LEARN HOW TO DRINK RESPONSIBLY

LEARN HOW TO DRINK RESPONSIBLY

TECHNOLOGY TO PROMOTE RESPONSIBLE DRINKING

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What is responsible drinking?

Responsible drinking means that you drink with caution, in order to prevent harm to yourself, your family, or society at large. Responsible drinking means taking safety precautions. The effects of alcohol can impact upon your ability to make sound decisions, so you should take precautions before you start to drink. When your drinking is in check, you will be able to fulfil your responsibilities, both professionally and personally.

Please join us at Recoverthol in initiating a drinking revolution. Responsible drinking is a concept that everyone is aware of but in reality, no-one really knows how to do it. Common knowledge is not to drink too much, and to take care.

How much is too much and how should we take care? Recoverthol’s answer is education via a self-quantifying mobile application and a product that aims to provides some protection against the effects of alcohol on one’s health and the economy.

The application calculates the time taken to sober.  The user can estimate what time they would need to stop drinking in order to be sober for work the next day, or to allow for a good night’s sleep.

Recoverthol is not a hangover cure. Recoverthol is a supplement to replenish nutrients in the body that are used up when you drink alcohol.  Recoverthol’s users are also encouraged to count the number of drinks they have, which has been proven as an effective way to reduce alcohol consumption.

Did you know that alcohol-related absenteeism equates to 11.5 million work days lost per annum, at a cost of $3 billion to the Australian economy? Studies have shown that 76% of moderate drinkers experience a hangover.

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How much is too much?

Alcohol is a drug that does not come with dosage instructions. The effect of alcohol on your body, amongst other factors, depends mostly on your weight and gender.

For example, for a 60kg female, a glass of white wine (150ml, 13.5% Alc =1.6 Standard drink) would take over 3.5 hours to clear out of her system. In comparison, the same drink would take 2 hours to clear for an 80kg male.

• If a 60kg female starts drinking at 8.30pm, and she has 5 glasses of white wine, she will not be sober until 10.30am the next day!!! She would still be under the influence of alcohol when she arrives at work the next morning!!!
• If an 80kg male starts drinking at 8.30pm and has 6 glasses of beer, he would not be sober until 8.30am the next day!!! He too, would still be under the influence of alcohol when he starts work at 8am the next morning!!!

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How to drink with caution?

Any amount of alcohol can affect your health. Alcohol has short-term and long-term side effects. There is no way to avoid or prevent these side effects, other than to avoid alcohol altogether. If you do choose to drink alcohol, however, there are safety measures you can take:

• Drinking slowly and in moderation
• Following the guidelines according to your weight and gender
• Counting your drinks
• Rehydrating and replenishing the cofactors lost when you drink alcohol
• Knowing when to stop
• Allowing sufficient time to rest
• Calculate your limit based on your weight and gender. You can now know how much is too much for you
• Drink smart, set your limit

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What is your limit?

If you think you know your limit with respect to alcohol, you are probably wrong. Download the free Recoverthol App and see for yourself. Use the App to see how much is too much for your body, based on your weight and gender.

The Recoverthol App is a self-monitoring tool that you can use to predict the effect of an alcoholic beverage on your body, prior to drinking. It keeps a track of how many standard drinks you have consumed, so that you can stick to the recommended guidelines. The app also calculates the time to sober, so that the user can estimate what time they would need to stop drinking in order to be sober for work the next day, or to allow for a good night’s sleep.

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Protective behavioural strategy

Encouraging drinkers to refuse unwanted drinks has been identified as a protective behavioural strategy (PBSs) linked to reducing levels of overall alcohol consumption (Jongenelis et al., 2016). The Recoverthol App provides consumers with such a PBS, allowing estimates of time to sober based on alcohol already consumed, as well as future drinks anticipated. User’s of the App can then establish if additional drinks will inflate their required time to sober, and subsequently refuse further alcohol intake. 

Reference: Jongenelis, M.I., Pettigrew, S., Pratt, I.S., Chikritzhs, T., & Slevin, T. (2016). Predictors and outcomes of drinkers’ use of protective behavioural strategies. Psychology of Addictive Behaviours, 30(6), 639-647.

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Counting drinks

Counting drinks has been shown to be an effective protective behavioural strategy to reduce alcohol consumption. Recoverthol App keeps a track of how many standard drinks you have consumed, so that you can stick to the recommended guidelines.

NHMRC Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol:

• For healthy men and women, drinking no more than two standard drinks on any day reduces the lifetime risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury.
• For healthy men and women, drinking no more than four standard drinks on a single occasion reduces the risk of alcohol-related injury arising from that occasion.

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Setting your limit based on how your body handles alcohol?

Now that you know the same glass of wine has a different effect depending on your weight and gender, you can manage yourself accordingly. Maybe you will wait a while or have a lighter drink. Knowledge is the key, and prevention is better than cure.

At Recoverthol, we believe that you can enjoy the good things in life by being smart about the way in which you use alcohol. By pacing ourselves, being accountable for the amount of alcohol we drink, and using Recoverthol to support the way in which our bodies metabolise alcohol.

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Recoverthol

So, first know what is the effect of alcohol on your body. Find out how long it will take for your body to metabolise one standard drink?

Recoverthol is the sunscreen you need to use when you go out (drinking that is!).

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Protect your health and economy

You already have enough naturally occurring alcohol dehydrogenase cofactors (i.e.the ingredients of  Recoverthol) in your body to handle 1-2 standard drinks. An extra dose of these cofactors WHILST drinking may be essential in order to replenish what you have lost.

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Tips for drinking responsibly

• Know your limit & plan ahead. 
• Make sure that you and the people around you are safe, avoid dangerous situations and minimise the risks to yourself and others
• Eat before and during consumption of alcohol. Drinking on an empty stomach increases the rate at which alcohol is absorbed into your body. Always remember to eat something before you take your first drink.
• Commit to your exact limit. Don’t exceed your routine level of drinking- if you have committed to drinking 2 drinks for the night, make sure you stick to that limit.
• Drink slowly and alternate alcoholic drinks with glasses of water. Also, be sure to have a glass or two of water before going to sleep. Keeping your water intake up can reduce the effects of dehydration that you may experience after a night of drinking.
• Stop drinking when you feel the effects of alcohol: When you feel intoxicated, it is a signal that your body has reached its limit with respect to metabolising the alcohol that you have already consumed. Take a break, and allow your body to break down the alcohol that you already have in your system.
• Stay hydrated. Alcohol is a diuretic, so it’s important to drink lots of water before, during and after drinking. For every alcoholic drink, order a glass of water with ice and fresh lime
• Never drink and drive

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Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol

IF YOU CHOOSE TO DRINK, DO SO IN MODERATION. We encourage responsible drinking at all times. Recoverthol supports drinking within the recommended Australian guidelines. The National Health and Medical Research Centre (NHMRC) guidelines to reduce the risk of alcohol-related harm over a lifetime, recommend no more than 2 standard drinks on any day, and no more than four standard drinks on a single occasion.

Reducing the risk of alcohol-related harm over a lifetime: The lifetime risk of harm from drinking alcohol increases with the amount consumed. For healthy men and women, drinking no more than two standard drinks on any day reduces the lifetime risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury.

Reducing the risk of injury on a single occasion of drinking: On a single occasion of drinking, the risk of alcohol-related injury increases with the amount consumed. For healthy men and women, drinking no more than four standard drinks on a single occasion reduces the risk of alcohol-related injury arising from that occasion.

• WHO Global status report on alcohol and health (2014).
• Australian Guideline for Alcohol Consumption
• UK Guideline for Alcohol Consumption
• USA Guideline for Alcohol Consumption