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Welcome to the Catholic Sobriety Podcast Minisode . These shorter episodes provide quick tips and information that you can refer back to when you need it most so you can achieve and maintain your desired level of sobriety . I am your sobriety coach and host of this podcast , christi Walker . Let's get started . Christy Walker , let's get started . On today's mini-sode . I am going to talk about alcohol and aging . Now .

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I talked in depth about some of this the perimenopause , menopause and post-menopause on my last podcast episode with Maureen Brint-Nell , so I invite you to go and listen to that . You can listen to it before this one or after this one , but it got me thinking about all the ways that alcohol does really help us in the anti-aging department . In fact , it speeds up the aging process on our bodies and I'm going to talk about that quickly in today's mini-sode . So let's get into it . I'm just going to touch really quickly on the perimenopausal and postmenopausal phases , because I have women that come to me and say phases . Because I have women that come to me and say , christy , I used to be able to drink in , you know this much or whatever , but now I'm realizing it's really taking a toll on my body . I'm getting worse hangovers . My sleep is really , really messed up . I'm up for like three hours at a time , and that is actually something that happens as we age , when women go through perimenopause and then into postmenopause . Our hormones are all over the place , and having alcohol during these times can make it even worse , because alcohol really impacts every single cell in our body . It impacts all of our organs . It's just not great because it messes with our estrogen levels and then it increases our symptoms like hot flashes , mood swings and not being able to sleep well . So , in that regard , alcohol is not great as we age , not great as we age .

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The next thing is brain health . Now , alcohol takes a big toll on our brain . It messes with our memory , which , let's be honest , it's already not always the best Alcohol . It's just going to make it even worse , and there have been some studies that are showing that drinking alcohol can even increase your chances of getting dementia . These brain effects can be extra tough as we get older , making it super challenging for us to stay sharp , focused and keep a clear mind . Stay sharp , focused and keep a clear mind . The next way that alcohol impacts you and ages you is we've talked about this before on the podcast as well organ function . Now the liver takes the brunt of alcohol's effects , and over time , chronic drinking can cause liver disease , which makes it really hard for the organ to detoxify the body . The kidneys and the heart are also at risk , and that can just reduce our overall body health and make chronic diseases far more likely .

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The next thing is aging skin . Now , I know you guys don't want to hear this because if you're like me , you try to take good care of your skin . Maybe you buy all kinds of creams , maybe you get facials , maybe you get laser treatments I don't know what you do , but alcohol is not helping . Alcohol dries out your skin and then it leaves your skin with a dull and tired look , and then it can also cause inflammation and break down collagen , and so we definitely don't want to speed that up by drinking a lot of alcohol , which is causing inflammation and breaking down the collagen . What happens then ? That that leads to wrinkles and fine lines , and then our faces get kind of sunken in in places , and let's just , I mean I'm all for aging gracefully and that's what I'm going to do , but if we can kind of prevent that and not speed it up , I think that's always a great idea . We can kind of prevent that and not speed it up . I think that's always a great idea .

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Now , heart health . Let's talk about this . There have been some studies that suggest that moderate drinking could have some heart perks . You've heard red wine is good for your heart , but that is that's just not true . It's not true . In fact , irregular drinking can lead to high blood pressure , cardiomyopathy and even a higher risk of stroke . So for women especially , these risks just increase more and more as we get older . And then the last thing I kind of talked about it in the anti-aging section .

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But if you are striving for a healthier lifestyle , you're eating right , you're working out , you're taking care of your mental health , you are just making sure that when you do drink , you detox the next day . So you're running and you're drinking green juices or whatever you like to do to stay healthy . Alcohol just kind of undoes everything that you've been working toward . It's packed with empty calories , it disrupts your sleep and we know sleep is super important for our overall health and our mental wellness . It can also lead to unwanted weight gain and just make it tougher for you to hit your health goals . So if you are worried about how alcohol might be speeding up your aging process .

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I don't want you to stress , because I have a free guide called Drink Less or Not at All , and that is a Catholic guide to freedom and what it does . It's 12 pages . I have tons of tools in there and things that I use with my own clients that will help you gain clarity around your drinking so that you and figure out what your triggers are , so that you can reduce or eliminate alcohol and that way you can take alcohol or leave it from a place of peace . Well , that wraps up today's episode of the Catholic Sobriety Minisode . Thank you so much for joining me and please be sure to subscribe to this podcast so you don't miss a thing . And remember I am here for you , I am praying for you , you are not alone .