YOU ARE WHAT YOU DRINK!

YOU ARE WHAT YOU DRINK!

Good evening, it is 13^th of September, 2022 and 5:30 pm here in India. I am Dr. Aneeta Madhok. I run a weekly podcast channel called Integrative health on a platform called Mentza every Tuesday at 5:30pm IST. Based on the discussions on an audio circle, I write a blog post every Friday on my website www.aneetamadhok.com. If you do read this, I will hope to have your comments in the comment box below.

I am an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach qualified from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in the US. By profession, I am a Coaching Psychologist and I went through a self-healing health transformation a few years ago. I coach people to lead healthy and vibrant lives, with my six-month Integrative Living program. Because I am a psychologist, for Health Coaching I focus on the mind-body, Heart and Soul of my clients. Each client is on his or her own journey and the coaching helps achieve many milestones along the say.

Today our subject of discussion was inspired by a conversation I had with a professional colleague on a social media platform. He threw a challenge for a “discussion over drinks” and I was quick to accept it. The title of this blog goes to his credit ????

The word ‘drink’ is a noun and a verb. To drink means to swallow  any liquid, which is also called a drink. Liquid is the operative defining word. A liquid is anything that flows freely but has a constant volume. Like water and oil.

So, today we discuss our liquid intake and how it defines us. You must have heard of the saying, “You are what you eat?” It’s all about consumption, when we eat, it is solid, when we drink it is liquid. So, you are what you eat and drink!

Our body is made up of 60% liquid. Liquids carry nutrients to our cells in soluble form, and liquids carry toxins and excretions from our body too. How we replenish those liquids actually determines how we assimilate what we eat. Hence, we are what we drink!

Firstly, drink water…..minimum 2 litres or 8 glasses. Water is the essence of life! If you do not meet this goal on most days, then just try doing this for one week, and I guarantee you, you will find yourself feeling lighter, more active and sleeping well. If you don’t drink enough water, lots of complications arise. Effects of chronically less water consumption are migraines, constipation, cough and mucus, muscle cramps, digestive problems, bodily discomfort and many more.

I could write an entire novel on the kinds of water available, research on water drinking habits, and so many cultural aspects of water drinking but for now, I assume everybody who is reading this is drinking at least 2 litres of water.

I know, everybody reading this has one kind of drink on top of the mind! And it’s not water! In fact, in most folk’s minds, water is not even a drink, unless you add something to it.

And now I am going to say: “ What you add to the water, or what other forms of liquids you consume defines who you are.”

The choices you have are: milk, tea, coffee, juices and smoothies, shakes, beer, spirits, wine, liqueurs. Now we also add many other forms of fermented drinks like kefir, kombucha, ginger ale, root beer, vinegars of all kinds. Each country and region has their variations of drinks they consume.

Did I hear you asking what do I recommend?

I don’t recommend milk or dairy based smoothies and shakes for sure. I am a dairy-free vegetarian drinker…. So I recommend green smoothies, low glycemic vegetable juices, kefir and kombucha. If you like alcohol, I recommend a glass of red wine on weekends purely for its pro-biotic content.

What do you drink? The friend who challenged me to write this blog probably only had alcohol on his mind  Think about it – The beer belly, the wine shine, the risky whisky, cocktails, vodka, gin, Campari, rum, and so many forms of alcohol.

Firstly, it’s such a cheat! Alcohol consumption is meant to give you a ‘high’. But actually alcohol is a depressant which gives you a “low”. It suppresses the brain’s response mechanisms. And when the brain’s response mechanisms are suppressed, it also suppresses all of the body’s systems. And that is what defines who you are!

Secondly, alcohol is actually a toxin. So, you get intoxicated when you consume it. The liver is the only organ that can process alcohol and a well-functioning liver can only process one drink per hour. No amount of alcohol can be considered as safe in pregnancy.

Long term effects of alcohol are mood changes, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, weakened immune systems, suppression of libido and sex drive, increasing difficulty in concentration and focus, higher conflict in families and relationships.

Alcohol induced mental health. Dependence on alcohol, addiction, alcohol-induced bi-polar disorder, psychotic disorder, sleep disorder, depression and anxiety.

One of my faculty at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, Doc. Amen (www.amenclinics.com) who I follow ardently, has done brain scans of thousands of people to study effect of alcohol on brain functioning. People who drink just 1-7 drinks a week have significantly smaller brains than those who don’t drink, and those who have more than 2 alcoholic drinks a day have even more shrinkage. Size matters in the right places!

According to Doc. Amen, alcohol slows the blood flow to the brain by 20% in the long run. This leads to brain fog, trouble concentrating, impulsivity and more memory problems and possible Alzheimer’s disease. The hippocampus of the brain gets atrophied, number of new brain cells gets reduced, and increased risk of dementia. Choice to stop poisoning your brain with alcohol is yours. Even a moderate drinker who takes one glass a day, is putting his brain health at a major risk.

Think twice about what you put in your glass!

If what you drink changes you, then what you drink is what you are!