Content originally from Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System
In my last email I talked about why keeping an eye on your blood pressure could help keep hearts attacks and strokes at bay. I hope you found the information useful, don’t forget to look out for the local programmes I mentioned that will help you monitor your blood pressure at home.
High blood pressure can often be prevented or reduced by eating healthily, maintaining a healthy weight, taking regular exercise, not smoking and drinking alcohol in moderation.
Cutting back on the booze can be a really effective way to improve your health, boost your energy, lose weight and save money.
Any reduction in the amount you drink every week will be beneficial – and with the right help, it’s easier than you think.
Long term benefits of drinking less:
- Lower blood pressure.
- Lower risk of stroke, hypertension, cancer and liver disease.
- Lower cholesterol levels.
- Improved mood, memory and quality of sleep.
- Better-looking skin.
- Help with weight management.
Alcohol consumption guidance
To keep reduce health risks from alcohol, the UK Chief Medical Officers advise it is safest not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis.
Units are a simple way of expressing the quantity of pure alcohol in a drink. One unit is 10ml or 8g of pure alcohol. The number of units is based on the size of the drink, as well as its alcoholic strength.
If you regularly drink as much as 14 units per week, it’s best to spread your drinking evenly over three or more days. If you have one or two heavy drinking episodes a week, you will increase your risk of long-term illness and injury.
Drink Free Days
If you wish to cut down the amount you drink, a good way to help achieve this, is to have several drink-free days a week. The NHS has a great app called Drink Free Days which allows you to keep track of your drinking habits, get simple and practical tips to help you control your drinking and celebrate milestones when you reach targets.
Finally, if you feel you need extra support to cut down on your alcohol consumption, then please get in touch with your local lifestyle service, who can help you understand more about your health needs, prioritise them and find the right support for you.
Take care,
Dr Pete Scolding
SWF Health & Social Care Group 