This holiday period, amid the merriment of cocktails and cooler ftes, the temptation to overindulge will undoubtedly present itself. As we knock back beers and let loose to lyme, reminders to consume alcohol responsible bear repeating and repeating.

Lets face it. The consequences of overconsumption often extend far beyond the next days hangover. Even if you are just a casual drinker with no long-term habit of alcohol abuse, drinking alcohol irresponsibly can lead to disaster, especially on the roads. As we prepare to sip and celebrate, there needs to be some awareness of the risks that come with the overconsumption of alcohol.

Occupational health adviser at Red Stripe Veronica Benain breaks down how too much alcohol disrupts the body and poses a threat to short- and long-term health. A registered nurse, she also provides those determined to imbibe this holiday season with tips on avoiding the effects of overconsumption.

How each person reacts to alcohol is based on multiple factors, Benain says. Its based on a combination of things such as gender, weight, health, and unique physiology all working together to establish each individuals tolerance level for alcohol. Its important to know your personal limit because overconsumption for you is indulging beyond your tolerance level.

Benain warns that while what is considered as too much may vary per person, the general effects on each persons body are universal.

The short-term effects of a few too many drinks are the commonplace symptoms. The most noticeable of its effects are on the brain. Alcohol disrupts the parts of the brain that deal with motor function that inhibits our balance and speech. Too much alcohol, and we start struggling to walk and string sentences together.

Benain says, Since alcohol also affects how the brain makes memories, overdrinking can result in anything from minor lapses in memory to full-on blackouts. Its effects on the stomach and liver are a bit more subtle but more threatening to our immediate health.

Benain also notes that the bodys process to break down alcohol is quite delicate and can easily be exacerbated by overconsumption. Prolonged abuse, she says, can be disastrous.

Overdrinking puts the stomach at risk of damage, Benain says. If bacteria develop there, it can also threaten the liver. Alcohol passes through the liver, where it is broken down and toxins are removed. When the liver is damaged or is put under too much pressure, it cannot function properly.

If these toxins are allowed to build up in the liver, it can lead to anything from fatty liver, which can be remedied in a few weeks, to cirrhosis, which can be fatal.

Benain outlined the importance of food when it comes to managing the effects of overconsumption. Food provides a buffer, helps to slow the absorption of the alcohol, and also protects the lining of your stomach.

Consuming carbohydrates and fats usually proves effective. Water is also highly recommended. It helps the liver to better absorb alcohol and maintains electrolyte balance.

Benain also shares a strategy to manage yourself and get home safely. Firstly, if youve been drinking too much, stop drinking, she said. If you can get water to drink, and if you can manage to eat, have something to eat. Sit for a minute. I would hope that you are out with somebody who has been assigned to be the designated driver, someone who had no alcohol for the evening. If that is the case, youre home free. If you dont have a designated driver, its time to call a cab. Whatever you do, under no circumstances should you get behind the wheel of a car, she stressed.

Veronica Benain is occupational health and office services manager at Red Stripe.

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Veronica Benain | Celebrating safely - the effects of overconsumption of alcohol - Jamaica Gleaner

Can drinking coffee prevent weight loss? Before you draw conclusions about this latest study, read ... [+] the study. (Photo: Getty Images)

Rats, rats, rats, rats. Thats what a study just published in the Journal of Functional Foods used. Not humans. Not people. Rats.

Therefore, this study does not prove that coffee can prevent Holiday weight gain in humans, even in humans who happen to be rats in a different sense. Yet, headlines have emerged saying that coffee or caffeine could somehow prevent or offset Holiday weight gain based on this study. Unless these headlines were aimed specifically at the laboratory rat population, making the jump to humans is quite a leap.

In fact, the study didnt even feed rats little cups of coffee and invite them to Holiday parties. Instead, a University of Illinois-based research team (Fatima J.Zapata, Miguel Rebollo-Hernanz, Jan E.Novakofski, Manabu T.Nakamura, ElviraGonzalez de Mejia) fed rats for four weeks a high-fat-high-sucrose diet and for some added synthetic caffeine, caffeine from coffee, caffeine from mate tea, mate tea, or decaffeinated mate tea extracts. Those rats who got the caffeine from mate had on average 16% less weight gain and 22% less body fat accumulation than those that had the decaffeinated mate tea extracts.

Surprised about the mate tea findings? (Photo: Getty Images)

The study also included a cell culture portion in which the scientists exposed fat cells from mice (yes, mice, not humans) to either synthetic caffeine or the coffee or mate caffeine extracts. Caffeine exposure resulted in a 20% to 41% decrease in the amount of lipids that these fat cells accumulated. It also seemed to reduce the expression of two genes, the fatty acid synthase gene (Fasn) and the lipoprotein lipase gene (Lpl), that produce enzymes involved in the production and handling of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (thats the bad cholesterol) and triglycerides.

Well, gday mate tea, this all sounds good. It is useful scientific information that should pave the way for more studies. Sure, it is plausible that caffeine could help with weight loss. After all, it is a stimulant. It appears to affect different metabolic processes. For example, in a study that I covered previously for Forbes, caffeine seemed to stimulate brown fat cells to burn more fat in mouse stem cells, which by the way are not humans.

Many humans may be rats, but rats are different from humans. (Photo: Getty Images)

However, remember, this is all in mice, mice baby and rats. There are big, big differences between rodents and humans, and its not just size. Rats do have differences in physiology and behaviors such as sleeping, physical activity, and reality-TV show watching. Moreover, things that work in labs, dont necessarily work in the everyday world.

Plus, there is big difference between short-term weight loss and sustainable healthy weight loss. There are lots of things that you can do to lose weight over the short term if you are not worried about you health. For example, crack cocaine can help you lose weight. But there are some problems with such a plan. Be very skeptical about any diet plan that touts weight loss over several weeks or even months. Inquire about what happened over the long term and whether the weight loss was actually maintainable.

So, dont start pounding the coffee or mate tea just yet in hopes of burning off that fruit cake or egg nog that you just consumed. Moderation, a balanced diet, avoiding highly processed foods, and exercise are still the keys to weight management. Dont look for short cuts or magic potions. Yes, you can say, rats, life is not that easy.

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Can Caffeine, Coffee Prevent Holiday Weight Gain? Here Is What This Study Really Says - Forbes

Wearable Fitness Monitors Don't Motivate Exercise Says Study

Potsdam, NY, Dec. 26, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The results of a recent study on physical activity have researchers asking what in the world will it take to get people moving.

Clarkson University Associate Professor of Physical Therapy & Physician Assistant Studies Ali Boolani and Oklahoma State University Associate Professor of Physical Education Timothy Baghurst wanted to see how aspiring physical educators might change their physical activity levels when they know they're being monitored.

For this Oklahoma State University-based study, they got together a group of 36 physical education students and gave each one a monitor, telling them it would measure the amount of sunlight they received each day. Later, they gave them another monitor to count the number of steps they took each day.

The catch is both monitors actually measured how active the fitness advocates were. It turns out, the students failed to put their best foot forward. While Boolani and his fellow researchers expected the students to set a brisk pace as role models for good health, they weren't much more active than average, not-so-active citizens, even though they knew their steps were being counted.

You need to take 10,000 steps a day to equal 30 minutes of light-to-moderate physical activity a day, and you should really do an hour a day to be healthy, Boolani notes. Students in the study took 11,000 or 12,000 steps a day, which isn't much above the minimum, and their activity didn't change with the monitoring. We expected them to model good fitness, but now we wonder what we can do to get people to be more physically active!

This is a fascinating study and its implications are high for health care professionals. They should be modeling good health, he says, adding, This shows you, don't rely on an exercise monitor as your motivation.

Boolani's teaching expertise includes exercise physiology. This study is part of a series he and his colleagues are pursuing to determine ways to encourage people be more physically active, or healthier. Next up, they will be exploring activity levels among different professions and majors, in multiple sites.

There's definitely more to come from this research, he notes.

Looking for the most reliable fitness tracker? Another recent study has found that the Fitbit Zip provides the most accurate measure of steps during fast walking.

Attachment

Melissa LindellClarkson University315-268-6716mlindell@clarkson.edu

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Get a Fitness Tracker for Christmas? Why it Might Not be the Motivation You're Looking For - Yahoo Finance

The New Year is right around the corner so we went to the experts when it comes to setting goals for exercise and healthy habits.

Todd Buckingham, Ph.D., Lead Exercise Physiologist with Mary Free Bed Sports Rehabilitation joined us in studio to offer some tips for people with different levels of experience.

Beginner

Start. Thats it. The hardest part is starting so just getting out the door. It doesnt have to be on January 1st either. Today is as good a day to start as any! On average, it takes about 2 months for a habit to form, so dont get discouraged if youre not making progress or you find the going is tough to begin with. And start slow, even doing something for 10 minutes is beneficial. A review of the scientific literature recently determined that ANY amount of running is associated with a 27% lower risk of death from all causes, a 30% lower risk of cardiovascular disease, and a 23% lower risk of dying from cancer. So you dont have to jump all in on a training plan and start exercising 5 hours every week. Just 10 minutes a day has been shown to provide a host of benefits.

Intermediate

Having trouble finding motivation to exercise in the cold, dark, winter months in Michigan? Find a friend! Exercising with another person can make it more enjoyable and increase your chances of sticking with your exercise plans. And even if you cant physically exercise together, having someone who gives you the emotional support to keep exercising has been shown to be just as effective.

Advanced

If youre a serious athlete and have lofty goals, personalized training can help you optimize your performance. Not every day needs to be pushing yourself as hard as you can. In fact, most high-level athletes train too hard too often. Having specific training zones and a plan to get you closer to your goal is going to be important along the way. The more advanced you get, the harder it is to see big improvements in your time. If youre going from not exercising at all to suddenly exercising for an hour each day, youre going to see big gains in your performance. However, if youve already been training 10 hours/week and dont have any more time to devote to training, you have to get smarter about the way you train. The Performance Lab at Mary Free Bed Sports Rehabilitation can provide insights to your personal physiology and what is the best way to help you achieve your goals.

Set SMART goals. Goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-oriented. Having these 5 qualities in a goal increases the likelihood of achieving said goal by 33%

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yestohealth New Year's resolutions and setting goals for exercise and healthy habits FOX 17 11:01 - WSYM-TV

Kevin Luu never envisioned 18 months of his early 20s would be spent going between the hospital and a rehabilitation centre in Sydneys north-west.

I was a full-throttle kind of guy, he told SBS News.

At the time of his accident, Kevinwas holding down two jobs as a swimming instructor and bicycle salesman and completing an internship for his exercise physiology degree.

I was always moving, always active, mentally stimulated, mentally engaged, he said.

But on Mother's Day 2013, a crash on his road bike redefined his life.

Kevin during his recovery.

Supplied

Like most people who have suffered a traumatic brain injury, Kevincannot remember the details of the accident. Instead, his friends and family helped piece together a timeline.

Despite wearing a helmet, he suffered a traumatic brain injury.

He underwent ten surgeries to relieve pressure on his brain and reconstruct his skull, but relearning to walk, talk and eat was just the start of recreating himself.

Kevin, 27, has since completed multiple marathons, finished his university studies, and hopes to land a job in the physiology field, but says it wouldn't be possible without the support ofRoyal Rehab.

For 120 years, Royal Rehab in the Sydney suburb of Ryde has provided disability and rehabilitation services to more than 61,000 Australians.

I know that [number] is a conservative estimate, Julie Pryor, Royal Rehabs director of research and innovation said.

Ms Pryor has been with the organisation since 1987 and jokes that she has done every role, including fixing taps to electrical work.

We must be doing something right, not perfect, but doing something right and we will continue to strive to do the best we possibly can.

Attitudes about disability have changed in the 120 years since Royal Rehab began.

SBS News

The organisation, with its 711 staff members, 155 volunteers, and modern accommodation and rehabilitation facilities, is a far cry from its humble beginnings as a centre set up by Susan Schardt in 1899.

Ms Schardt, who was blind from birth, opened the first space to care for people with disabilities after meeting a man without legs who destined for a life on the streets. She was filled with compassion and decided to act.

120 years ago there was no community support, Ms Pryor said.

Founder Susan Schardt is said to have been filled with compassion when she came across a man with no legs that was destined for the streets.

Supplied

There was a widely held belief that people brought disabilities upon themselves. Even if they were born with a disability, clearly had nothing to do with bringing it upon themselves, there was a sense that people were somehow responsible.

Past social attitudes towards people with disabilities are revealed in Royal Rehabs former names, The Commonwealth Home for Destitute Invalids and The New South Wales Home for Incurables.

Weve moved a long way as a society in the way we appreciate people with disabilities and the space they have in our community,'Ms Pryor said.

'But that doesnt mean we should become complacent, theres still a lot more work to do around community attitudes ... We have to continue to demystify what disability is and different forms of ability are just different forms of ability.

Kevin Luu now volunteers at Royal Rehab.

Laurie Lawira, SBS News

What has remained constant at Royal Rehab is Susan Schardts legacy. Even today, Royal Rehab remains largely funded by philanthropy and is a not-for-profit, allowing it to be innovative in its approach to services.

Ms Pryor, who leads the organisations research, says early support for people who suffer traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries allows them to see a brighter future post-accident.

The very important role we play here and we value here is helping people reshape their identity following a newly acquired disability, she said.

If you do that in the confines of a traditional clinical service that only offers traditional hospital type services then it is quite possible that someone with a newly acquired disability will shape their new identity as disabled, dependent, requiring care.

If you introduce things like early intervention vocational rehabilitation early after someones injury and you introduce sport and recreation and gardening, ordinary everyday activities, people actually then start to see the future with these sorts of possibilities in it. So they have a much wider view of what is possible and they have much more hope for the future.

Caitlin Lisle was supported by Royal Rehab after her accident.

SBS News

Caitlin Lisle broke her back in a horseriding accident in 2005, leaving her an incomplete paraplegic, with limited movement and feeling in her legs. Like many others, her understanding of disability was limited.

I never really knew anyone in a wheelchair, probably thought that was something for older people or people born with disabilities, or never thought that it was something that could happen to me, she said.

Caitlinhas very little memory of what transpired in the immediate aftermath of her accident but recalls how much an outing organised by Royal Rehab gave her some small comfort.

The fact you can get on a ferry and go and have lunch seems like such a small thing, but when youre going through that change and [thinking] 'can I ever do something so normal again?'

Since her accident, Caitlin, 32, has travelled the world, had two children and locked down a successful career.

I always wanted to be a vet, and I didnt think I would be able to do that, I always wanted a family again, I didnt really think Id be able to that. So everything I thought my 17-year-old self wanted to do, Ive been able to achieve.

Disability is part of my life but it just moulds into everything else in my life. I dont think its one concrete thing, its just like everything.

Kevin now volunteers for the organisation that put his life back on track, lending his support to those through his lived experience of brain and spinal cord injuries.

Im a big believer in doing the small things to help other people gain a sense of purpose and fulfilment in their lives, that I want to be able to help them to achieve that, he said.

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How a Sydney rehab centre helped challenge the view of what it means to be 'disabled' - SBS News

TUCSON, Ariz. The new year is around the corner and 2019 will soon be coming to a close. For the University of Arizona it was another year of being a leader in the world of science.

The first ever image of a black hole may have been the biggest headline of the year, but UArizona has been contributing to science for over a century.

The University of Arizona has been an absolute leader in arid lands study for decades, said Desert Laboratory Director Ben Wilder.

The Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill established in the early 1900s gave birth to the sciences of plant physiology, ecology and arid land studies.

The plots that they established continue to be monitored today by U of A scientists and that is a 115 year span of time, so it is longest continuously monitored vegetation plot in the world.

Scientific achievements can be found across many disciplines.

The University of Arizona helped pave the way to a new thinking or new approach to manage chronic pain, said Associate Professor Mohab Ibrahim.

The University of Arizona helped develop compression only CPR, guided men on the moon, constructed the biosphere 2, and worked in an international effort to get that image of a black hole.

This is the first time ever we managed to take a picture of a black hole with a resolution that allowed us to see the point of no return where even light cannot escape from it, said Professor of Astronomy and Physics Dr. Dimitrios Psaltis.

Psaltis says the school is one of the most critical universities in the world of astrophysics.

This is the place where the first simulations of formation and structure of galaxies has happened, this is the place where the first simulations of supernova explosions have happened.

The scientists and researchers we talked to say the University of Arizona has had an impressive track record in science. And they say the accomplishments of the past will be a foundation for new discoveries in the future.

The extremes are getting more extreme, global weirding, so that baseline that we have of data on Tumamoc Hill is the best baseline the best data set for any arid region in the world, said Wilder.

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Local News Looking back on the University of Arizona's contributions to science Brian Brennan 6:11 - KGUN