DRINKING ALCOHOL RESPONSIBLY

Drinking alcohol responsibly is important to ensure good health. Read on for tips and guidelines to help you make wise choices when it comes to drinking alchohol.

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health offers helpful, low-risk drinking guidelines*:

• Space drinks an hour apart.
• Drink no more than two standard drinks per drinking occasion.
• Have no more than 15 drinks a week if you are a man.
• Have no more than 10 drinks a week if you are a woman.

* Note, these guidelines do not apply to those who should avoid alcohol, including women who are pregnant and people who live with a medical condition such as liver disease.
 

What is considered one drink?

Each of these drinks contains the same amount of alcohol.

• Regular beer, 5% alcohol: 341 mL (12 oz)
• Wine, 12% alcohol: 145 mL (5 oz)
• Fortified wine such as sherry, port or vermouth, 16-18% alcohol: 85 mL (3 oz)
• Spirits or liquor such as rum or vodka, 40% alcohol: 45 mL (1.5 oz)

Who should avoid alcohol?

Alcohol can interfere with medical treatments, medications and can be passed through breast milk. For some people, it can also increase your risks for certain health problems such as cancer. If you drink alcohol regularly, you should discuss this with your doctor.

Avoid alcohol if you:

• Have liver disease. Alcohol will further damage the liver.
• Want to become or are pregnant. Alcohol can harm a babies developing brain, increase the risk of miscarriage, premature birth and reduced birth weight. There is no safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy.
• Are trying to quit smoking.  Alcohol may make it harder for you to resist cravings.
• Need to be alert.  For example, before driving, playing sports or operating machiner.

How can alcohol affect my health?

It all depends on how much and how often you drink. Overtime, too much alcohol can result in:

• Vitamin deficiencies
• Sexual impotence
• Heart problems
• Cancer
• Menstrual problems
• Liver disease
• Difficulty keeping a healthy body weight

What about the heart health benefits?

Despite the news that limited amounts of alcohol may be heart healthy, if you don’t drink, don’t start to drink for health reasons. Keep your heart healthy by:

• Eating right
• Being active
• Staying smoke free

If you choose to drink, some research has shown that for people over 45 years of age, one drink every other day may be good for your heart.

How many calories are in a drink?

Alcohol can add extra calories that may lead to weight gain. You might be surprised how many calories are in one drink.

Drink	Approximate Calories
Light beer (4% alcohol), 1 bottle or 12 oz	99
Regular beer (5% alcohol), 1 bottle or 12 oz	140
Non-alcoholic beer (0.5% alcohol), 1 can or 350 mL	210
Daiquiri, 7 oz	260
Pina Colada, 4.5 oz	245
Vodka, 1.5 oz	100
Wine (11.5% alcohol), 5 oz	100

Cutting back on alcohol

Whether it’s to help manage your blood pressure or stay at a healthy body weight, here are some ways to limit your alcohol intake:

• Don’t drink every day.
• Space your drinks at least one hour apart.
• Drink water with lemon or lime to satisfy thirst.
• Try mixing half sugar-free ginger ale and half beer.
• Have a ‘virgin’ Caesar.
• Choose a non-alcoholic beer.
• If ordering wine when eating out, order it by the glass not by the bottle.
• Mix soda water and 100% juice and drink it in a wine glass.

Limit caffeine

Having too much caffeine can decrease the amount of calcium you absorb. Aim for no more than 400mg of caffeine per day for adults (about 2-3 cups of coffee per day). Pregnant and breastfeeding women should have no more than 300mg caffeine per day.

Stay active

Aim to be active for at least 150 minutes each week. Here are some ideas to help keep your bones strong. Try:

• Weight-bearing exercises like running, walking, hiking, low impact aerobics, dancing, tennis and golf.
• Resistance activities like lifting weights or push-ups to help build muscle, which keeps your bones strong.
• Stretching exercises like yoga and tai chi to help improve balance and coordination, which will lower your risk of falling and breaking bones.

Get enough vitamin D

Vitamin D helps you absorb calcium in foods. You can find vitamin D in:

• Milk
• Fortified soy and rice beverages
• Fortified orange juice
• Fatty fish like salmon and sardines
• Margarine
• Egg yolks
• Fortified yogurts (check the label)

To get enough vitamin D each day, Canada’s Food Guide recommends that everyone over 2 years of age drink 500 mL (2 cups) of milk or fortified soy beverage every day.
 
If you are over the age of 50, Health Canada also recommends a vitamin D supplement of 400 IU every day.

How to Eat Well on a Budget

Healthy eating need not cost more. There are lots of ways for you to enjoy the benefits of healthy eating on a budget. Try these money saving tips to plan nutritious meals and snacks for you and your family:

 

Plan ahead.

Plan your meals for the week and make a grocery list based on your plan. Make a habit of buying just what's on your list. Having a plan and a list can keep you from buying pricier, less nutritious foods on impulse. Remember to check for grocery store specials when making your meal plans and grocery lists.

Consider no-name brands.

No-name brands are often exactly the same product as the brand names, but for less money. Compare the Nutrition Facts label and ingredient lists, and don't pay more for a name or branded packaging. Bulk food items are usually a good deal too.

Cut down on convenience foods.

It doesn't take much time to shred your own cheese, cut your own vegetables or fruit or add water to frozen juice concentrate but it will likely save you money.

Make your own.

Try not to rely on too many pre-prepared packaged foods or restaurant meals which generally cost more. Taking the extra time to prepare your own food with nutritious ingredients can save you money and will be better for you!

Serve meatless meals.

Prepare meals with nutritious, fibre-rich meat alternatives such as dried beans, peas, lentils, nuts and seeds often. Eggs, peanut butter and tofu are also good low cost meat alternative options. Some examples of meatless meals are bean burritos with salad, rice and bean casseroles with vegetables, vegetable and cheese omelets with whole grain toast and tofu vegetable stirfry on rice noodles.

Try the following cost-saving tips to help you eat well with Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide.

Cost saving tips for the four food groups in Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide

Food group	Cost-saving tip
Vegetables and Fruit	Locally grown produce that's in season usually costs less since it does not have to be transported long distances or stored like imported produce. We have a large variety oflocal produce right here in Ontario. Canned or frozen vegetables and fruit are just as nutritious as fresh produce. Frozen vegetables and fruit that are packaged in bags usually cost less than those in boxes. Look for specials on canned produce.
Grain Products	Grain products can often be purchased in bulk. Experiment with different varieties like bulghur, oats, brown rice and barley. Unsweetened cereals tend to cost less than presweetened cereals and allow you to control how much sugar you add. Better yet, skip the sugar and add fruit instead. Hot cereals such as oatmeal or cream of wheat are a great choice, especially on a cold day. They're inexpensive and rich in nutrients and fibre. Stock up on pasta when it's on special.
Milk and Alternatives	Try "no name" or store brand varieties. Buy milk in bags rather than cartons. Buy yogurt in large tubs. Buy cheese in larger blocks, and slice or grate it yourself. Use skim milk powder or evaporated milk reconstituted in recipes that call for milk.
Meat and Alternatives	Remember that 100 g of raw meat, poultry or fish will yield a 75 g Food Guide Serving when cooked. Try less expensive alternative protein sources such as dried beans, peas and lentils, eggs and peanut butter. A whole chicken costs less than the pieces. Whole grain bread crumbs, oatmeal, rice or pasta can help 'stretch' ground meat.

Stress Management - Effects of Stress

Stress causes changes in your body. It also affects your emotions.

How stress affects the body

Common symptoms of stress include:

• A fast heartbeat.
• A headache.
• A stiff neck and/or tight shoulders.
• Back pain.
• Fast breathing.
• Sweating, and sweaty palms.
• An upset stomach, nausea, or diarrhea.

Over time, stress can affect your:¹

• Immune system. Constant stress can make you more likely to get sick more often. And if you have a chronic illness such as AIDS, stress can make your symptoms worse.
• Heart. Stress is linked to high blood pressure, abnormal heartbeat (arrhythmia), blood clots, and hardening of the arteries(atherosclerosis). It's also linked to coronary artery disease, heart attack, and heart failure.
• Muscles. Constant tension from stress can lead to neck, shoulder, and low back pain. Stress may make rheumatoid arthritis worse.
• Stomach. If you have stomach problems, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), peptic ulcer disease, or irritable bowel syndrome, stress can make your symptoms worse.
• Reproductive organs. Stress is linked to low fertility, erection problems, problems during pregnancy, and painful menstrual periods.
• Lungs. Stress can make symptoms of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) worse.
• Skin. Skin problems such as acne and psoriasis are made worse by stress.

An extreme reaction to stress is a panic attack. A panic attack is a sudden, intense fear or anxiety that may make you feel short of breath, dizzy, or make your heart pound. People who have panic attacks may feel out of control, like they are having a heart attack, or are about to die. Panic attacks may happen with no clear cause, but they can be brought on by living with high levels of stress for a long time. For more information on panic attacks, see the topic Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder.

How stress affects your thoughts and emotions

You might notice signs of stress in the way you think, act, and feel. You may:

• Feel cranky and unable to deal with even small problems.
• Feel frustrated, lose your temper more often, and yell at others for no reason.
• Feel jumpy or tired all the time.
• Find it hard to focus on tasks.
• Worry too much about small things.
• Feel that you are missing out on things because you can't act quickly.
• Imagine that bad things are happening or about to happen.

Easy ways to move more that don't involve the gym

Don’t have 30 minutes to dedicate to yoga or a bike ride? Don’t worry. Think about physical activity as a lifestyle rather than just a single task to check off. Look at your daily routine and consider ways to sneak in activity here, there, and everywhere. Need ideas? We’ve got them.

• In and around your home. Clean the house, wash the car, tend to the yard and garden, mow the lawn with a push mower, sweep the sidewalk or patio with a broom.
• At work and on the go. Bike or walk to an appointment rather than drive, banish all elevators and get to know every staircase possible, briskly walk to the bus stop then get off one stop early, park at the back of the lot and walk into the store or office, take a vigorous walk during your coffee break.
• With the family. Jog around the soccer field during your kid’s practice, make a neighborhood bike ride part of weekend routine, play tag with your children in the yard, go canoeing at a lake, walk the dog in a new place.
• Just for fun. Pick fruit at an orchard, boogie to music, go to the beach or take a hike, gently stretch while watching television, organize an office bowling team, take a class in martial arts, dance, or yoga.

The Mental Health Benefits of Exercise

The Exercise Prescription for Depression, Anxiety, Stress, and More

Everyone knows that regular exercise is good for the body. But exercise is also one of the most effective ways to improve your mental health. Regular exercise can have a profoundly positive impact on depression, anxiety, ADHD, and more. It also relieves stress, improves memory, helps you sleep better, and boosts overall mood. And you don’t have to be a fitness fanatic to reap the benefits. Research indicates that modest amounts of exercise can make a difference. No matter your age or fitness level, you can learn to use exercise as a powerful tool to feel better.

What are the mental health benefits of exercise?

Exercise is not just about aerobic capacity and muscle size. Sure, exercise can improve your physical health and your physique, trim your waistline, improve your sex life, and even add years to your life. But that’s not what motivates most people to stay active.
People who exercise regularly tend to do so because it gives them an enormous sense of well-being. They feel more energetic throughout the day, sleep better at night, have sharper memories, and feel more relaxed and positive about themselves and their lives. And it’s also powerful medicine for many common mental health challenges.

Exercise and depression

Studies show that exercise can treat mild to moderate depression as effectively as antidepressant medication—but without the side-effects, of course. In addition to relieving depression symptoms, research also shows that maintaining an exercise schedule can prevent you from relapsing.
Exercise is a powerful depression fighter for several reasons. Most importantly, it promotes all kinds of changes in the brain, including neural growth, reduced inflammation, and new activity patterns that promote feelings of calm and well-being. It also releases endorphins, powerful chemicals in your brain that energize your spirits and make you feel good. Finally, exercise can also serve as a distraction, allowing you to find some quiet time to break out of the cycle of negative thoughts that feed depression.

Exercise and anxiety

Exercise is a natural and effective anti-anxiety treatment. It relieves tension and stress, boosts physical and mental energy, and enhances well-being through the release of endorphins. Anything that gets you moving can help, but you’ll get a bigger benefit if you pay attention instead of zoning out.
Try to notice the sensation of your feet hitting the ground, for example, or the rhythm of your breathing, or the feeling of the wind on your skin. By adding this mindfulness element—really focusing on your body and how it feels as you exercise—you’ll not only improve your physical condition faster, but you may also be able to interrupt the flow of constant worries running through your head.

Exercise and stress

Ever noticed how your body feels when you’re under stress? Your muscles may be tense, especially in your face, neck, and shoulders, leaving you with back or neck pain, or painful headaches. You may feel a tightness in your chest, a pounding pulse, or muscle cramps. You may also experience problems such as insomnia, heartburn, stomachache, diarrhea, or frequent urination. The worry and discomfort of all these physical symptoms can in turn lead to even more stress, creating a vicious cycle between your mind and body.
Exercising is an effective way to break this cycle. As well as releasing endorphins in the brain, physical activity helps to relax the muscles and relieve tension in the body. Since the body and mind are so closely linked, when your body feels better so, too, will your mind.

Exercise and ADHD

Exercising regularly is one of the easiest and most effective ways to reduce the symptoms of ADHD and improve concentration, motivation, memory, and mood. Physical activity immediately boosts the brain’s dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin levels—all of which affect focus and attention. In this way, exercise works in much the same way as ADHD medications such as Ritalin and Adderall.

Exercise and PTSD and trauma

Evidence suggests that by really focusing on your body and how it feels as you exercise, you can actually help your nervous system become “unstuck” and begin to move out of the immobilization stress response that characterizes PTSD or trauma. Instead of thinking about other things, pay close attention to the physical sensations in your joints and muscles, even your insides as your body moves. Exercises that involve cross movement and that  engage both arms and legs—such as walking (especially in sand), running, swimming, weight training, or dancing—are some of your best choices.
Outdoor activities like hiking, sailing, mountain biking, rock climbing, whitewater rafting, and skiing (downhill and cross-country) have also been shown to reduce the symptoms of PTSD.

Other mental and emotional benefits of exercise

• Sharper memory and thinking. The same endorphins that make you feel better also help you concentrate and feel mentally sharp for tasks at hand. Exercise also stimulates the growth of new brain cells and helps prevent age-related decline.
• Higher self-esteem. Regular activity is an investment in your mind, body, and soul. When it becomes habit, it can foster your sense of self-worth and make you feel strong and powerful. You’ll feel better about your appearance and, by meeting even small exercise goals, you’ll feel a sense of achievement.
• Better sleep. Even short bursts of exercise in the morning or afternoon can help regulate your sleep patterns. If you prefer to exercise at night, relaxing exercises such as yoga or gentle stretching can help promote sleep.
• More energy. Increasing your heart rate several times a week will give you more get-up-and-go. Start off with just a few minutes of exercise a day, and increase your workout as you feel more energized.
• Stronger resilience. When faced with mental or emotional challenges in life, exercise can help you cope in a healthy way, instead of resorting to alcohol, drugs, or other negative behaviors that ultimately only make your symptoms worse. Regular exercise can also help boost your immune system and reduce the impact of stress.

Healthy eating tip 10: Watch your salt intake

Sodium is another ingredient that is frequently added to food to improve taste, even though your body needs less than one gram of sodium a day (about half a teaspoon of table salt). Eating too much salt can cause high blood pressure and lead to an increased risk of stroke, heart disease, kidney disease, memory loss, and erectile dysfunction. It may also worsen symptoms of bipolar disorder.

• Use herbs and spices such as garlic, curry powder, cayenne or black pepper to improve the flavor of meals instead of salt.
• Be careful when eating out. Most restaurant and fast food meals are loaded with sodium. Some offer lower-sodium choices or you can ask for your meal to be made without salt.
• Buy unsalted nuts and add a little of your own salt until your taste buds are accustomed to eating them salt-free.

Related HelpGuide articles

• The Mediterranean Diet: Myths, Facts, and Health Benefits of a Mediterranean Diet
• Good Ways to Get Quality Protein: Making Protein Choices To Boost Energy and Improve Your Health
• Choosing Healthy Fats: Good Fats, Bad Fats, and the Power of Omega-3s

Resources and references

Healthy eating and mental health

Mastering the mindful meal – Describes the importance of mindful eating, along with tips on how to eat more mindfully. (Brigham & Women’s Hospital)

Diet and Mental Health – How dietary factors affect mental and emotional health. (Mental Health Foundation)

Healthy eating: fats

Omega-3 Fats: An Essential Contribution – All about health benefits of the important omega-3 fatty acids, including the best food sources in which to find them. (Harvard School of Public Health)

Clarifying the Facts on Fats: Is Butter Really Back? – Concentrating too much on eliminating “fat” from our diets has led us to replace healthy fats with simple carbohydrate foods that may actually be worse for our health. (Harvard Public Health)

The Truth About Fats – Understanding what counts as good fats, bad fats, and those in-between. (Harvard Health Publications)

Face the Fats – (PDF) Describes the complicated relationship between good fats, bad fats, and various diseases. (Nutrition Action Healthletter)

Healthy eating: sugar

Sugar exposed as deadly villain in obesity epidemic – Article about addictive sugar can be, with tips to cut down. (Guardian)

How to spot and avoid added sugar – Why sugar is so bad for you and how to spot it hidden in foods such as cereal, pasta sauce, and crackers. (Harvard Health Publications)

Healthy eating: salt

Sodium Content of Your Food – How sodium affects your body and how to cut down on dietary sodium. Included tips on reading nutrition labels, and suggestions for cooking and shopping. (University of Maine – PDF)

How to stay in the sodium safe zone – Tips to reduce your sodium intake and improve heart health. (Harvard Health Publications)

Healthy eating tip 9: Enjoy healthy fats

Despite what you may have been told, not all fats are unhealthy. While “bad” fats can increase your risk of certain diseases, “good” fats are essential to physical and emotional health. Foods rich in certain omega-3 fats, for example, can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, improve your mood, and help prevent dementia.

Good fats

• Monounsaturated fats from avocados, nuts (like almonds, hazelnuts, and pecans), and seeds (such as pumpkin and sesame).
• Polyunsaturated fats, including Omega-3s, found in fatty fish such as salmon, herring, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, and some cold water fish oil supplements. Good vegetarian sources of polyunsaturated fats include flaxseed and walnuts.

Bad fats

• Trans fats, found in processed foods, vegetable shortenings, margarines, crackers, candies, cookies, snack foods, fried foods, baked goods, or anything with “partially hydrogenated” oil in the ingredients, even if it claims to be trans-fat free.

The debate about saturated fats

Saturated fats are mainly found in tropical oils, dairy, and animal products such as red meat, while poultry and fish also contain some saturated fat. The latest news in the nutritional world studies—with old and new studies to back them up—suggest that not all saturated fat is a dietary demon, either. While many prominent health organizations maintain that eating saturated fat from any source increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, other nutrition experts take a different view. The new argument is thatsaturated fat contributes to weight control and overall health.

Of course, not all saturated fat is the same. The saturated fat in whole milk, coconut oil, or salmon is different to the unhealthy saturated fat found in pizza, French fries, and processed meat products (such as ham, sausage, hot dogs, salami, and other cold cuts) which have been linked to coronary disease and cancer.

For more, see Choosing Healthy Fats.

Healthy eating tip 8: Put protein in perspective

Protein gives us the energy to get up and go—and keep going. While too much protein can be harmful to people with kidney disease, the latest research suggests that most of us need more high-quality protein, especially as we age.

How much protein do you need?

Protein needs are based on weight rather than calorie intake. Adults should eat at least 0.8g ofhigh-quality protein per kilogram (2.2lb) of body weight per day.

• Older adults should aim for 1 to 1.5 grams of lean protein for each kilogram of weight. This translates to 68 to 102g of protein per day for a person weighing 150 lbs.
• Divide your protein intake equally among meals.
• Nursing women need about 20 grams more high-quality protein a day than they did before pregnancy to support milk production.

How to add high-quality protein to your diet

• Eat plenty of fish, chicken, or plant-based protein such as beans, nuts, and soy.
• Replace processed carbohydrates from pastries, cakes, pizza, cookies and chips with fish, beans, nuts, seeds, peas, tofu, chicken, dairy, and soy products.
• Snack on nuts and seeds instead of chips, replace baked dessert with Greek yogurt, or swap out slices of pizza for a grilled chicken breast and a side of beans.