Erin O'Hara: naturopath and wellness expert on how you can regulate your drinking this holiday season

The holiday season means more gatherings and Christmas parties - and with it, more opportunities to binge-drink.

Recent data shows  one in every five New Zealand adults were hazardous drinkers, placing themselves and others at risk of harm.

Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara reveals how Kiwis can be mindful and stay safe this holiday season.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News Talks EDB.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Well, this is News TALKSB. It's a Sunday Session. I'm
Andrew Dickins filling in for Francesca Runcin. So let's talk
about well being. And it's my great pleasure to welcome
to the program. Erin O'Hara, a natural path holds a
Bachelor of Science and Physiology and a Bachelor of Natural Medicine,
and welcome into the program.

Speaker 3 (00:29):
Good morning.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Got a hell of a shock this morning. I walked
into work and I came through the lobby and the
elves have been at work and there's a big old
Christmas tree there in there. I thought, oh no, it's started.

Speaker 3 (00:39):
Yep. We're into the holiday season. There's so much holiday
spirit and Christmas parties and it's social gatherings all around exactly.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
So speaking of the Christmas spirit, this is a time
for us to think about our drinking.

Speaker 3 (00:52):
Yeah, it's a time actually in everywhere around the world,
particularly in New Zealand, we have a very high binge
drinking rate, and as we head into the holiday seasons,
it seems to be a little bit more on steroids.
So there's a lot more people drinking and unfortunately binge drinking,
which is what's actually a big problem. And one in

(01:13):
five New Zealand adults actually drink to a hazardous level
which actually affects their health and actually affects themselves and
it puts others at risk as well.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
How does it affect their health?

Speaker 3 (01:24):
Oh, has a huge effect on your health if you're
drinking excessively long term, especially the binge drinking habits, it
actually loads the liver, can cause liver disease or alcoholic
fatty liver disease, also heart problems, high blood pressure if
you're doing it regularly, higher risk of stroke, also increase
risk of cancer as well, because your liver is your

(01:45):
main detox or get in your body.

Speaker 2 (01:48):
Yeah, well, I just had my blood's done the other
day and they said, well, you might want to have
an ultrasound on that liver because I've had a lifetime
of whatever. And the other interesting thing is that apparently
my blood, my red blood cells have got a bit
bigger than they should be and they say that's probably
because of drinking.

Speaker 3 (02:05):
Yeah, think here's a huge effect on your house. At
the end of the day. It is quite toxic to
the body, and there's not a lot of benefits apart
from the fun element of feeling relaxed. But actually, and
it is actually at the present because it makes you
feel calm, but actually the load it has on the
body that it has to affect your health, not just
in that moment in time, but if you have a

(02:27):
big drinking session or fex you for days to recover
from that time, but also that long term impact that
it's having on your health as well.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
Absolutely, and this is the time, as you mentioned right
at the very beginning, that we have an awful lot
of social occasions and it's lovely to have a glass
of wine maybe two, but when you start having three
or four and when the bottle starts sort of falling,
that's not good. So what we need to do is
address how we control at least moderation. And so what
are your tips about moderation.

Speaker 3 (02:56):
Yeah, so quite often at this time of year, people
think I'm going to start in the new year. But
so instead of thinking that, maybe start looking at your
drinking now, know your limits and maybe have a set
yourself a limit. And you go to a Christmas party
or a social event, so you know how many drinks
you're going to have. Tracking your drinks across the weeks
and know how many units of our cohoal you've had

(03:16):
across the week can always be really helpful. Maybe slowing
down your drinking, so sipping your alcohol holic drinks rather
than guzzling them down, that will actually help you reduce
the amount of drinks that you'll have. And it might
be that typical technique of alternating between an alcoholic drink
and maybe a glass of water or fizzy water to
try and just keep the balance you don't overload with alcohol.

Speaker 2 (03:38):
Sometimes I think a lot of people just drink purely
because they want something in their hands, and it's not
actually a physiological thing. It's a mental thing, and it's
just something you've got used to over the years. So
if you just go to a water after every drink,
to one and then a water one and then a water,
then you know, then the bladder will start telling you

(03:59):
to start, but it will.

Speaker 3 (04:00):
I actually help you with the detoxing from the alcohol
as well. Or maybe it's swapping out some of your
alcolol drinks to mocktails or non alcholic drink which nowadays
there's so many options with alcohol free bears, alcohol free
drinks that you could swap out to instead of always
having our colic drink, and that will also help reduce

(04:20):
our cohol.

Speaker 2 (04:21):
What about food? Of course, you know you eat some
food to mop up the booze? Is that true?

Speaker 3 (04:27):
That is absolutely true, and it might be preparing having
a proper meal before you have your drink, or having
snacks while you're drinking. So you can actually help with
keeping that balance of not overloading your system and also
not pre loading with our coolic drinks as well. If
you're heading out for a night of Christmas parties, instead
have no alcholic drinks before you go, so you can

(04:48):
then just have them and enjoy them with your social
workmates or friends or family.

Speaker 2 (04:52):
Now you're a naturopath, But do you drink?

Speaker 3 (04:55):
I do not drink at all. I have never really drunk,
so I'm not a person who drinks olcohol. But I
said a lot in my clinic, and particularly this last week,
I've seen a lot more people that have just up
to their drinking recently because of more social events, and
it's something that I think we all need to look
at me personally. I was sick as a child so

(05:18):
as a teenager, and so I've chosen that I don't
really drink because it's the best for my health. So
I think you've got to always look out for what's
best for your health and not be pressured into over
drinking or over.

Speaker 2 (05:29):
Consume, of course, and not relying. Perhaps I'm thinking that
maybe you can take a pill, or that there might
be some sort of drug in some way or another
that might actually get you around this. It's actually about
having a natural balance.

Speaker 3 (05:40):
It is absolutely a lot of people ask me. They're like, oh,
what can I do to get over hangover? And really, yeah,
you can drink and sleep and eat and get some electrolytes.
But at the end of the day, the number one
thing you need to do is not over drink.

Speaker 2 (05:52):
Good advice, and I thank you so much. Erin O'Hara
for coming into the studio.

Speaker 1 (05:56):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to News Talks it'd be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.