THE BUSY SOCIAL DRINKER
‘It’s improved my liver and changed my drinking habits’
Emily Bain, 43, lives in Oxfordshire and is married with two children. She drinks around three glasses of wine a day – up to 70 units a week
‘When I recently did an online alcohol consumption calculator and discovered I was clocking up as much as 70 units of alcohol a week, I was flabbergasted. I hadn’t realised a large glass was 3.5 units,’ says Emily, who is the co-founder of Bain & Gray, a boutique secretarial and PA recruitment agency.
My professional and social lives both involve entertaining and so my alcohol consumption had crept up. On weekdays I’m at client lunches, where having a glass of wine with your meal is the norm. Then, in the evening, I’ll often attend professional events where you’re handed a glass of wine the moment you arrive.
On the weekend, when I’m having quality time with family and friends, I like to sit back, relax and unwind. After a hectic working week, I feel I deserve a glass of wine with friends over lunch, or to share a bottle of something lovely with my husband once my two children are in bed.
I’m otherwise very health conscious and fit. I eat a very balanced diet, see a personal trainer and run regularly. There had certainly been no alarm bells to suggest my alcohol consumption was – or could – cause health issues. But my Fibroscan results were a wake-up call. My liver function was totally healthy and normal, but the scan showed a build up of fat and indicated the beginnings of mild scarring of the liver. To my relief, Dr Kallis told me that this wouldn’t cause any immediate problems but he alerted me to the fact that liver
I’ve now rethought my drinking and reset my habits
problems are progressive. In other words, if I kept drinking the same way for the next 20 years, it might be a different story.
With his words ringing in my ears, I started my dry month feeling hugely motivated. As usual, my work and social diary were jam-packed with boozy events. For the first fortnight at least I had no problem reaching for water, and I actually enjoyed the feeling of not drinking. But, on the third week, I had a slip up. I was hosting a big work event and I succumbed to two glasses of Champagne. “This can’t do any harm,” I thought, but I felt like hell the following morning, which strengthened my conviction to stick to the challenge.
Despite my blip, my follow-up scan showed that my liver fat and scarring readings were almost back at healthy levels. I’ve now totally rethought my drinking and reset my habits. At events, I’ll stick to one spritzer and make it last. I don’t drink at home now and, when meeting friends on the weekend, I’ll drive rather than take a taxi, which has also helped me to cut back dramatically. I’m still laughing, joking and in high spirits but I haven’t always got a glass of wine in my hand. I feel great for it.’ THE EXPERT’S VERDICT ‘Emily has shown that when social drinkers give their body a break, the liver can repair and reverse temporary damage,’ says Dr Kallis. ‘Liver problems commonly develop silently over the course of about 20 years and show no symptoms, but if you keep straining the liver, you can develop permanent scarring that starts to seriously affect its vital functions, a condition known as cirrhosis. However, it’s important that everyone doing a dry challenge knows that an alcohol-free month does not mean it’s okay to indulge for the other 11 months. The period of abstinence should translate into making long-term lifestyle changes.’