1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,000 So if the three of us have a glass of wine, is there differences in the way the three 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:07,920 of us might experience that glass of wine? And then how would we find that out? 3 00:00:07,920 --> 00:00:13,200 So absolutely. All of us are genetically different. And actually, interestingly now, there is 4 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:18,920 a way of measuring it. And we actually have a test called an epigenetics test. And what 5 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:26,020 epigenetics is, is actually measuring the impact on you based on your genes. So if three 6 00:00:26,020 --> 00:00:31,040 of us were to have alcohol, it's going to have sort of different impact on us. If I 7 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:36,840 give you sort of my own example, where I had this test done recently, it said that I declare 8 00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:41,480 that I drink about eight units of alcohol a week. And the test showed me that that's 9 00:00:41,480 --> 00:00:43,800 equivalent to one unit of alcohol. 10 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:44,800 Oh, see! 11 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:45,800 You're a part of me! 12 00:00:45,800 --> 00:01:05,600 I've got the green light! You go and drink! 13 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:09,840 Hey hey and welcome to the Forties Formula, your go-to place for insightful discussions 14 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:14,040 on navigating the forties and thriving in this transformative decade. 15 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:18,040 We are your hosts, Jasmine and Amanda, two women that are passionate about exploring 16 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:24,960 the challenges and adventures that come with turning 40 and what lies ahead. 17 00:01:24,960 --> 00:01:36,600 Dr. Xin-Yuan Feng is a family physician and chief medical officer of Osler Health International, 18 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:42,160 which she co-founded in 2020. Her vision was to deliver bespoke health care at the highest 19 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:47,760 level, both in the realm of medical knowledge and service standards. Dr. Feng is an active 20 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:53,480 clinician who also manages the medical and business aspects of the medical practice. 21 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:57,480 Passionate about both women's health and providing an ethical approach to health care, 22 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:02,640 Dr. Feng was instrumental in the creation of Osler's Giving Back program, which provides 23 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:05,920 free cervical cancer tests for helpers. 24 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:11,060 As a founding member of the Singaporean Lifestyle Medicine Society, Dr. Feng is a proponent 25 00:02:11,060 --> 00:02:16,040 of lifestyle medicine practices which not only benefit health today, but protect against 26 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:18,880 chronic disease tomorrow. 27 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:22,640 Our main topic for today has been the elephant in the room for a few episodes here on the 28 00:02:22,640 --> 00:02:28,280 Forties Formula, but today we're attacking it head on, the role of alcohol in our forties 29 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:32,800 on our health, on our longevity, and on our mental health. And we are honored to have 30 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:37,840 Dr. Feng, the director and chief medical officer for Osler Health with us today, to give us 31 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:41,920 the straight talk that we probably all need to hear. So welcome, Dr. Feng. 32 00:02:41,920 --> 00:02:46,160 Thank you for having me in such a delight. Good to see you again, Jasmine and Amanda. 33 00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:50,680 Well I think that we got to just rip the bandaid off, right? Just tear it off here and now. 34 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:56,620 Is there a medical consensus around a safe or even a smart level of alcohol for women 35 00:02:56,620 --> 00:02:58,620 in their forties? 36 00:02:58,620 --> 00:03:03,960 Why don't I start off quoting you, and I'm sure you've got all the data out there, but 37 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:10,400 what is considered safe? And then we can go on after that. So in Singapore, the safe number 38 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:16,040 of units or the guidelines from Singapore is, I've got to refer here, 14 units per 39 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:23,080 week for men and 7 units for women. In Australia, it's 10 units for men and women per week, 40 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:28,920 and in the UK, it's 14 units for both men and women per week, spread over three days. 41 00:03:28,920 --> 00:03:30,840 So you can see it's fairly similar. 42 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:35,280 Similar, but I didn't realize there were different. I'd always heard 14 and 7. I never even knew 43 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:36,800 there were like regional differences. 44 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:41,680 Yeah, so there's slight regional differences there, but interestingly in Singapore, they 45 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:45,960 say women should drink less, and I think I probably will agree with that for various 46 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:52,760 reasons. So that is probably the consensus out there with the number of units that is 47 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:53,760 safe. 48 00:03:53,760 --> 00:04:00,560 Yeah, but how about smart, right? Like so, you know, us health-seeking, wellness-seeking 49 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:05,520 optimized wellness people, what's the right answer? Is there one? 50 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:10,240 I think the right answer is what's right for you. And maybe we can expand on that later. 51 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:11,240 Yeah, let's. 52 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:16,000 Yeah, because, you know, getting to that limit of 14, is that safe? Is that right for you 53 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:21,920 and me? I think it depends on so many other factors. So many other factors about your 54 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:26,720 health, you know, your relationship with alcohol, etc. 55 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:31,640 I can tell you right now, if I had 14 drinks in a week, I would be deceased. Because again, 56 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:36,960 if I'm drinking 14 drinks and taking care of two toddlers and a newborn, it's not happening. 57 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:41,000 Can I say something about the 14 units? So actually, what is probably something to be 58 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:46,560 aware of is 14 units spread across several days. So when we talk about 14 units, it's 59 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:50,840 not about having a big binge weekend, having 14 units on a Saturday night and go, right, 60 00:04:50,840 --> 00:04:52,880 that's my 14 for the week. And that's okay. 61 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:53,880 And check. 62 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:59,440 14 units, I'm fine. So actually, in the UK, they actually say 14 units over three days. 63 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:00,800 And I think that's quite interesting. 64 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:02,760 Okay, over three days. 65 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:07,400 Over three days. So in other words, you know, three days has to add up to 14. 66 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:08,880 That's still a three day bender for me. 67 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:13,040 Yeah, that's more than four per day. Holy moly, I'd be dead. 68 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:17,480 Hey Amanda, you know how much I love clean home cooked food. There's just something about 69 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:19,880 knowing exactly what goes into your meal, right? 70 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:23,280 Yeah, but let's also be real. Sometimes it's just not possible to cook at home with our 71 00:05:23,280 --> 00:05:24,280 busy schedules. 72 00:05:24,280 --> 00:05:28,320 I know. But that's why I've been loving Guzmine Gomez. They've taken fast food and they've 73 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:33,480 made it healthy. You get fresh quality ingredients, all cooked from scratch, no processed stuff, 74 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:34,480 just real food. 75 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:38,680 Oh, I love that so much. So even when I cannot cook at home, I don't have to compromise on 76 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:39,680 eating clean. 77 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:45,920 Yep. And GYG offers everything from burritos, bowls and salads packed with fresh veggies, 78 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:50,120 lean meats and wholesome grains and no added preservatives or artificial flavors. 79 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:53,880 And the best part for me is that it is fast. So you're not stuck waiting forever for a 80 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:55,720 healthy meal when you're already in a rush. 81 00:05:55,720 --> 00:06:00,280 Yep. For me, I love that I can customize my own meal too. I'll have a burrito bowl, no 82 00:06:00,280 --> 00:06:02,600 rice, double protein. Yes, please. 83 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:07,000 Just head to your nearest GYG or order delivery with ease through their Instagram and social 84 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:11,640 media platforms at no price markups. Trust me, it is the perfect solution when you want 85 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:15,840 something quick, healthy and delicious because clean is the new healthy. 86 00:06:15,840 --> 00:06:19,120 Sounds like a win to me. Now let's get back to the chat. 87 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:24,120 Well, so this actually brings up a question that I wanted to ask you, which is alcohol 88 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:28,480 one of those situations where the dose makes the poison, right? So the more you drink in 89 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:33,520 a sitting, the worse it is or, you know, kind of what's the relationship of time with alcohol? 90 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:38,280 Yep. So actually one drink takes about two hours to break down and then two drinks actually 91 00:06:38,280 --> 00:06:41,800 will take four hours to break down. So on and so forth. So six drinks will take three 92 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:46,640 drinks will take about six hours. It takes longer. So, yes, so if you have one, you know, 93 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:51,280 it breaks down after two hours and that that's and there's an accumulative effect. I think 94 00:06:51,280 --> 00:06:55,440 that's what we're referring to. So actually on that note, that's the advice we give, you 95 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:57,400 know, people who have women who are breastfeeding. 96 00:06:57,400 --> 00:07:03,680 Thank you. Yes. So actually, can we drink when we're breastfeeding? Well, the answer 97 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:09,400 is no alcohol is safe for babies. Right. However, everyone's having that odd drinks like, yes, 98 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:14,720 I can finally go out and see my girlfriends. I'm going to have one drink. That's fine. 99 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:19,920 If she waits at least two hours before feeding or pumping or maybe even pump and dump the 100 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:23,360 first one, as we normally say, because just based on that. But there's an accumulative 101 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:28,080 effect. So if they're having one drink, I'll say, please go out and have a good night. 102 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:33,160 But to be aware that actually wondering takes about two units to break two hours to break 103 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:40,280 down. OK. What about if somebody is rehydrating? So can you sort of dilute the effects of alcohol 104 00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:43,360 by drinking loads of water? Does that help? 105 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:47,880 I think we wouldn't say that's necessarily diluting the effects of alcohol, but absolutely 106 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:54,680 pacing that. So have a drink and then maybe water in between before having the next drink. 107 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:59,680 So it allows your body to rehydrate to take the next drink, because alcohol, when we look 108 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:04,320 at how it actually works, can dehydrate you. Right. So we don't need to go into that sort 109 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:09,680 of science about it, but it does dehydrate. As we know, it makes us pee more. So if we 110 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:15,840 rehydrate, we get us back to that sort of that state where we're able to sort of process 111 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:21,080 that. So I think rehydrating would help. So rehydrating helps, obviously, two hours per 112 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:25,600 unit of alcohol per drink. Then is there any way you're talking about this off air? You 113 00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:29,520 know, I say I always feel better if I drink earlier in the day. So let's say I have a 114 00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:33,440 glass of champagne at a brunch. I'll feel better the next day than if I have a glass of champagne 115 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:36,560 at dinner. Is there anything to that? Or is that just my weird? 116 00:08:36,560 --> 00:08:43,200 Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. You're right, Amanda. Thank you. One vote for day drinking. 117 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:46,880 Because it takes a couple of hours for the alcohol to break down. And we know that impact 118 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:54,760 alcohol has on sleep. So that is why drinking during the day, you don't feel as bad the 119 00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:59,920 next day. Yeah, it's broken down, it's gotten out of the system. We've peed, you know, it's 120 00:08:59,920 --> 00:09:04,880 excreted, we go to sleep. It's not impacting our sleep as much as if we drank later at 121 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:09,000 night. So absolutely. So what is the impact on sleep? You know, we always hear that, right? 122 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:13,400 Alcohol is an impact on your sleep. Like what exactly is happening that is not, you know, 123 00:09:13,400 --> 00:09:17,760 that is it making our sleep the worst quality? Yeah, it affects your sleep quality. As you 124 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:22,000 know, with sleep, we've got to, you know, there's a comp, there's a proportion of deep 125 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:28,100 sleep, light sleep, REM sleep, and alcohol actually changes that changes that that pattern 126 00:09:28,100 --> 00:09:34,160 that we're looking for. You know, it affects your heart rate variability. It really affects 127 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:39,320 the the deep sort of resting sleep. So you actually have more disturbed sleep. And if 128 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:42,800 you don't have enough deep sleep, and you're just relying on light and REM sleep, you're 129 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:48,880 not going to get deep sleep, good sleep quality. So Jasmine, I don't know about you. But lately, 130 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:52,800 I've been struggling to keep up with the grocery shopping between work and the kids and everything 131 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:57,400 in between. It feels impossible to plan healthy meals without constantly run into the store. 132 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:02,920 Oh, my god, I know exactly what you mean. I feel like I've got everything and then bam, 133 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:06,160 everything's missing. So that's why I started using the meat club. Okay, tell me more. This 134 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:10,640 sounds like a total lifesaver. They deliver high quality meats, fish and fresh fruit and 135 00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:14,560 veggies straight to your door. No more last minute grocery runs or stressing about what 136 00:10:14,560 --> 00:10:19,360 to cook. And everything is top notch to help you create a healthy and balanced diet for 137 00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:23,800 yourself and your family. They even have a flexible subscription service to Okay, I just 138 00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:29,360 had a look and that subscription service sounds amazing. You can get up to 15% off your basket, 139 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:36,240 free mince for life on orders over $100. Plus, they offer over $160 worth of exclusive perks 140 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:40,840 and give you the flexibility to edit your cart or change your delivery day anytime. 141 00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:45,960 Just head over to the meat club and use our code tff 12 for 12% off your first order. 142 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:52,400 Just visit themeatclub.com.sg and give them a follow on Instagram at the meat club SG for 143 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:58,400 recipes, updates and special offers. Right now let's go back to the chat. We went out 144 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:02,800 for dinner and I had half a glass of wine, couldn't finish it, gave it to my husband. 145 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:05,840 And then I noticed that my sleep was really shitty and it was about five o'clock. So it 146 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:11,000 wasn't super late, but it wasn't, you know, early in the day. It wasn't, it wasn't, yeah. 147 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:14,680 But my sleep was affected by half a glass. And my husband was like, well, you barely 148 00:11:14,680 --> 00:11:21,160 drank. Can half a glass have that impact on people or is this like an individual thing 149 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:26,460 based on, you know, the way my body works? No, there's, there could have been other reasons 150 00:11:26,460 --> 00:11:30,600 why that half a glass affected you that day. Cause you may have found at other times that 151 00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:35,920 half a glass didn't affect you at all. It's maybe the type of alcohol you're drinking 152 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:41,880 at that point, right? So different types of alcohol can have different effects on someone. 153 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:48,400 Maybe, you know, you, you, what you ate that day, you know, it was an Indian and I did 154 00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:53,840 go and do a spitting glass right before. Or, you know, the state of our gut health, what 155 00:11:53,840 --> 00:11:59,000 is our gut health like? And so it affects the absorption of alcohol. So there could 156 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:05,240 have been many reasons. But if you consistently find that that half a glass of alcohol is 157 00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:12,280 affecting you, then that probably shows you that, you know, alcohol has quite a big impact 158 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:18,040 on you. But occasionally, you know, then it's probably so many other factors that's caused 159 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:22,720 that. Is there a way to find out how, like you just said, what alcohol's impact is on 160 00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:26,640 you? Like, so if the three of us have a glass of wine, is there differences in the way the 161 00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:31,360 three of us might experience that glass of wine? And then how would we find that out? 162 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:37,080 So absolutely. All of us are genetically different. So we know the process, we know the science, 163 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:40,480 we know this is what happens when we have alcohol, this is how it's broken down. But 164 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:45,620 we all know that genetics all play a part. Okay. And actually, interestingly, now there 165 00:12:45,620 --> 00:12:50,600 is a way of measuring it. And we have, we actually have a test called an epigenetics 166 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:56,560 test. And what epigenetics is, is actually measuring the impact on you based on your 167 00:12:56,560 --> 00:13:02,320 genes. So if three of us would have alcohol, it's going to have sort of different impact 168 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:08,640 on us. If I give you sort of my own example, where I had this test done recently, it said 169 00:13:08,640 --> 00:13:13,800 that I declare that I drink about eight units of alcohol a week. And the test showed me 170 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:24,080 that that's equivalent to one unit of alcohol. Oh, see. I thought that was really interesting 171 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:30,200 to actually, you know, to show me the impact of alcohol on me. So there is now a way of 172 00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:34,960 measuring that. And it's really important to know that, you know, this impact is quite 173 00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:39,440 individualized. Yeah, I mean, I'm German-Polish, so I'm pretty sure I have the highest tolerance 174 00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:45,000 of all time. Well, I'm just going to jump in and apparently wave it to the victory guess 175 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:49,360 box. But I bet again, my real life does not reflect that. So, anywho. Well, and you mentioned 176 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:52,960 earlier about like, we all know kind of the process of metabolizing alcohol. I actually 177 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:57,280 don't think we all know. Like, I would say that there's like a lot of confusion about, 178 00:13:57,280 --> 00:14:01,640 you know, we take that first sip of alcohol to the point where it's out of our body. What 179 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:04,840 is happening in between? How does alcohol get out of our body? Right? We know it's a 180 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:13,760 toxin, but how? Yeah. So when we consume alcohol, it actually goes down into our intestine and 181 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:20,600 into our gut, absorbed into the bloodstream, and it's then dispersed throughout the body. 182 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:23,880 And we know, we always talk about alcohol in the liver. I think a lot of people know 183 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:28,520 that. And that's actually because there are two main enzymes that's found in the liver 184 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:34,040 that actually goes to break down alcohol, alcohol dehydrogenase. Jasmine, there is so 185 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:37,880 much information on gut health out there right now. And if we as nutritionists are tired 186 00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:41,720 of trying to wade through the oceans of probiotic strains and supplements to figure out what's 187 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:46,320 best for our families, I imagine our listeners are too. Oh, no doubt they are, which is why 188 00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:50,480 I love the simplicity and straightforward signs of the berry, tropical and ginger tonics 189 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:55,680 from Akizzi Wellness. Akizzi's prebiotic, probiotic and postbiotic tonics combine all 190 00:14:55,680 --> 00:15:00,240 the good stuff. Active probiotic species, real fruit ingredients and billions of good 191 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:04,360 bacteria in a drink that you can actually feel confident is what your family needs for 192 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:08,480 better health. I actually loved doing a quick shot of the ginger tonic to get my anti-inflammatory 193 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:13,560 benefits after a big workout. Oh, and my kids definitely love the sweeter tasting berry, 194 00:15:13,560 --> 00:15:18,440 which I love since they get all their polyphenol, brain and digestive health benefits. For me, 195 00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:23,180 it's all about that mango passion fruit pineapple tropical tonic packed with antioxidants and 196 00:15:23,180 --> 00:15:27,460 beta carotene for my immune system. It's actually amazing mixed with some sparkling water as 197 00:15:27,460 --> 00:15:32,000 a healthy tasty mocktail at the end of a long day of recording in studio. Our Singapore 198 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:38,040 listeners can get an exclusive 15% off and free shipping with all orders using the code 199 00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:46,000 40s on akizziwellness.com. That's akizzi wellness, A-K-E-S-I wellness dot com. And now back to 200 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:53,400 the show. So incidentally, there's genetic variation with the amount of alcohol dehydrogenase 201 00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:58,880 enzyme that each person makes as well. So being Chinese, we tend to have less alcohol 202 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:05,720 dehydrogenase and that accounts for why you notice that we flush more when we drink alcohol. 203 00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:11,200 So that's the reason. So alcohol is broken down in the liver primarily, but it's also 204 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:19,240 processed in other parts of the body. So alcohol, you know, has to then in the bloodstream, 205 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:23,560 it gets carried around the body. So it goes off to the kidneys, for example, and needs 206 00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:29,480 to be excreted. That's where we pee. And in a more complex way, we know that alcohol dehydrates 207 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:33,840 us because there's another process that's going on in the kidneys that makes us pee 208 00:16:33,840 --> 00:16:40,200 more as a result. Alcohol is also excreted in the breath, which is why, you know, when 209 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:45,000 we've drunk alcohol, you can actually say, Oh, I know you've drunk alcohol. That's where 210 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:50,880 it's excreted as well. It's also excreted in sweat. So these are the ways that alcohol 211 00:16:50,880 --> 00:16:55,600 gets excreted. Actually, I just want to go back right at the beginning to say, and I 212 00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:58,480 said right at the beginning, alcohol gets into our small intestine. That's actually 213 00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:05,720 a really important point because our gut health has a big impact on how alcohol is absorbed. 214 00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:10,720 So whether it's optimizing your gut health, it may reduce the absorption of alcohol. So 215 00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:18,800 maybe that is allows alcohol doesn't impact our body as much or it's very well absorbed, 216 00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:23,440 in which case it gets around the system. So our gut health actually impacts how alcohol 217 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:28,600 affects us as well. On the flip side of that, though, if say, let's say we have a healthy 218 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:33,160 gut and then we start drinking more and more, can we actually kind of harm our gut health 219 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:39,120 with alcohol? We can because too much alcohol is probably going to disrupt the balance in 220 00:17:39,120 --> 00:17:43,040 your gut health. I mean, gut health, as we know a lot about it now, it's about having 221 00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:47,200 the diversity. If you just give one thing to it, it's not giving the diversity, is 222 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:51,800 it? And it's probably more of a disruptor if you have too much. But diversity, so a 223 00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:52,800 little bit of everything. 224 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:56,560 Yeah, a little bit of it. Even alcohol. And it's funny that you say that because it makes 225 00:17:56,560 --> 00:18:00,320 me think of like, you know, when I say more and more, right, I do think a lot of women 226 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:04,160 in their 40s are kind of like, I would say women in their 20s are drinking a lot, you 227 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:06,680 know, and maybe less. So I feel like the Gen Z's don't drink as much. 228 00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:09,480 I agree. I agree. 229 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:13,640 Great job, Gen Z's. Please undo the damage of the millennials. But so they're not drinking 230 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:18,160 as much. Let's say we did in our 20s. Then come along the 30s. A lot of women have kids, 231 00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:22,360 go through pregnancies, are trying to be fertile. So there's maybe a little bit of a dip there. 232 00:18:22,360 --> 00:18:26,720 And then come the 40s and people got small kids, they're taking care of elderly parents. 233 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:29,400 Maybe their social life is picking up because their kids are growing up and they have more 234 00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:35,160 time again. And then they're like, find themselves drinking more. Right? For women who think 235 00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:39,680 they need alcohol, they want more alcohol. How do you encourage them to think about the 236 00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:43,920 role of alcohol in their lives? How do you help them create boundaries that are, you 237 00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:46,240 know, healthier around alcohol? 238 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:53,440 I think first of all, the thing about alcohol is alcohol is not bad. I don't want to vilify 239 00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:58,920 alcohol. Right? So there are many reasons. And I think there are also positive reasons 240 00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:04,720 why women are in their 40s, you know, busy life, young children, sandwich generation, 241 00:19:04,720 --> 00:19:11,680 lots of responsibilities, work, et cetera, et cetera, have alcohol. I think there are, 242 00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:16,820 there is a social impact. Okay. Let's, you know, hanging out with our friends, right? 243 00:19:16,820 --> 00:19:21,960 That actually has a positive impact for our psyche and our mental health. Actually, at 244 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:26,440 this point, I'm going to actually bring in the six pillars of lifestyle medicine, because 245 00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:31,260 that's actually how we re we like to talk about our health and approach our health. 246 00:19:31,260 --> 00:19:39,040 So that is exercise, nutrition, sleep, mental wellness, positive social connections. That's 247 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:44,640 the key that we want to bring in here. And of course, no smoking. We know that and minimize 248 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:48,280 alcohol, which is what we're talking about today. So if you look at these six pillars 249 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:54,460 in totality, we're not just talking about for our health, what we're doing with alcohol, 250 00:19:54,460 --> 00:19:59,860 we need to look at the positive social impact that our life needs to have a balanced approach 251 00:19:59,860 --> 00:20:05,320 to health. We need to look at social connections as well. So, and we need to need to look at 252 00:20:05,320 --> 00:20:11,840 mental wellness. So for women is that because alcohol gives them that, that pleasure, does 253 00:20:11,840 --> 00:20:16,520 it allow them to go out and hang out with their friends? Does it give them that, you 254 00:20:16,520 --> 00:20:20,280 know, on a Friday night, we go, right, it's Friday now, it's the weekend, I'm going to 255 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:26,180 have a drink that may signify the start to a weekend, which allows them to relax. That's 256 00:20:26,180 --> 00:20:32,840 actually a positive thing. So let's look at, you know, women, let's let's look at what's 257 00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:39,040 my relationship with alcohol? What does that do to me? How does that make me feel? And 258 00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:44,960 some of that positive effect actually shouldn't be, you know, underrated. 259 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:49,160 And looking at sort of the six pillars of lifestyle medicine, we tend to get people 260 00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:52,960 coming in who see us because they'd like to lose some weight. And then one of the first 261 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:57,600 things I find they say is, can we still drink alcohol? What would you say? Can they still 262 00:20:57,600 --> 00:21:02,760 drink alcohol if they're in a process of trying to lose weight and make better? I think better 263 00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:05,320 lifestyle changes and choices? 264 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:13,920 I think certainly we know that alcohol can impact one's weight. Okay, so if the focus 265 00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:19,000 at this point is weight loss, I wouldn't say no alcohol, but look at how much you know, 266 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:22,800 let's let's start with looking at how much you're drinking. If you are drinking 14 units, 267 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:28,200 then definitely if our focus is weight loss, we do want to look at cutting down. But if 268 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:32,680 the you're only drinking a unit a week, and because that's your Friday night of giving 269 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:37,120 you that balance to your week, then that's not going to have the hugest impact cutting 270 00:21:37,120 --> 00:21:43,000 out that Friday night wine if you're trying to lose weight. So but yes, alcohol can impact 271 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:48,160 weight, it does actually, you know, can make you gain weight if you drink too much alcohol 272 00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:53,600 depending on what you drink as well. Right. So if the focus at this point for your health 273 00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:59,320 is weight loss, then yes, we should actually be looking at how much alcohol I also find 274 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:03,240 that sometimes when you drink a little bit of alcohol, your inhibitions come down, you're 275 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:07,480 like, Oh, I'll just have those chips. Maybe I'll have that dessert today. Or maybe you 276 00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:16,720 black out and forget that. So that it just comes back to I guess your relationship with 277 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:23,520 alcohol and how it makes you, I guess, make decisions post that drink. Yeah, yeah. No, 278 00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:28,760 and absolutely. I think if if that's happening, occasionally, I think I wouldn't be too hard 279 00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:34,640 on yourself is that's happening once a week. And you know, this happens regularly, then 280 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:39,740 then maybe let's we'll take a step back and go, Okay, yeah, it's it's making me happy 281 00:22:39,740 --> 00:22:45,840 and relaxed and all of that. But what else can I do? That's going to give me that same 282 00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:51,400 joy. And I'm not saying cutting it out completely. But what else can we replace it? There are 283 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:54,880 some people who go it's all or nothing. Right. So we're gonna have to cut it out completely 284 00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:59,400 because I just can't can't do the can't do the let's moderate that. And maybe that's 285 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:03,920 what they need to do for a little while to just reset things. And maybe go back to it 286 00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:08,200 again, or maybe not. However, you know, it's it's what's your relationship with alcohol? 287 00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:12,600 What is it doing to you? What does it you know, how does it make you feel? Yeah, I've 288 00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:19,960 got a client who finds that every weekend, it goes downhill. And every Monday, it's a 289 00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:25,120 restart. And it's stuck in this loop of restarting again on a Monday, restarting again on a Monday. 290 00:23:25,120 --> 00:23:30,280 And it's and it usually coincides with having a drink on a Friday because and then it all 291 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:38,000 kind of goes a bit downhill. So there seems to be some kind of, I guess, it not issue 292 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:42,640 with the relationship, but there's there's more to it. You know, like, the alcohol is 293 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:49,160 is almost like the starting point, which leads to an all or nothing approach. I think for 294 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:54,480 that person is right, let's try it. Can we it's every Friday. But if we can actually 295 00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:59,120 have one front every other Friday, and actually that odd Friday, you go, actually, I'm fine 296 00:23:59,120 --> 00:24:02,640 not doing that. Yeah, then that's okay. But if you find you're getting to that next friend, 297 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:07,280 you go, I must do that. And I'm going to do that. So that's when we need to start to look 298 00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:12,560 at why what is it? What else can we do? I am listening to a podcast yesterday. It was 299 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:18,280 actually modern wisdom, Chris Williamson. And he was basically saying, when you are 300 00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:21,920 doing something which is bad for your not bad for your health, but you know, which may 301 00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:27,240 be, you know, becoming a habit, try not to do it two days in a row. So you know, you 302 00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:30,520 have to then think about if I'm having it today, I won't have it tomorrow. But will 303 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:35,840 I need it the next day? Or I'm going to need it on Friday. So maybe what I should do is 304 00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:39,080 not have it today and tomorrow so that I can have it on Friday. And I guess that's a really 305 00:24:39,080 --> 00:24:43,040 good way of looking at it. Yeah, that is a wonderful frame. And I think that's an adaptation 306 00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:47,680 of the James Clear idea from atomic habits, which is you can miss a day, but you miss 307 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:51,960 that second day. And now you're making a vote in the wrong direction. Right? It's like you 308 00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:56,320 can everyone gets a pass, but too many passes and now you're developing the wrong habit. 309 00:24:56,320 --> 00:25:00,560 Absolutely. Habit, habit, you know, how we know to get someone to do the right thing, 310 00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:04,480 habit, let's get into, you know, the habit of exercise, we need to do that repeatedly. 311 00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:11,400 So it's the same thing. So if you can actually make that conscious decision not to have alcohol, 312 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:15,480 then I think you've got a fairly healthy relationship with alcohol. Talking about that sort of long 313 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:19,040 weekend as well. But if you're having that same weekend, you get to Monday and you're 314 00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:25,120 feeling guilty about it. That's also not healthy. Right? So that should be your first clue. 315 00:25:25,120 --> 00:25:29,200 Yeah. So even if it's one weekend, but if you get to that Monday and you're feeling 316 00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:34,400 guilty about it, that's often a clue that actually there's more to that. Perhaps the 317 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:40,560 psyche behind that. And let's see why. Let's talk about it. Let's, let's, yeah. 318 00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:45,400 Well let's kind of, you know, turn that person into a different case, which is she can't 319 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:49,680 stop. So let's say, you know, it's every weekend and she actually can't pull back. 320 00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:53,520 How do you know when alcohol crosses the line and becomes something that's a little bit 321 00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:55,040 more dangerous in your life? 322 00:25:55,040 --> 00:26:01,040 Yeah, but I think, um, certainly we talked about the person who has to keep going back 323 00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:08,720 to that because alcohol is, it can impact, it does impact our brain as well. And, um, 324 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:14,600 it gives you, what it does is it actually gives you that pleasure. Okay. And, uh, because 325 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:18,700 we've got that reward and that pleasure, we want to go back again and again and again. 326 00:26:18,700 --> 00:26:23,840 So there are actually a couple of questions that you need to ask yourself if, um, if we're 327 00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:31,240 looking at, um, if, if someone's actually addicted to them. So let me see if I can remember 328 00:26:31,240 --> 00:26:37,400 them. Um, so if you have, if you have a, well, CAG, if you have a concern that you're drinking 329 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:42,440 too much, and if you even think about that, then that's probably one of the first signs. 330 00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:48,360 If you get annoyed, A, if you get annoyed that someone's going, oh, you know, having 331 00:26:48,360 --> 00:26:52,080 another drink again. All right. That may be a throwaway statement, but it may be someone 332 00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:56,800 just trying to give you a little bit of hint. That's another, um, that's another sort of 333 00:26:56,800 --> 00:27:02,880 clue as to, you know, whether you're drinking too much or not. Um, just trying to think 334 00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:07,800 what G is. I'm loving this acronym so far. I'll find out what G is. I've just got a 335 00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:12,000 mind blank. This is me in my forties now and E is called an eye opener. And that's the 336 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:17,280 real one. If what we mean by eye opener is if you actually need that alcohol every time 337 00:27:17,280 --> 00:27:21,240 you open your eyes or, you know, if you've had a big morning, anything actually after 338 00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:26,320 the next day, I need the alcohol again to get going. Then that's not a good sign at 339 00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:31,520 all. Okay. And again, I think, you know, like you said, the, the first little sign of I'm 340 00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:35,800 concerned, I think we've all felt that in not necessarily alcohol, but you know, it 341 00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:39,760 could be whatever aspect of our life that we realize we need to change. When you start 342 00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:46,040 to have that little glimmer of concern about your own habits, that's, that's the absolutely. 343 00:27:46,040 --> 00:27:51,240 And if you do just, you know, just, just say it loud, talk to someone about it, you know, 344 00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:55,320 sounded out with somebody. And if you have concerns about that, absolutely. Just, just 345 00:27:55,320 --> 00:27:59,280 talk to someone about it. We were actually saying yesterday that even talking to yourself 346 00:27:59,280 --> 00:28:07,800 out loud, then you can hear yourself saying it. When the thoughts go through your mind. 347 00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:11,840 Absolutely. Well, and related note, right? Like you were mentioning, examine the role 348 00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:16,520 of alcohol in your life, see if it's giving you concern. We were given this statistic 349 00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:22,600 on our very first episode of the forties formula that women in their forties are the most depressed, 350 00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:28,080 meaning this is the most depressed men in terms of, you know, depression prevalence 351 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:32,880 decade for women. Do you think alcohol interplays with our mental wellness? Is this something 352 00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:37,280 that is contributing to us being in the most depressed decade of our lives? And do you 353 00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:40,680 think that drinking has longterm repercussions on our mental health? 354 00:28:40,680 --> 00:28:47,080 Let's start with how alcohol works. And I mentioned it a little earlier. It does work. 355 00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:53,760 It does actually give you pleasure, released dopamine makes us feel happy. And that's not 356 00:28:53,760 --> 00:28:57,200 a bad thing. We need dopamine. All right, we need dopamine. We need dopamine, our happy 357 00:28:57,200 --> 00:29:06,760 pot, as I call it. So alcohol can do that. But it's also a reward. So if we're in that, 358 00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:11,280 if we've got that relationship with alcohol where it becomes a reward, then that could 359 00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:19,800 actually have that could actually be not as good a thing. We also know that alcohol can 360 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:27,680 actually have blunt our emotions. So if that's too much alcohol, so if it's blunting our 361 00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:32,200 emotions, then we're not actually being real about how we're actually, you know, feeling 362 00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:35,800 about things, we may have something that's difficult, and we really don't want to face 363 00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:40,720 that. So we're going to use alcohol to try to blunt how we feel about that, then that 364 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:44,960 relationship with alcohol is not good. So that's where it can impact our mental health 365 00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:50,320 and mental wellness, because we're not actually addressing, you know, how it's making us feel. 366 00:29:50,320 --> 00:29:53,960 We may feel anxious about something, we don't want to face that we don't like that feeling 367 00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:58,080 because it's an uncomfortable feeling, but we're going to use alcohol because it blunts 368 00:29:58,080 --> 00:30:04,640 our emotions. So yes, it can impact our mental health and our mental wellness in that way. 369 00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:11,760 But that's usually, you know, probably drinking too much alcohol. But if we don't have the 370 00:30:11,760 --> 00:30:16,560 capability to say, or the, you know, the ability to say, right, this is how it's making me 371 00:30:16,560 --> 00:30:21,800 feel, I'm going to do something about it, then that's probably when it gets too much. 372 00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:27,160 I used to find that as a 20 year old who when I drank too much, I would actually be a bit 373 00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:28,160 too emotional. 374 00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:29,160 Were you a weeby drunk? 375 00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:30,160 I was a weeby drunk. 376 00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:39,240 Oh my God. Yeah, I've definitely, I think everyone has their drunk persona, you know, 377 00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:42,840 which is different from the regular persona. You were the weeby one. I was the one who 378 00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:48,480 everyone assumed I was sober, but I was like, oh, Amanda, you're the responsible one. I 379 00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:54,280 was like, am I? Because I am so hammered right now. How did this fall on me? But again, these 380 00:30:54,280 --> 00:30:58,880 were in our 20s, these days have gone. Well, you know, thinking about the role of alcohol 381 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:03,440 in mental health, the role of alcohol in healthy aging. Now we were just reading yesterday 382 00:31:03,440 --> 00:31:08,240 about the role of alcohol with menopause. And Jasmine had come across a statistic that 383 00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:13,840 women who are low to moderate drinkers actually are associated with having later menopause, 384 00:31:13,840 --> 00:31:17,220 which I thought was very interesting, right? Because you'd think, oh, no alcohol, right? 385 00:31:17,220 --> 00:31:22,280 That would be the healthiest way to go. What do you, what's the effect of alcohol on perimenopause 386 00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:26,840 symptoms generally, right? Or is there one? And then are there specific symptoms that 387 00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:30,640 are exacerbated or made better or worse with alcohol? 388 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:37,480 I think certainly I'm sure alcohol has an impact because it has an impact on, well, 389 00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:44,680 firstly, as we know, perimenopause, it affects our hormones, it affects our metabolism. So 390 00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:51,560 alcohol almost certainly will have some impact in that stage of life. We know one of the 391 00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:57,280 main, one of the most common symptoms of menopause, perimenopause is hot flushes. And we know 392 00:31:57,280 --> 00:32:02,400 alcohol can make us feel hot and flushed, you know, because of the mechanisms of it. 393 00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:09,040 So almost certainly that would have perhaps more of an impact. Although I tried to sort 394 00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:15,080 of look up specifically to find out if there were any more symptoms or not. And if I can 395 00:32:15,080 --> 00:32:20,120 read these small words here, you know, it can have so much impact. But what I wanted 396 00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:25,560 to say is it can, you know, I'll just read some quotes if I can read here. It triggers 397 00:32:25,560 --> 00:32:28,880 their symptoms while others find that it relieves their symptoms. 398 00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:30,880 Oh, that's helpful. 399 00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:34,800 What do we do with that? 400 00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:39,520 Another quote, some menopausal women find that they're happier after one drink and 401 00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:44,720 others found that they were more decrepit. Basically, the point I'm trying to make here 402 00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:48,780 is there are a lot of studies out there and we know that the whole myriad of symptoms 403 00:32:48,780 --> 00:32:53,640 in perimenopause and menopause is so different for so many women. If you look at the number 404 00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:57,040 of symptoms, it's up to about 30 or 50 the last time. 405 00:32:57,040 --> 00:32:58,560 I think Dr. Tash said 70. 406 00:32:58,560 --> 00:33:05,360 70. It's a big number. It's not just five. So the impact it has on different people is 407 00:33:05,360 --> 00:33:10,280 very different, as you can see, and these are studies. But, you know, it's the impact 408 00:33:10,280 --> 00:33:15,240 it has on women is so different. But I think suffice to say, it is going to have some impact. 409 00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:18,360 But one universal impact that's said on here, it affects your sleep. I think we talked about 410 00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:21,400 earlier that almost certainly is the truth. 411 00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:26,080 Yeah. And I think that's a huge takeaway for all of us because we all got to sleep. 412 00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:30,200 Very useful. Well, Dr. Fung, we're coming to the end of our time for this amazing discussion 413 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:33,880 on alcohol, but I would love to know and I would love for our listeners to hear from 414 00:33:33,880 --> 00:33:40,160 you as a doctor, right? What is your 40s formula? What do you think that women in their 40s 415 00:33:40,160 --> 00:33:42,520 truly need to lead healthy, satisfying lives? 416 00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:50,200 First of all, I want to say actually, I love my 40s. And I think and it's a really busy 417 00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:55,760 season, right? We all know it's a really busy season. But actually, I think my takeaway 418 00:33:55,760 --> 00:34:02,240 and what I want to say is actually prioritize you and your health. And I'll do that by 419 00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:09,480 using the six pillars again of lifestyle medicine. Because here we're talking about healthy health 420 00:34:09,480 --> 00:34:15,160 span and healthy longevity. And that's the aim we all want in our lifetime. Okay. So 421 00:34:15,160 --> 00:34:21,600 healthy longevity, health span is living as many good years in good health. 422 00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:27,640 Yeah. Right. So I say, you know, prioritize you, prioritize your health and talk, look 423 00:34:27,640 --> 00:34:33,280 at your health using those six pillars. So it's not just about how much alcohol I drink, 424 00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:39,040 you know, what my blood test shows, but actually look at you, look at exercise, nutrition, 425 00:34:39,040 --> 00:34:46,360 keep your mental health, who, where your positive social connections come from, and enjoy your 426 00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:47,360 health journey. 427 00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:52,040 I love that. Health is wealth. All right. Thank you so much, Dr. Pham for being with 428 00:34:52,040 --> 00:34:54,840 us today and having this engaging alcohol conversation. 429 00:34:54,840 --> 00:34:59,840 No, thanks for having me. 430 00:34:59,840 --> 00:35:05,520 Thank you. 431 00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:09,680 So talking to our amazing guests all day in studio, we need a good drink to refocus. And 432 00:35:09,680 --> 00:35:11,920 let's be honest, we could use a dash more energy too. 433 00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:16,200 Oh, I totally feel that. There's so many energy drinks out there packed with sugar and so 434 00:35:16,200 --> 00:35:18,520 much caffeine that you end up crashing hard. 435 00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:23,040 That's actually why I switched over to Flojo, Asia's first productivity drink. It hits the 436 00:35:23,040 --> 00:35:26,620 sweet spot for me between eating a little bit of a boost, but not wanting to chug a 437 00:35:26,620 --> 00:35:31,400 bunch of caffeine. And Flojo actually has 80% less caffeine than your average coffee 438 00:35:31,400 --> 00:35:32,400 with no added sugar. 439 00:35:32,400 --> 00:35:36,840 I also love that Flojo is a functional health drink. It has seven organic nootropics and 440 00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:41,080 adaptions, things like racial mushroom for a stronger immune system and rhodiola for 441 00:35:41,080 --> 00:35:46,120 mental resilience. But the fruit and tea flavors are still light and fresh, not weird. 442 00:35:46,120 --> 00:35:50,120 Flojo actually helps me stay calm and in control. So when I get home after work, I can just 443 00:35:50,120 --> 00:35:54,080 be immediately present with my family, not all jacked up and jittery like I might feel 444 00:35:54,080 --> 00:35:56,000 after a later day coffee. 445 00:35:56,000 --> 00:36:00,840 Even better, they offer a 14 day money back guarantee so you can try it without any worry. 446 00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:08,240 You can get free shipping when you order directly from their website at www.drinkflojo.com 447 00:36:08,240 --> 00:36:13,400 This is Paul, our editor. He's a 25 year old unmarried Singaporean guy listening to 448 00:36:13,400 --> 00:36:18,960 the ramblings of 12 older women on everything from menopause to weightlifting to sex. 449 00:36:18,960 --> 00:36:21,520 So Paul, what's your thoughts on today's conversation? 450 00:36:21,520 --> 00:36:26,320 Hey guys, what's up? Paul here. So for this episode with Dr. Fong, I kind of learned 451 00:36:26,320 --> 00:36:32,360 quite a number of new things like the 14 units of alcohol per week for men and I have to 452 00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:37,360 admit as a drinker myself, of course I do know the health implications that are associated 453 00:36:37,360 --> 00:36:42,360 with drinking but from the point of flesh and dopamine, for me it's sort of like a way 454 00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:48,440 to just chill and enjoy life like a little bit. And in my context as a 26 year old guy, 455 00:36:48,440 --> 00:36:53,560 I kind of don't care about it. Well, so sorry for you guys in your 40s but please do stay 456 00:36:53,560 --> 00:36:57,680 healthy and you know, drink in moderation if you do. See ya. 457 00:36:57,680 --> 00:37:01,640 Guys, you know how much we love coffee? And if you want to show us some love, you know, 458 00:37:01,640 --> 00:37:10,120 you can get us one. Just visit buymeacoffee.com slash the 40s formula. Cheers. 459 00:37:10,120 --> 00:37:14,840 Before we go, please remember to hit subscribe and take a moment to support the 40s formula 460 00:37:14,840 --> 00:37:19,380 by leaving a review on your favorite podcast platform. Your reviews will help us to reach 461 00:37:19,380 --> 00:37:23,880 more people and allow us to continue to bring valuable content. It should only take a moment 462 00:37:23,880 --> 00:37:27,960 and it's a free way for you to support the show. You can also stay updated with the 40s 463 00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:33,760 formula by following us on Instagram at the 40s formula. All one word. We share behind 464 00:37:33,760 --> 00:37:38,560 the scenes insights, episode updates and much more. So please be sure to hit that follow 465 00:37:38,560 --> 00:37:42,600 button. We appreciate your time and support. Thank you for being part of this community 466 00:37:42,600 --> 00:37:49,600 and we'll be back next week for more empowering conversations with inspiring guests. Bye. 467 00:38:12,600 --> 00:38:37,880 Thank you so much. That was great. I can't do the sciencey bit. And again, we can always, 468 00:38:37,880 --> 00:38:42,960 you know, cut in and out of, you know, if there's, if there's just like the papers 469 00:38:42,960 --> 00:38:45,680 or whatever, just take that out. That was fun. Thanks. Well, thank you for joining us. 470 00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:53,960 I'd like to get a photo of us in blue. Yeah. Initially you said blue and black as well. 471 00:38:53,960 --> 00:39:08,320 I did. I did.