocking back – it’s time to consider taking it easy, he adds.

Here’s what you can expect to happen, both short- and long-term, if you give up alcohol:

Read more: This is the best type of alcohol to drink if you’re trying to lose weight

1. You’ll sleep more soundly

One recent study in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research found drinking before bed increases alpha wave patterns in the brain – a kind of cerebral activity that usually occurs when you’re awake but resting.

The result? Disrupted sleep.

Another review of 27 studies found that while alcohol may help people fall asleep more quickly and deeply at first, it seriously screws with sleep quality after that initial restful period.

You might toss and turn at first, but give up alcohol and the sleep you get will likely leave you feeling more refreshed and sharp the next day.

The byproducts of better sleep: improved mood, concentration and mental performance, Dr Raskin says.

2. You’ll eat less at dinner

According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, alcohol is one of the biggest drivers of overeating.

That may be because alcohol heightens our senses, according to a new study published in the journal Obesity.

Researchers found that when people received an alcohol “infusion” equal to about two drinks, they ate 30% more food than those who received a saline solution.

Even mild intoxication can increase your brain activity in the hypothalamus, making you more sensitive to the smell of food and prompting you to eat more.

3. You might crave sugar

Sugar boosts levels of the “reward” chemical dopamine, which fuels feelings of pleasure, Dr Raskin says.

Alcohol does the same thing, so it’s very possible that when you give up one substance that causes happy-making chemicals to float around your brain, you’ll be more likely to reach for the other.

“Don’t be surprised if you try to get that same enjoyment or rush you used to get after a drink from something sweet,” he says.

Read more: Is drinking every day – even a little bit – going to turn you into an alcoholic?

4. You’ll start losing weight

Alcohol has a sneaky way of increasing your daily calorie intake without you realising it.

Just one margarita may contain 300 calories or more – mostly from sugar.

Men consume an additional 433 calories on those days they drink a “moderate” amount of alcohol, according to one study.

Cut those from your diet – and don’t replace them with desserts – and you’ll start to lose weight without much effort.

5. Your skin will clear up

Within a few days of cutting out booze, you’ll notice your skin looking and feeling more hydrated.

That’s because alcohol is a diuretic, causing you to urinate more, Dr Raskin says.

Alcohol also decreases the body’s production of an antidiuretic hormone, which helps the body reabsorb water. (Less water in the body equals dry-looking skin.)

Ruddiness in your cheeks and around your nose may also start to fade, and other skin conditions – such as dandruff, eczema or rosacea – may also improve, Dr Raskin says.

Read more: How to detox your skin after overdoing the alcohol, sweets or salt

6. You’ll have more money

Drinking – especially a fine wine or scotch habit – is an expensive undertaking.

Take a moment to crunch the numbers, adding up what you spend for drinks both at home and out on the town (factoring in tax and tip).

It can be an eye-opening – and motivating – exercise.

7. Your mood might take a hit

It’s important to understand that there will be times when you feel like you’re missing out – and it can make you pretty testy, Dr Raskin says.

“People often use alcohol as a lubricant for emotions, and when they stop drinking they may feel agitated and restless,” he adds.

8. Your cancer risk falls but your heart disease risk might rise

According to the National Cancer Institute, alcohol use has been linked to an increased risk for cancers of the mouth, liver, colon and rectum.

The risk increases the more you drink.

On the other hand, multiple studies have shown moderate alcohol consumption may lower your odds of heart trouble.

More research suggests your risk for stroke, diabetes and mortality may all rise slightly when you give up booze – assuming you were a light drinker before you quit.

This article was originally published on www.mh.co.za 

Image credit: iStock

Stuttering is an impediment that affects fluency of speech. It can begin during childhood and last well into one’s adult years.

What causes stuttering?

Stuttering can be caused by different things:

• Genetics
• Language and speech development when young
• Neurophysiology (stuttering can occur after a head injury or stroke)
• Anxiety (although emotional trauma doesn’t always cause stuttering)

How is it diagnosed?

Stuttering can be diagnosed by a speech therapist. If you suspect your child stutters, it’s important to seek help and treatment as soon as possible.

Almost 70 million people worldwide stutter. There are ways to treat and control stuttering through speech therapy and breathing exercises, but there is no definite cure.

This video also gives us insight into stuttering in a funny, yet informative way.

Marelize Wilke

Do you stick to your annual check-ups? Your yearly mammogram after a certain age?

“Early detection saves lives.” This mantra – the crux of countless public service announcements and awareness campaigns around cancer – is as encouraging as it is empowering.

Plus, underdiagnosis remains a problem in SA, where cancers are often caught too late.

But at the opposite end of the spectrum, another issue is on the rise: that of overdiagnosis. As technology advances, science can now zoom in on miniscule flaws that make cancer detection a murkier matter.

Read more: The signs of ovarian cancer every woman should know about

Take mammography…

If five women over the age of 40 were to get mammograms, one of them would be saved from dying of breast cancer.

But another three could be called back for additional testing for a “false positive”, something that looks like cancer, but turns out to be harmless: a cyst or calcium deposit, benign tumour or dense tissue.

This phenomenon is being called overdiagnosis and, in recent years, it has morphed into a lightning rod due to the collateral damage it can cause: patients are exposed to the cost, emotional turmoil and side effects – some of them life-threatening themselves – of unnecessary surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

Read more: 5 signs you might have a scary vitamin B12 deficiency

Unlikely things can make mammograms more difficult to read – or throw off the results altogether.

Here are three common things that can also mess with your mammogram results in a pretty substantial way:

1. Breast implants

Saline or silicone fillers can make it tricky to see certain parts of your breast during imaging. Ask your doctor to refer you to a clinic with experience reading scans of women with implants.

2. Tattoos

In rare cases, tattoo ink can look like a cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes. Make sure your doctor and radiologist know if you have skin art anywhere on your body.

3. Deodorant

Some antiperspirants contain substances that can show up on a mammogram as white spots. Skip it the day of your test.

These four factors could all cause a pregnancy test to be wrong. Plus: Here’s exactly how to skip your period every month.

This article was originally published on www.womenshealthsa.co.za

Image credit: iStock 

Laura Beil

AARGH. 
Huuuuuhh. 
Haaaaahh.

The blubbering erupted as the plane’s engines fired up for take-off at OR Tambo International Airport and reverberated through the cabin as confused passengers tried to trace the source of the sounds of distress. 

One brave traveller tried to calm the apparently terrified passenger.

“You are safe, you are fine. 
You are safe, you are fine. 
You are safe, you are fine.”

But these words brought little comfort. “The plane is falling,” he protested. “We are going to crash.”

It was the beginning of an emotionally turbulent two hours in the air on flight 323 en route to Cape Town.

Holding on tight

Whimpering and holding on to dear life, he was leaning forward and grasping the bottom of his seat, with his right foot positioned firmly in the narrow aisle. He assumed this position again when the flight became slightly shaky and once more, albeit briefly, when landing.

The support coming from the passenger sitting across from him was steady. She held on to him with both her hands, reassuring him that the pilots and crew were competent enough to ensure a safe landing.

Disappointingly, at least three flight attendants passed by this visibly worried passenger and offered little to no help. Only one of them, in an almost nonchalant tone, told him his concerns were unwarranted, pointing out that all the other passengers were calm.

SAA bails out on Health24

SAA has not responded to a set of questions by Health24 on passenger and pilot mental wellness following several emails and phone calls. This despite spokesperson Tlali Tlai initially indicating that the airline would consult SAA’s medical department for a response.

The state-owned airline, which operates on average 18 daily flights between Johannesburg and Cape Town, recorded 53 578 overall flights, carrying 6.9 million passengers, according to its annual financial report for the year ended March 2016.

SAA boasts a safety record that is recognised as among the best in the world and is the best in Africa.

Fixating on plane crashes

Although more people die on South African roads than in flying accidents, clinical psychologist Dr Colinda Linde said someone with a fear of flying, for instance, will fixate on the few plane crashes that happen in a year and ignore evidence to the contrary.

“The person will also fixate on how bad they are feeling, as well as any little sound or movement which could be perceived as the plane somehow being in trouble. In this way they build up evidence to ‘prove’ that their fear is valid.”

The fear of flying, explained Dr Linde, is typically associated with panic attacks from being in a confined space, with a perception of being trapped or the fear of death, which may be a part of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) that is characterised by exaggerated tension and worry without apparent cause.

About 30% of South Africans will have suffered from some form of mental disorder – including anxiety disorders – in a lifetime. This is according to the only representative study conducted among adult South Africans between 2002 and 2004 and released in 2009. The SA Stress and Health study found that the most prevalent class of disorders related to anxiety disorders, with the most prevalent individual disorder being major depressive disorder.

With a paucity of data available on the prevalence of mental disorders among South Africans, the scope of anxiety disorders associated with flying is difficult to assess, noted clinical psychologist Shai Friedland. He runs fear of flying courses and works with individuals on their fears and phobias.

Individuals who hate flying could potentially have one or more of a range of phobias connected to flying, said Friedland.

A few common phobias around flying may be:

• Having a panic attack on the plane and there being no escape route
• Being confined to a small area/space (claustrophobia) with no place to escape
• Fear of heights
• Fear of mechanical failure on the plane
• Fear of the plane crashing and dying
• Fear of flying over water
• Fear of crowds

Friedland said people presenting these will mostly have catastrophic thoughts where they think the absolute worst or they have thoughts that jump to conclusions.

“For example, thinking that some turbulence on flight means the plane is going to crash is both a catastrophic thought (thinking the worst) as well as jumping to conclusions (thinking the plane will crash without any evidence for this).”

When anxiety and panic creep up

It is these catastrophic negative thoughts about flying that leads to either anxiety or panic.

“Anxiety is what you experience before you are actually exposed to the fear, while panic is the feeling you experience when you actually experience the thing that scares you,” explained Friedland.

Panic kicks in, he said, when a person feels that they are in danger.

“The panic is the person’s fight-or-flight response and gets triggered when their alarm for danger goes off. But often on an airplane, the individual may have what is called a false alarm, which means that the person’s danger alarm goes off but there is no immediate threat, only the perception of a threat.”

Friedland pointed out that this may be the beginning of having a panic attack and the individual may then experience a pounding heart, chest pains (e.g. thinking they may be having a heart attack), shortness of breath, sweating, trembling, dizziness, stomach cramps, nausea, thinking they are going crazy, thinking they are losing control, an urge to escape, a sense of unreality, and/or an out of body experience.

How to stabilise the situation

“It is difficult to talk someone down when they are in the throes of acute anxiety, especially if you are not a trained professional familiar with anxiety,” admitted Dr Linde, who has more than 20 years of experience as a psychologist and works with individuals to manage their anxiety.

It is unlikely that air crew are trained in this, she said, noting that they are more likely trained in acute medical emergencies such as someone having physical medical condition like an allergic reaction.

However, if faced with such a situation, Dr Linde advised the best thing to do is to help the passenger keep calm by gently trying to distract the person from the vicious cycle of worry and over-interpreting of any sound or movement as being dangerous.

“It would also help that if the passenger is experiencing fear or panic on a flight that the cabin crew explain a few myths, such as what turbulence really is and what it means to them, to relocate the individual to an aisle seat or a seat with room where they have space to stretch out.”

How airlines can prepare the crew

It would be recommended, suggested Friedland, that all flight attendants and pilots go through some basic training around how to deal with individuals with anxiety and panic around flying.

“Much of the fear of flying revolves around negative thoughts that are often incorrect. I would also suggest that airlines place a panic card at the back of each seat on the plane that has some basic flying myths debunked that the individual can read before and/or during the flight along with some deep breathing techniques,” he said.

If possible, Friedland suggested maybe a worried passenger could be taken to the cockpit to speak to the pilot so that the pilot can put the passenger at ease by answering any questions they may have around flying.

Dr Linde said there are fear of flying courses held by various psychologists, where a pilot explains the mechanics of flight as well as things like turbulence and what it means. “If staff were trained to explain this, it may be very helpful.”

However, she noted that cabin crew also have a list of duties to perform so in fairness they cannot neglect the rest of the passengers for the sake of exclusive attention to one.

It would seem that the Good Samaritan intuitively did the right thing and when the plane finally came to a standstill at Cape Town International Airport, the passenger who still seemed slightly flustered, smiled as he told her: “I owe you a beer.”

October is Mental Health Awareness Month and World Mental Health Day is on the 10th October. If you are you feeling down and don’t know who to turn to, you can get help. Contact SADAG on 0800 567 567 or SMS 31393 and SADAG will call you back.

^{Image credit: iStock}

Adiel Ismail

1. What does SPF stand for? 

Sun Protection Factor: A rating determined by the percentage of ultraviolet B rays (the kind that lead to sunburn) that the product blocks, and the amount of time it fends off a burn.

2. Every 2 hours

The rate at which you should reapply sunscreen. Do it more often if you are sweating a lot.

3. Broad spectrum

Blocks both UVB and UVA rays (the latter­ cause skin ­cancer and premature ageing). Products that don’t block UVA, and ones with SPF below 15, must state they only prevent sunburn.

4. Higher SPF ratings (50+)

The SPF rating above which researchers have found little evidence of better protection. In the future, it may be the highest number allowed to be printed on product labels.

5. Slather guide

To cover:

• Face, head and neck: Use one tablespoon
• Both arms: Two tablespoons
• Torso (front and back): Four tablespoons
• Both legs (more if you don’t shave): Four tablespoons

The place more cyclists forget to put sunscreen? The neck (the back of it in particular)

Number of minutes dermatologists recommend letting sunscreen dry before you head outside: 20

This article was originally published on www.bicycling.co.za

Image credit: iStock

Jessica Cassity