Health Hub

Having a Dry July has great health benefits. We've brought together a collection of articles that could help you with your Dry July.


Why alcohol makes you feel warm – and other strange effects it has on the brain

By The Conversation on

Alcohol: why do we drink it? People have been consuming alcohol for at least 10,000 years. And when drinking water was rather risky, alcohol seemed a much safer bet. Amaldus of Villanova, a 14th-century monk, even wrote that alcohol “prolongs life, clears away ill humors, revives the heart and maintains youth”. 

Today people will give you many reasons for their decision to drink and most of these reflect the effects it has on mind and brain. But before you get too sozzled, one thing is for sure: it is certainly not a safer, healthier bet than water.

1. It tastes nice

It depends on what you are drinking (some drinks like alcopops contain more sugar) and people obviously have different taste preferences. The fact that ethanol is created from sugars is also likely to increase our propensity to drink. For example, research suggests that some individuals have a predisposition to prefer sugar and this can make them more prone to developing alcohol addiction. Alcohol also seems to act on some of the same brain areas activated by sweet tastes.

Yet ethanol is not always perceived as pleasant; it can be quite bitter. If ethanol is given over time rats show increasing “tasty” responses in their mouth and facial expressions. However, if it’s given after naltrexone, a substance that reduces opioid activity – which signals “liking” something among other things – in the brain, “aversive” reactions increase, and less alcohol is consumed. This suggests that the opioid receptors mediate how much we like alcohol. And substances like naltrexone are used to treat people with alcohol use disorder.


Claire Rostron, Senior Lecturer, The Open University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.


Sign Up To the Dry July challenge and make a difference!

Sign up only takes 2 minutes and it's the first step to making a huge difference to people in need. You can even take part with your mates and create a team.

Join the challenge

What alcohol does to your body in the short and long term

By ABC Life on

Most Australian adults will have at least an occasional drink and about half of us are regular drinkers.

But it's easy to underestimate the health impacts, and experts believe there is too much risky drinking.

What is alcohol?

The alcohol in drinks is called ethanol (also known as ethyl alcohol). It is made from sugars in grains, fruits and vegetables.

It can be produced in various strengths:

  • 5 per cent (full-strength beer and cider)
  • 12-14 per cent (wine)
  • 18 per cent (fortified wines like port or sherry)
  • 37-40 per cent (spirits like vodka, whisky and gin)

In recent years, the strength of both white and red wines has increased.

What is a standard drink?

A standard drink is one that contains 10 grams of alcohol.

The size will vary, depending...

Read more…

Alcohol can be hard to quit — here are ways to set yourself up to succeed

By ABC Life / By Joanna Khan on

.blog-img { width:100%; text-align:center; } /** sign up section **/ .sign-up-box { margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 30px; } #new_user input { height: 50px; border-radius: 5px; } #new_user input[type="submit"] { background-color: #ffdd00; color: #2f9fc4 ; font-weight: bold; box-shadow: none; font-size: 1.02em; } #new_user h2 { font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.6em; color: #ffdd00; } .sign-up-outer { background-color:#2f9fc4; color: #fff; padding: 15px 15px 15px 15px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; } #sign-up { background-color:#2f9fc4; color: #fff; margin-top: 15px; margin-bottom: 30px; box-shadow:none } #sign-up p { margin-bottom: 3px; } .panel-1 #sign-up { margin-top: 0; } .sign-up-text { padding: 0 15px 30px 15px; }...
Read more…