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[Elliebee]

Has anyone decided to quit alcohol to reduce their menopausal symptoms and /or cancer risks? I’ve reduced my alcohol consumption to below government guidelines but I’m wondering if this is enough !

[jaypo]

I've certainly cut down,in fact more than half, I still enjoy my red wine at the weekends but where it used to be a bottle it's now a half bottle.Too much alcohol definitely doesn't help my anxiety etc but I find a couple of glasses of wine ok,can't see me stopping them any time soon 

[discogirl]

i was drinking far too much wine and as jaypo says i feel reducing alcohol has helped my anxiety. i can handle a couple of glasses but nowhere near what i was drinking xx

[Elliebee]

Alcohol certainly makes my health anxiety worse / the famous hangxiety ! One of my reasons for cutting back. I didn’t drink a huge amount anyway. My biggest fear is the link between alcohol and cancers especially breast cancer. I really try to be healthy and exercise 4/5 days a weeks. I don’t take HRT and like to manage any symptoms naturally- anxiety is the worst for me.
Also was recently diagnosed with high blood pressure which runs in my family. 

[Joaniepat]

I think as we get older we don't metabolise alcohol so well. I can manage one drink if out for lunch, but if I have one in the evening I feel foul mood-wise the following morning. I didn't so much give it up, rather it gave me up.
JP x

[CLKD]

I don't drink ........ where DH would go to the supermarket wine section, I prefer to browse magazines 

If he opens a 'good' bottle of something I'll take a sip - all tastes the same though   

As with many things, sometimes giving up is OK in that the body doesn't require that boost.  It depends on when people drink/smoke - is it socially or at specific times of day.

Alcohol and sweets are no longer a 'treat' ........

[jaypo]

I think if you drink sensibly is the main thing, I mean if you look hard enough at studies we'd be terrified to eat or drink anything. I've known women who have never drank alcohol and yet still got breast cancer,there are so many factors involved but if you want to stop then go for it and good for you 

[CLKD]

Yep, good point.  I had treatment for breast disease in the 1990s, never smoked and went off drink early on!

[Elliebee]

So true about all the various studies! Just read an article tonight by Tim Spectre (Zoe health app guy) that red wine in moderation (no more than 2 glasses in any one day) is good for our gut microbes due to the polypbenols. Good gut health is now recognised as being essential for overall physical and mental health.

[Dierdre]

I usually have a glass or two of red wine with my evening meal every night. Gone a bit over the top this week though as on holiday but will cut back when I'm back home.  I've never found alcohol to make any difference with my menopause and it is relaxing to unwind with a glass of wine so have always enjoyed this treat.

[Petra]

I listened to an episode of The Huberman Lab podcast with Dr (researcher, not medical) Andrew Huberman on alcohol and it kinda 'scared me straight'. Not that I drank a lot anyway, but now it's down to only when I go out for dinner which is pretty rare. I do think my body was turning off alcohol at the same time though, because I don't enjoy it as much as I used to.

[HelloSam666]

I'm the same as Deidre in that i have 1 or 2 small glasses of wine with dinner. I never go over the NHS allowance each week and to be honest, i enjoy them and haven't found any detrimental effects to my health / menopause.

[jaypo]

It IS scary all the reports you read,which is why I tend NOT to read them anymore,one minute something is going to kill you and the next,it's good for you,like Deirdre, I do drink more when on holiday but just cocktails and the very occasional  lager but when I think back to what I used to drink,it horrifies me,now it's 2 glasses of red.It's really nice not waking up feeling awful too 🤢

[HelloSam666]

I agree Jaypo, you could drive yourself crazy if you read every medical article about what we should or should not be doing. There has to be some pleasures in life 

[CLKD]

*two* glasses of red wine       half a glass and I would be under a table 

A little of what you fancy was my paternal Grandma's stance ;-)