THE EFFECTS OF DRINKING ALCOHOL HAS ON YOUR SKIN

I've posted this article from the Daily Mail below to illustrate how what you consume affects your skin and appearance. The whole idea of this site, is to share my knowledge on how to look good for your age, without having to resort to cosmetic surgery and without having to spend a fortune on expensive face creams etc. I take a holistic approach to beauty and health so that includes diet, mental and emotional aspects as well as a spiritual approach. The article below illustrates below how alcohol can affect your skin, as well as having a vaso dilation effect, alcohol is a toxin and every unit has to be detoxified by the liver, so this alone puts the body under stress. If you do drink regularly why not try abstaining for a few weeks, you'll be amazed at the difference in your complexion.

Look what giving up drink for a month can do to your face: Mother who enjoyed five glasses of wine a week is transformed after going cold turkey

We all worry about the effect an extra glass of wine has on our waistline — but what about on our skin?
To find out if ditching alcohol can improve your complexion, we challenged Laura Hogarth, a 40-year-old mother-of-two from Falkirk, to spend a month without consuming a drop of booze.
Before this, Laura drank about 15 units of alcohol a week — which equates to around five large glasses of wine and is just  one unit a week above the recommended national guidelines for women.

Excessive? Before giving up alcohol for a month, Laura Hogarth, 40, drank 15 units of wine a week - five large glasses - which is just one unit above the recommended guidelines for a woman

Many modern women enjoy a drink with an evening meal or have a glass of wine at home to unwind after a busy day, with large numbers of women exceeding the Government’s daily drinking guidelines of two to three units a day.
But would many cut down if they knew that, as well as affecting their health, alcohol could also damage their looks, making them look years older than their age?
As Dr Nick Lowe, a professor of dermatology based in London and Los Angeles, says: ‘Alcohol does several things to our bodies, none of them good. 
‘One of the main effects is a chemical reaction that causes our peripheral blood vessels to expand and widen, so allowing more blood to flow through our skin.’ 
Here, he and Laura give their week-by-week verdicts on how a month without alcohol transformed her life — and looks.
WEEK ONE

At week one Laura clearly has skin which is red and flushed 

Laura says: ‘Urgh, this picture looks horrific. I look awful. My skin is red and flushed, all the way down my decolletage. My forehead and nose are shiny and there are rough, dry patches across my cheeks. 
‘More worryingly, I don’t remember thinking my skin actually looked this bad. 
‘As a full-time mother to Callan, 11, and Amy, seven, I have little time to worry about my appearance — I’m too busy rushing them to school, after-school clubs and doing the housework.
‘I can get half-way through the day before realising I’m not wearing any make-up. Even though I’m not vain, I am aware of my skin’s failings. It’s dry, not just on my face but all over my body, and — as you can see — red and flushed.
‘I’ve had broken, red veins around my nose since I was a teenager and, in spite of the dryness, a greasy nose and forehead. 
‘I don’t think I drink an awful lot, but if giving up alcohol helps my skin, especially the redness, it’s worth it. Even more so if it can help me lose weight! 
‘Within days of giving up drinking, my skin has improved dramatically. The redness has lifted, although the thread veins around my nose are still visible and my forehead and neck are a little rosy. Most excitingly, my eyes are brighter — it hadn’t even occurred to me they looked dull before.’
Dr Lowe says: ‘Alcohol makes skin look red or flushed, which is more obvious in paler complexions like Laura’s. In both the 'before' picture and the 'after one week' picture her face looks red.
It can take weeks of no drinking for the blood vessels to constrict fully and redness to disappear altogether.
‘If you drink regularly over a number of years — and especially in larger quantities — small peripheral veins can become permanently enlarged after being repetitively expanded, causing thread veins and permanent skin damage.’ 
WEEK TWO

By week two Laura says she was sleeping for longer in the mornings and getting up less frequently in the night 

Laura says: ‘What a miracle! I’m sleeping for longer in the mornings and getting up less frequently during the night. 
‘Before, I might have woken up once or twice — whether I’d had a drink or not — but now I am sleeping like a baby. It might have helped that it was also the school holidays, so the children were sleeping in as well, but I am definitely waking up feeling brighter and more alert.
‘I’ve also noticed that in the evenings I’m not snacking as much. Normally I’d crave crisps with my usual glass of wine, but sipping a glass of lime and soda means I don’t feel like junk food. The urge just isn’t there.
‘This week also saw our 13th wedding anniversary. My husband Euan took me out to a lovely restaurant overlooking the River Forth.
'When he ordered a tall, cool beer, I had real cravings for a glass of rosé. It got worse when the table next to us started popping corks. I ordered a pink lemonade instead to distract myself.
'At least Euan was happy, as there was no discussion over who was driving home!’
Dr Lowe says: ‘Laura’s cheeks look puffy and swollen and there’s a lingering redness still — although it’s less obvious now.
'The spider veins remain on her lips and nose, but these might take longer to go, if at all. Facial puffiness is caused by the gentle leakage of fluid from enlarged blood vessels.
‘During the night, when we lie flat for a number of hours, this fluid tends to accumulate around our eye-lids and cheeks.
'This is because lying down helps gravity push it in that direction, but also because this is where the skin is loosest and therefore has the most room to accommodate excess fluid.
‘During the day, as we stand up and move about, the trapped fluids are released back into circulation, so the facial swelling reduces.
'After a period of time without alcohol, our blood vessels constrict, so less fluid will accumulate in the first place and skin will look less swollen after a night’s rest.’
WEEK THREE

Laura began noticing a difference in her skin's dryness after week three 

Laura says: ‘By now I’m noticing a difference in my skin’s dryness, and not just on my face.
'It sounds unpleasant, but when I used to take off leggings or trousers I often noticed dry flakes of skin left behind. Now there’s hardly anything. 
‘Equally the backs of my hands are looking less dry and — unless I’m imagining it — marginally  less wrinkly. 
‘When my mother visited this week, she said how less blotchy I was looking — success! A friend also said my skin tone looked more even. 
‘Euan and I have noticed less of a difference day-by-day. That’s probably because it’s such a gradual change, but friends and family are noticing the improvement in my appearance which has given me a real thrill. 
‘This has made me feel braver and more confident. I left my hand-mirror at home for a weekend camping trip this week and only took a couple of face wipes and a small pot of moisturiser — and still I got compliments.
'I did miss having a glass of wine around the camp fire, but the nice comments more than made up for that.’
Dr Lowe says: ‘There’s a significant reduction in facial redness, even around Laura’s nose and lips. She looks healthier, less puffy and slimmer, especially around her cheeks and jowls. 
‘Stopping drinking alcohol means you reduce your calorie intake. There are up to 185 calories in a large glass of wine.
'Not only that, alcohol has the secondary effect of stimulating appetite, so I’m not surprised Laura isn’t snacking as much. 
‘Drinking alcohol also makes the skin dry because increased blood flow though the skin speeds everything up and stimulates skin cells to renew and shed quicker.
‘Studies have shown high levels of alcohol consumption can also exacerbate dry skin conditions such as psoriasis and facial eczema.’ 
WEEK FOUR

Laura lost 3lb and her face was slimmer by week four

Laura says: ‘While Euan hasn’t noticed my mood changing, by week four I’m feeling invigorated and so much better in myself. 
‘I’m getting fewer headaches and have much more energy. My lips are less dry, too — I usually get a cold sore almost every week —  but since ditching the booze not a single one has appeared. 
‘Better still, I’ve lost 3lb and my face definitely looks slimmer. I have to admit, it’s been far easier to abstain from alcohol than I’d feared. I said no to a few barbecues, just in case I was tempted, but I’ve enjoyed feeling healthier and brighter, especially in the mornings.
‘On the whole, the month has sailed by. I’m going to try and stick to the no drinking rule — or at least cut out alcohol during the week.
'I’ve only had one major lapse since the end of my booze-free month. It was the very first night after the experiment and I went out with a group of friends to celebrate.
‘We drank far too much, and guess what? When I woke in the morning I looked red as anything and noticed a small dry patch of skin had re-emerged. It just goes to show alcohol does a lot worse than just give you a hangover!’
Dr Lowe says: ‘Although the changes between the final two weeks are subtler, this last photo shows a much improved Laura.
'Her eyes are more open and brighter. This, again, is because of the increased blood flow caused by alcohol. If more blood passes through the eye’s surface, it looks duller and more bloodshot.
‘After four weeks without alcohol, the blood vessels have constricted and her eyes are bright white once more.
'By now the redness across her cheeks and neck has vastly diminished and the thread veins around her nose have largely disappeared.
‘This is a classic example of what I’d hope to see for someone who has given up alcohol — and if she sticks to it, she’ll only feel and look even better.’

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PREVENTION IS THE BEST CURE

 LADIES DON'T LET THIS BE YOU!

The festive season is upon us, Christmas parties, office parties, chocolates and sweets being passed around. There's more opportunities to smoke and drink and taking weight off is a lot harder than putting it on. Gym membership always increases in January as the excesses of the festive season takes its toll. But after a few weeks of junk food, over indulgence and excess alcohol, bad habits set in and you start to think to yourself, "What harm will another chocolate, drink or ciggie do?" You slouch on the sofa watching Christmas TV munching and puffing away. But before you know it you find yourself feeling sluggish, your skin has lost its lustre, your spotty and you're developing bulges you'd rather not have, this in turn makes you depressed, so you tend to comfort eat and before you know it you approach the summer holiday season weighing two stone more rather than just two pounds. 

There's no harm in having the odd few chocolates or an extra glass of wine as long as you know when to stop. Fill up on the abundance of seasonal fruit, tangerines and oranges are in abundance at this time of year, the added vitamin C will go a long way to preventing colds and will give your skin a boost.

Which leads me to today's news item below, this isn't new really, most of us should know this by know, but how many take heed of it. When we are young and fit, we think we are invincible, cancer is something old people get, alas not so. With the increase of obesity the incidence of cancer is rising in younger people along with of course the rate of type 2 Diabetes. It's a well known fact, smoking doesn't just lead to lung cancer but other cancers too, not to mention cardivascular diseases often leading to amputation. Increased alcohol consumption is related to throat and mouth cancers as well as Pancreatic cancers and liver disease all of these diseases are affecting young people more than ever.

I have nursed lung cancer sufferers and amputees as a direct result of smoking and I cannot begin to tell you how distressing this is for the patient and their families, young families and the small children left without a parent. It's a particularly painful and distressing end to a life and the sad thing about it, it is preventable.

New year will be upon us soon and its almost time to make new year resolutions, let 2012 be the year when you can take stock of your health before it's too late PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE

Many cancers could be prevented
Press Association – 8 hours ago
Almost half (45%) of all cancers in men and 40% in women could be prevented, according to a major study.
The Cancer Research UK report found more than 100,000 cancers each year in the UK are caused by four lifestyle factors - smoking, unhealthy diets, alcohol and people being too fat.
This rises to around 134,000 cases a year when 14 lifestyle and environmental factors are taken into account.
Smoking is by far the biggest lifestyle contributor to a person's risk of developing cancer, accounting for 23% of all cancers in men and 15.6% in women.
As well as lung cancer, it is implicated in other forms of the disease including bladder, kidney, pancreatic and cervical cancer.
The charity said the review, which is published in the British Journal of Cancer, is the most comprehensive to date.
One in 25 cancers is linked to a person's job, such as being exposed to chemicals or asbestos, while one in 33 is linked to infections, such as the human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes most cases of cervical cancer.
Overall, 34% of cancers in 2010 (106,845) were linked to smoking, diet, drinking alcohol and excess weight.
In men, 6.1% (9,600) of cancer cases were linked to a lack of fruit and vegetables, 4.9% (7,800) to occupation, 4.6% (7,300) to alcohol, 4.1% (6,500) to overweight and obesity and 3.5% (5,500) to excessive sun exposure and sunbeds.
In women, 6.9% (10,800) were linked to overweight and obesity, 3.7% (5,800) to infections such as HPV, 3.6% (5,600) to excessive sun exposure and sunbeds, 3.4% (5,300) to lack of fruit and vegetables and 3.3% (5,100) to alcohol.
Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2011, All Rights Reserved.

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A PRIME EXAMPLE OF WHAT EXCESS DOES TO YOUR APPEARANCE

A prime example of what smoking, drinking and drug use does to your appearance. Kate Moss had it all, and yet she has taken it for granted, sad to see really for she's only 37, if she keeps going at this rate what will she be like at 57.

As I see it you only have one body and if you look after it, it will serve you well, however if you abuse it, you will pay for it.

Article below from the Daily Mail

A face in the life of Kate Moss: The coarsening effect of drink, drugs and non-stop partying

Serene, poised and with the hint of a shy smile — Kate Moss was barely recognisable when the Mail published pictures of her yesterday as a sweet 17-year-old posing for a bridal magazine.

Twenty years on, and the wear and tear of her notorious lifestyle has taken its toll.

Here, we look back at Kate’s 20-year career and chart the decline of a once-great beauty.

1991: Fresh-faced and wide-eyed, a teenage girl from Croydon has been talent-spotted by Storm model agency boss Sarah Doukas while standing in a check-in queue at JFK Airport in New York.
It’s hard to believe that back then it was her peaches-and-cream complexion and wholesome looks that used to win her work such as this shoot in Brides magazine.

1992: The girl with the skinny body and squeaky voice is taking the fashion world by storm, securing fashion spreads in Harpers & Queen and Vanity Fair.
But the first taste of the controversy that will dog her career comes when she appears topless in an advert for Calvin Klein.

1993: Kate’s painfully thin body, part of the so-called ‘heroin chic’ trend, is giving cause for concern.
Alongside fellow models Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell, her skinniness is plain to see.
Even former U.S. President Bill Clinton criticises the look. But it doesn’t stop Vogue making the 19-year-old one of its youngest-ever faces on its cover.

1994: Moss mania has stormed the fashion world — and there is no stopping Kate.
She’s a regular on the club scene, but is still young enough for all of those late nights not to take their toll.
Here, the 20-year-old Kate shows why she’s commanding fees of £10,000  a day.

1995: Kate’s learned how to perfect the pout — here accentuated with a striking red lipstick — and hooks up with the first of many celebrity boyfriends in the form of Hollywood actor Johnny Depp.
In his day, Johnny was a hell-raiser, but even he told friends he struggled to keep up with Kate’s drinking and wild partying.

1996: This is the year Kate wins the  Vogue/VH1 Model Of The Year competition.
The sullen, vacant stare seen here on the catwalk at a Calvin Klein show is becoming her trademark.
Off-duty, Johnny Depp is introducing her to the Hollywood brat pack.
Brad Pitt and Keanu Reeves are becoming her new celebrity friends.
 

1997: When she’s not burning the midnight oil in Los Angeles, Kate is hitting the clubs in London with her new best friends, rock star Liam Gallagher and actress Patsy Kensit.
Her two-packs-a-day smoking habit is just starting to take its toll.
The supermodel’s skin is beginning to look dull and her teeth are showing signs of becoming stained.

1998: Reputedly earning £3million a year, but all those late nights — and the break-up of her relationship with Depp soon after this picture was taken — all prove too much, and in November Kate checks into rehab at The Priory.
Rumours of drug-taking are rife, but Kate insists she simply ‘partied too much’.

1999: Refreshed and detoxed, Kate appears on the catwalk for the first time after rehab.
The scandal didn’t harm her career — climbing to 18th in the list of Britain’s richest women, she racks up a six-figure fee for a L’Oreal hair commercial and closes the year on the cover of American Vogue.

2000: Is she really just 26? Kate has become a fixture in the louche Primrose Hill set, alongside Sadie Frost and Jude Law.
The reckless lifestyle results in a health scare that puts the model in hospital with a kidney infection. Not that it seems to matter in the cynical world of fashion.
She briefly quits the catwalk, but is soon coaxed back.

2001: Now with a new partner,  magazine journalist Jefferson Hack, Kate is fuller-faced — and also Britain’s wealthiest supermodel, worth £15 million. 
But in an interview she says modelling is often far from thrilling, and reveals that she turned to drink and drugs because she started to find the job boring.

2002: Eyes blurred, and a cigarette dangling from her mouth, the model emerges from another night on the town. Yet it is around the time this picture is taken that Kate becomes pregnant.
Nine months later, the model gives birth to Lila Grace. Whether Kate is mature enough to look after herself, let alone a newborn, is another matter.

2003: A mother, but still a jetsetter, Kate takes Lila with her to Thailand and to New York. If her eyes look weary, it may be because she’s still partying.
Even Lila’s christening prompts a two-day booze-fuelled celebration. As for maternity leave, forget it. Kate attends every major summer event, from Glastonbury to pal Stella McCartney’s wedding.

2004: Her once-healthy hair is losing its lustre. But as she turns 30, there’s no sign of slowing down.
Kate celebrates her birthday with a Beautiful And Damned themed party recreating the debauched world inhabited by the fast-living but ultimately doomed characters of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel.
The moral of the story seems to have escaped her.

2005: Scowling and with wrinkles around her eyes and nose, Kate is plummeting off the rails thanks to a new boyfriend, rock star (and junkie) Pete Doherty.
It’s not long before Kate is pictured snorting what appears to be cocaine and is plunged into a scandal. She loses an H&M campaign, but clings on to her Dior contract.
Today, she’s the face of their new perfume . . .Dior Addict.

2006: Kate starts the year on the ski slopes with a 20-year-old toyboy named Jamie Burke.
Despite the whole drugs debacle, the British model picks up contracts with Calvin Klein, Roberto Cavalli, Bulgari, Stella McCartney and Virgin Mobile among others. So why does she look so glum here?
Perhaps it’s something to do with her troubled rekindled relationship with Doherty.

2007: After splitting with Pete Doherty, Kate launches the second range of her designs for Topshop, after  chatting up its owner Philip Green with the line: ‘I’m a girl from Croydon, you’re a boy from Croydon, why don’t we do something together?’
The pair are soon out on the town together. Quite what Green’s wife Tina makes of it is another matter.

2008: Is it EastEnders’ Gillian Taylforth? The year begins with a planned 34‑hour celebration to mark her 34th birthday.
But age is catching up with the model as she heads to bed at her £8 million new home in North London after only 18 hours.
Her latest relationship — with guitarist Jamie Hince — follows a rocky path after rows over her party lifestyle.

2009: Oh dear. The past year has taken its toll.
It started with another boozy 18-hour birthday party (yawn). But the harsh light of the Cote D’Azur weather shows up the unflattering effect that sun, cigarettes and alcohol have taken on her skin.
Her forehead shows lines, crows’ feet are obvious and her skin  looks parched and patchy.

2010: Rumours circulate that Kate has married her boyfriend Jamie Hince, but, in fact, they have just got engaged.
At the launch party for Topshop’s Knightsbridge store, Kate looks more like her old self.
But her famously almond-shaped eyes and chiselled cheekbones are enhanced (disguised?) with heavy make-up.

2011: Looking 37 going on 47, Kate is now busy preparing for her July wedding to Jamie Hince.
How she is dressed on the big day will be a surprise, but one thing is certain: she’ll be almost unrecognisable from the fresh-faced 17-year-old that she was 20 years ago when she posed in that early shoot for Brides magazine.

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HOW BINGE DRINKING CAN DAMAGE YOUR MEMORY

An article found in today's Daily Mail. I certainly wonder about this, certainly when I was lecturing at college and over hearing the tales of what my students got up to. Week end classes were certainly bad, that's if they turned up, they were generally late or fell asleep. No body is saying the odd drink is bad however moderation is the key. Alcohol is toxic to the liver and cirrhosis of the liver is becoming apparent in young people, it is worrying what a whole generation is doing to themselves

Why binge drinking makes you forgetful - it damages your ability to lay down long-term memories

Students who enjoy regular pub crawls are putting their long-term memory at risk, scientists warn.
A study has found that binge drinking affects the brain's hippocampus, which plays a key role in learning and memory.
This brain structure is particularly sensitive to the poisonous effect of alcohol no matter what your age, which is bad news for heavy drinking undergraduates.

Night on the tiles: Heavy drinking can affect your memory long-term and not just the night after

Lead researcher Dr Maria Parada said: 'We wondered whether hippocampus-dependent learning and memory could be affected by heavy episodic drinking.
'In northern European countries, there is a strong tradition of a sporadic, drunkenness-orientated, drinking style.
'In recent years, the pattern of binge drinking among young people has become more widespread throughout Europe, hence the growing concern about this issue.'
Our long-term memory is split into two types: declarative memory - which is our memory for facts and procedural memory - which is how we know how to physically do something like tie our shoelaces.
Scientists from Universidade de Santiago de Compostela in Spain found heavy drinking had a detrimental effect on students' declarative memory.
Those who admitted to indulging in too many pints were not as good at remembering facts.

THE HIPPOCAMPUS

This seahorse-shaped set of neurons is known to be play a role in both writing a working memory and committing it into a long term memory store.
It also connects memories with other memories to give them context. So pictures from your first day at work may be connected with information about the physical surroundings.

Many people with damage to the hippocampus have anterograde amnesia: they can remember the distant past but cannot form new memories. However, they can learn new skills.
The most often quoted case is of H.M. Two thirds of his hippocampus was removed to relieve him of epileptic seizures in 1953.
Doctors then realised that although H.M had memories from before the operation, he could not hold on to any new memories for more than a few seconds.
His story changed scientific understanding about the brain.

Dr Parada said: 'Our main finding was a clear association between binge drinking and a lower ability to learn new verbal information in healthy college students.
'This was even after controlling for other possible confounding variables such as intellectual levels, history of disorders, other drug use, or family history of alcoholism.'
The study examined 122 Spanish university students, aged between 18 and 20, divided into two groups - those who engaged in binge drinking and those who abstained.

They were then subjected to a neuropsychological assessment which included a logical memory subtest to test verbal declarative memory and tests to measure visual declarative memory.
Dr Parada said: 'This (study) allowed us to establish a clearer association between binge drinking patterns and poorer performance on memory tasks.
'One of the factors that appear to be behind this pattern of consumption is the low perception of risk.
'Whereas most attention has focused on negative consequences such as traffic accidents, violence or public disorder, society and students themselves are unaware of the damaging effects binge drinking may have on the brain.'
She added that the study accounted for variables such as genetic vulnerability, or drug use, such as marijuana.
Dr Parada said they would be following the students long-term to see whether drinking could affect academic performance, when taking variables such as class attendance into account.
The findings are published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1387919/Alcohol-Heavy-drinking-university-damages-long-term-memory.html#ixzz1MuC1XY00

Maggie Brown (Author)

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