1 00:00:00,090 --> 00:00:02,370 S1: My name is Ben Greenfield, and on this episode of 2 00:00:02,370 --> 00:00:06,420 S1: the Ben Greenfield Life Podcast, sometimes it helps with your 3 00:00:06,420 --> 00:00:09,539 S1: detoxification to take a binder right before you go to bed. 4 00:00:09,570 --> 00:00:12,510 S1: If you take the DM right before you go to bed, 5 00:00:12,510 --> 00:00:15,150 S1: whatever binding agent that you use is going to bind 6 00:00:15,150 --> 00:00:18,510 S1: the DM and render it less effective and just basically 7 00:00:18,510 --> 00:00:21,540 S1: turn it into expensive pee or poop as the binding 8 00:00:21,540 --> 00:00:24,660 S1: case may be. So basically, this is why you take 9 00:00:24,660 --> 00:00:27,270 S1: the DM for example. You know, as you're walking home 10 00:00:27,270 --> 00:00:29,220 S1: from the restaurant out to your car, as you're cleaning 11 00:00:29,220 --> 00:00:31,980 S1: the kitchen after dinner, not right before you go to 12 00:00:31,980 --> 00:00:38,550 S1: bed if you're taking a binding edge fitness, nutrition, biohacking, longevity, 13 00:00:38,550 --> 00:00:43,860 S1: life optimization, spirituality, and a whole lot more. Welcome to 14 00:00:43,860 --> 00:00:46,620 S1: the Ben Greenfield Live show. Are you ready to hack 15 00:00:46,620 --> 00:01:00,060 S1: your life? Let's do this. It is time to talk 16 00:01:00,060 --> 00:01:05,970 S1: all things alcohol. Hooray! Grab your glass of organic biodynamic wine, 17 00:01:05,970 --> 00:01:10,410 S1: your mezcal gin, your bitters with lemon juice and apple 18 00:01:10,410 --> 00:01:14,430 S1: cider vinegar, or your can of ketones and sit back. 19 00:01:14,430 --> 00:01:17,280 S1: Take a sip. Get ready to find out how quickly 20 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:20,430 S1: you are or are not destroying your body as you 21 00:01:20,430 --> 00:01:23,970 S1: join me for a drink. You know, I was recently 22 00:01:23,970 --> 00:01:26,070 S1: on a speaking tour of India. I think probably the 23 00:01:26,069 --> 00:01:29,160 S1: top question I got over there, besides air pollution, was 24 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:32,610 S1: whether or not I endorsed drinking alcohol. I don't think 25 00:01:32,610 --> 00:01:35,010 S1: it's any surprise for anybody who's listening to the show 26 00:01:35,010 --> 00:01:37,740 S1: for any period of time that I'm not a teetotaler. 27 00:01:37,740 --> 00:01:40,800 S1: I believe it's called. Uh, however, I do have a 28 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:43,380 S1: drink just about every night of the week. I have 29 00:01:43,380 --> 00:01:46,950 S1: a small glass of organic biodynamic wine while I'm practicing 30 00:01:46,950 --> 00:01:49,800 S1: my guitar before dinner. If I'm out of the restaurant, 31 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:52,110 S1: I'll order a, you know, old fashioned or a little 32 00:01:52,110 --> 00:01:54,300 S1: bit of, you know, gin or vodka on the rocks 33 00:01:54,300 --> 00:01:57,090 S1: with a splash of bitters and lemon juice. I'm constantly 34 00:01:57,090 --> 00:02:00,780 S1: mixing up little healthy variants of cocktails and vinegar shrubs 35 00:02:00,780 --> 00:02:04,770 S1: with splashes of alcohol in my own home, and it 36 00:02:04,770 --> 00:02:10,140 S1: certainly is something that I partake in. I think probably, uh, 37 00:02:10,139 --> 00:02:15,480 S1: Doctor Andrew Huberman is the person who has been most 38 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:18,660 S1: responsible for perhaps turning a lot of biohackers and health 39 00:02:18,660 --> 00:02:22,500 S1: enthusiasts off of the idea of alcohol. But I think 40 00:02:22,500 --> 00:02:26,519 S1: there is a little bit more to the story here. 41 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:30,510 S1: So the first thing that is important to understand is 42 00:02:30,510 --> 00:02:36,000 S1: this whole concept of stress, uh, particularly what's called mitosis. 43 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:37,890 S1: All right. I realize we're jumping right into the geeky 44 00:02:37,889 --> 00:02:39,720 S1: stuff right away. You might have to take another sip. 45 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:41,520 S1: We should just play a drinking game every time I 46 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:45,630 S1: saw this. You can take a shot. Uh, anyways, mitogen 47 00:02:45,630 --> 00:02:49,860 S1: emesis might have hormones. It basically that's defined as the 48 00:02:49,860 --> 00:02:53,940 S1: response to an acute sublethal stress. Hopefully that glass of 49 00:02:53,940 --> 00:02:58,470 S1: wine is sublethal, such as oxidative stress, which alcohol causes 50 00:02:58,470 --> 00:03:02,910 S1: that may temporarily impair or damage mitochondria, but ultimately leads 51 00:03:02,910 --> 00:03:07,260 S1: to the activation of adaptive mechanisms that confer stress resilience 52 00:03:07,260 --> 00:03:10,560 S1: and improve mitochondrial function. Hmm. So maybe a lot of 53 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:12,940 S1: those blue zones who are having, you know, 1 to 54 00:03:12,940 --> 00:03:16,290 S1: 2 drinks a day for men and women might be 55 00:03:16,290 --> 00:03:19,680 S1: on to something when it comes to longevity. So this 56 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:23,400 S1: idea of oxidative stress, basically these reactive oxygen species like 57 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:29,040 S1: superoxide and hydrogen peroxide, they can actually cause a little 58 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:32,760 S1: bit of damage to the cell membrane and to cellular function. 59 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:36,869 S1: But they also serve as signaling molecules that can promote 60 00:03:36,870 --> 00:03:40,980 S1: health by preventing or delaying a number of chronic diseases 61 00:03:40,980 --> 00:03:46,050 S1: and ultimately extending lifespan. Now there is, of course, of course, 62 00:03:46,050 --> 00:03:50,280 S1: a dose response curve. Here there's a dose response curve. Basically, 63 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:53,430 S1: there's this whole theory called the free radical theory of aging. 64 00:03:53,430 --> 00:03:57,030 S1: And that suggests what's called a linear dose response relationship 65 00:03:57,030 --> 00:04:01,680 S1: between increasing amounts of reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress 66 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:04,800 S1: and mortality. This is why, for example, if you're doing 67 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:07,300 S1: red light therapy, you're supposed to go 20 to 25 68 00:04:07,300 --> 00:04:09,330 S1: minutes and not a lot more because then you generate 69 00:04:09,330 --> 00:04:12,600 S1: excess reactive oxygen species. This is why the benefits of 70 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:16,680 S1: exercise top off at maybe around 170 minutes per week, 71 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:19,260 S1: at which point you start to see increased risk for 72 00:04:19,260 --> 00:04:25,229 S1: things like mortality, atherosclerosis, arterial stiffness, uh, etc.. Uh, this 73 00:04:25,230 --> 00:04:27,900 S1: is why, you know, sauna is certainly something that could 74 00:04:27,900 --> 00:04:31,170 S1: deplete you of electrolytes and minerals and water when done 75 00:04:31,170 --> 00:04:34,500 S1: in high doses, but 5 to 7 times per week 76 00:04:34,500 --> 00:04:39,270 S1: for 20 to 30 minutes, it actually appears to extend longevity. 77 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:44,550 S1: Even the the stress from plant defense molecules like lectins 78 00:04:44,550 --> 00:04:49,890 S1: and gluten, something called xeno emesis, can induce some amount 79 00:04:49,890 --> 00:04:52,859 S1: of cellular resilience. But obviously if you're getting gas and 80 00:04:52,860 --> 00:04:57,390 S1: bloating and digestive distress and autoimmune disorders, that's an indication 81 00:04:57,390 --> 00:05:02,070 S1: that you've gone past that law of diminishing returns. So 82 00:05:02,580 --> 00:05:06,150 S1: essentially when we look at alcohol, I think one of 83 00:05:06,150 --> 00:05:09,870 S1: the guys who has done a good job spreading the 84 00:05:09,870 --> 00:05:14,790 S1: idea that the concept of no safe level of alcohol 85 00:05:14,790 --> 00:05:19,800 S1: consumption could be total nonsense is Doctor Chris Masterson. Uh, 86 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:23,520 S1: Chris Masterson is a real wizard when it comes to biochemistry. 87 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:25,530 S1: He actually has a fantastic article and I will link 88 00:05:25,529 --> 00:05:26,609 S1: to it in the show notes. You're going to find 89 00:05:26,610 --> 00:05:30,810 S1: the show notes at Ben Greenfield Life. Com slash alcohol podcast. 90 00:05:30,839 --> 00:05:34,080 S1: That's Ben Greenfield life com slash alcohol podcast A few 91 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:38,430 S1: interesting notes from Chris's article. So first of all, in 92 00:05:38,430 --> 00:05:41,490 S1: the study that's being widely championed right now to show 93 00:05:41,490 --> 00:05:44,430 S1: that there's no safe level of alcohol for the brain, 94 00:05:44,430 --> 00:05:49,560 S1: going from zero alcohol intake to a serving of alcohol 95 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:52,530 S1: per day. Really, it's not a huge serving. It's for what? 96 00:05:52,529 --> 00:05:54,660 S1: For most people, probably half of what they're currently drinking, 97 00:05:54,660 --> 00:05:56,730 S1: like half a drink per day. You know, my pour 98 00:05:56,730 --> 00:05:59,080 S1: of wine in the evening for. Sample is 3 to 4oz, 99 00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:02,650 S1: not a fishbowl sized glass. It's not associated with any 100 00:06:02,650 --> 00:06:06,730 S1: harm in females, and shocker is associated with slightly better 101 00:06:06,730 --> 00:06:11,770 S1: brain markers in males. DNA markers of aging go down 102 00:06:11,770 --> 00:06:14,860 S1: with increasing number of drinks per week, at least through 103 00:06:14,860 --> 00:06:18,190 S1: seven drinks per week. But here's what's important. That's one 104 00:06:18,190 --> 00:06:20,470 S1: drink per day. And here's what I think a lot 105 00:06:20,470 --> 00:06:23,859 S1: of people who are shoving alcohol under the bus aren't saying. 106 00:06:23,860 --> 00:06:27,010 S1: There's a big difference between having seven drinks on a 107 00:06:27,010 --> 00:06:30,099 S1: Saturday night and having one drink each night of the week, 108 00:06:30,100 --> 00:06:32,020 S1: in the same way that if I tell you, running 109 00:06:32,020 --> 00:06:35,500 S1: as healthy, there's a big difference between you running three 110 00:06:35,500 --> 00:06:38,680 S1: miles a day versus you running 21 miles on a 111 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:41,289 S1: Saturday and taking on way too much volume at once, 112 00:06:41,290 --> 00:06:46,180 S1: that your body's endogenous antioxidant and DNA repair mechanisms simply 113 00:06:46,180 --> 00:06:48,789 S1: can't keep up with it would be the reason for 114 00:06:48,790 --> 00:06:52,660 S1: me saying 170 minutes of exercise a week could be 115 00:06:52,660 --> 00:06:54,670 S1: healthy and something you could get away with, and you're 116 00:06:54,670 --> 00:06:58,839 S1: doing all 170 minutes of that exercise in one fell 117 00:06:58,839 --> 00:07:02,440 S1: swoop during some masochistic, you know, superset trip to the 118 00:07:02,440 --> 00:07:05,349 S1: gym where you crawl out with, you know, Bloodborne, out 119 00:07:05,350 --> 00:07:07,330 S1: your eyeballs and smoke coming out of your ears. That's 120 00:07:07,330 --> 00:07:10,270 S1: way different than hitting the gym for, say, 30 to 121 00:07:10,270 --> 00:07:13,840 S1: 45 minutes a day. You could mow through an entire 122 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:17,680 S1: loaf of healthy sourdough bread and still have a response 123 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:20,640 S1: to the Fitbits and the gluten, versus saying, having 1 124 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:25,090 S1: or 2 slices. You could eat a huge grocery shopping 125 00:07:25,090 --> 00:07:28,000 S1: cart full of kale and cilantro and all sorts of 126 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:32,350 S1: things that could deleterious impact your thyroid function and your 127 00:07:32,350 --> 00:07:35,620 S1: your gut comfort when consumed in high doses. But putting 128 00:07:35,620 --> 00:07:37,690 S1: a little bit of greens in your smoothie every morning, 129 00:07:37,690 --> 00:07:40,390 S1: or having a lunchtime salad not as big of a deal. 130 00:07:40,390 --> 00:07:42,940 S1: You could sit in a sauna, right? You could take that. Whatever, 131 00:07:42,940 --> 00:07:45,030 S1: you know, 5 to 7 times per week for 20 132 00:07:45,030 --> 00:07:47,350 S1: to 30 minutes, and you could do a 220 minute 133 00:07:47,350 --> 00:07:51,429 S1: sauna session on a Sunday morning. And absolutely, you know, 134 00:07:51,430 --> 00:07:54,550 S1: put yourself at risk of cardiovascular event from the fluid 135 00:07:54,550 --> 00:07:58,030 S1: loss that occurs. Well, there's a big difference, again, between 136 00:07:58,030 --> 00:08:00,970 S1: drinking all of your drinks that studies have shown to 137 00:08:00,970 --> 00:08:03,970 S1: be healthy on average throughout the week, all at once, 138 00:08:03,970 --> 00:08:07,930 S1: versus in small micro doses throughout the week. Right. You 139 00:08:07,930 --> 00:08:11,140 S1: see the same thing from microdosing with psilocybin, right? Big difference, 140 00:08:11,140 --> 00:08:14,620 S1: as anybody knows, between taking a third of a gram 141 00:08:14,620 --> 00:08:17,050 S1: in the morning as a microdose and hammering, you know, 142 00:08:17,050 --> 00:08:19,720 S1: five grams, right. The dose is the poison. The dose 143 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:23,500 S1: in one sitting is the poison. Now, the other thing 144 00:08:23,500 --> 00:08:26,230 S1: that's interesting is a lot of folks who are claiming 145 00:08:26,230 --> 00:08:29,830 S1: that alcohol is bad for you are citing studies that 146 00:08:29,830 --> 00:08:33,490 S1: have used genes for what's called alcohol use disorder. Alcohol 147 00:08:33,490 --> 00:08:37,090 S1: use disorder? Well, I got some news for you. Alcohol 148 00:08:37,090 --> 00:08:41,260 S1: use disorder is a lot different than just having some 149 00:08:41,260 --> 00:08:44,890 S1: alcohol on a regular basis. It's not defined just by 150 00:08:44,890 --> 00:08:47,679 S1: the amount of alcohol consumed, but is defined by things 151 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:51,820 S1: like failing to meet obligations, being totally unable to stop drinking, 152 00:08:51,820 --> 00:08:54,820 S1: needing to drink, starting first thing in the morning, blacking 153 00:08:54,820 --> 00:08:58,570 S1: out frequently, causing physical injury to yourself or others, and 154 00:08:58,570 --> 00:09:02,260 S1: behaving in other ways that can lead to a lot 155 00:09:02,260 --> 00:09:06,600 S1: of distress in yourself and in those around you. In contrast, 156 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:10,020 S1: consumption of low levels of alcohol, meaning up to one 157 00:09:10,020 --> 00:09:12,210 S1: drink per day, and this is all based in research 158 00:09:12,210 --> 00:09:14,520 S1: that I will link to from the show, notes Ben Greenfield. 159 00:09:14,520 --> 00:09:21,240 S1: life.com/alcohol podcast is associated with brace Yourself, a 26% lower 160 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:24,630 S1: risk of heart disease and a 24% lower risk of 161 00:09:24,630 --> 00:09:29,939 S1: all cause mortality, a 24% lower risk of all cause mortality. Now, 162 00:09:29,940 --> 00:09:34,920 S1: how could this be the case? Well, it's interesting because yes, 163 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:39,690 S1: alcohol is a toxin. But believe it or not, there 164 00:09:39,690 --> 00:09:42,300 S1: is a lot of toxins in a lot of what 165 00:09:42,300 --> 00:09:46,290 S1: you put into your body. Plants, herbs, spices, carbs, protein, fat, 166 00:09:46,290 --> 00:09:51,480 S1: you name it. Alcohol is a macronutrient, meaning it can 167 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:56,429 S1: be burnt and consumed and used to generate ATP energy. 168 00:09:56,460 --> 00:09:59,550 S1: It's metabolized to something called acetaldehyde, which you may have 169 00:09:59,550 --> 00:10:02,459 S1: heard of before. That, when builds up in high amounts, 170 00:10:02,460 --> 00:10:05,610 S1: is somewhat toxic, but then it goes on to form 171 00:10:05,610 --> 00:10:09,840 S1: a short chain fatty acid, acetate in the mitochondria. That 172 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:14,970 S1: acetate then can be used to to to produce ATP 173 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:18,210 S1: to be metabolized as the same what's called acetyl CoA 174 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:24,210 S1: that you'd obtain from oxidizing protein and fat and carbohydrate ethanol. 175 00:10:24,210 --> 00:10:27,120 S1: The actual alcohol you would find in wine or beer 176 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:31,260 S1: or vodka or a Moscow mule or whatever, uh, its 177 00:10:31,260 --> 00:10:35,280 S1: metabolism is very similar to the type of longer chain 178 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:40,050 S1: alcohols that you also find in whole grains, in plant foods, 179 00:10:40,050 --> 00:10:42,450 S1: in B products, even in insects. You know, a lot 180 00:10:42,450 --> 00:10:45,480 S1: of people doing like cricket protein powder and the like. Well, 181 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:47,910 S1: a lot of what's in there is very similar to 182 00:10:47,910 --> 00:10:52,620 S1: the short chain fatty alcohols found in alcohol. Now, of course, 183 00:10:52,620 --> 00:10:56,099 S1: in high amounts these aldehydes can be toxic. They can 184 00:10:56,100 --> 00:11:00,390 S1: be very reactive, but they're found in a lot of 185 00:11:00,390 --> 00:11:03,689 S1: foods that go beyond alcohol. There's another toxin that you'll 186 00:11:03,690 --> 00:11:07,350 S1: find in alcohol called methyl glycol. Methyl glycol very similar 187 00:11:07,350 --> 00:11:10,080 S1: to acetaldehyde. It has three carbons rather than two. We 188 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:12,179 S1: don't have to get into the biochemistry of it too much, 189 00:11:12,179 --> 00:11:15,929 S1: but it has based on that, about double the power 190 00:11:15,929 --> 00:11:21,060 S1: to cause damage compared to acetaldehyde. You find methyl glycol, however, 191 00:11:21,059 --> 00:11:23,880 S1: not just in alcohol but also derived in small amounts 192 00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:27,420 S1: from carbohydrate and from protein and from fat. Yes, you 193 00:11:27,420 --> 00:11:30,270 S1: could get way too much acetaldehyde all at once, and 194 00:11:30,270 --> 00:11:32,910 S1: you could get way too much methyl glycol all at once. 195 00:11:32,910 --> 00:11:36,120 S1: But look at acetaldehyde. You find it naturally in fruits 196 00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:39,720 S1: and vegetables. In fact, vegetables have more acetaldehyde than wine does. 197 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:44,130 S1: Cider has more acetaldehyde than vodka does, right? It's not 198 00:11:44,130 --> 00:11:47,309 S1: that acetaldehyde and methyl glycol are bad. You're consuming them 199 00:11:47,309 --> 00:11:50,280 S1: all the time, even if you don't drink alcohol. The 200 00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:53,100 S1: problem is how much gets into your body all at once, 201 00:11:53,100 --> 00:11:56,790 S1: and how equipped you are to be able to metabolize that. 202 00:11:56,790 --> 00:12:00,270 S1: You can even say the same parallel between alcohol consumption 203 00:12:00,270 --> 00:12:04,500 S1: and carbohydrates, right? It's not about carbohydrates being bad for you. 204 00:12:04,500 --> 00:12:07,770 S1: It's about the possibility of you consuming a huge high 205 00:12:07,770 --> 00:12:09,810 S1: dose of sugar all at once. That spikes your blood 206 00:12:09,809 --> 00:12:15,150 S1: sugar and causes some insulin sensitivity and insulin resistance type 207 00:12:15,150 --> 00:12:19,679 S1: of issues. Right? So all toxins, including those in alcohol, 208 00:12:19,679 --> 00:12:23,849 S1: have the power to cause a hormone effect. What that 209 00:12:23,850 --> 00:12:28,680 S1: means is they can upregulate enzymes necessary for their metabolism, 210 00:12:28,679 --> 00:12:32,340 S1: which often go on to help you increase cellular resilience 211 00:12:32,340 --> 00:12:36,420 S1: and increase your levels of endogenous antioxidants that your body 212 00:12:36,420 --> 00:12:39,480 S1: uses to fight against reactive oxygen species. In the case 213 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:43,140 S1: of alcohol, you see an upregulation in, for example, a 214 00:12:43,140 --> 00:12:49,319 S1: superoxide dismutase and glutathione production. Those are antioxidants that your 215 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:53,490 S1: body steps up its production of in response to alcohol intake. 216 00:12:53,490 --> 00:12:58,170 S1: In the same way that you produce endogenous antioxidants, new mitochondria, 217 00:12:58,170 --> 00:13:03,630 S1: new muscle fibers, heat shock proteins, etc. from exercise, from sauna, 218 00:13:03,630 --> 00:13:07,950 S1: from cold therapy, from plants and herbs and spices. So 219 00:13:08,070 --> 00:13:11,939 S1: the idea here is that, yes, alcohol is a toxin. 220 00:13:11,940 --> 00:13:15,059 S1: Alcohol is a stressor. But just because something is a 221 00:13:15,059 --> 00:13:17,610 S1: stress or a toxin does not mean that you're going 222 00:13:17,610 --> 00:13:21,180 S1: to stop all stress from exercise, from sauna, from cold, 223 00:13:21,179 --> 00:13:26,250 S1: from calorie restriction, from anything else. So that's the first thing. 224 00:13:26,250 --> 00:13:28,260 S1: The first point that I really want to get across 225 00:13:28,260 --> 00:13:32,400 S1: to you is that with alcohol, yes, it's a stressor, 226 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:36,000 S1: but it appears that somewhere right around the range of 227 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:40,470 S1: one half to one drink per day, spread out consistently 228 00:13:40,470 --> 00:13:44,520 S1: throughout the week without excess intake or high volume intake 229 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:48,689 S1: is in fact something that can be protective and beneficial. 230 00:13:48,780 --> 00:13:53,460 S1: I haven't been drunk in probably more than 15 years, 231 00:13:53,460 --> 00:13:56,699 S1: but I average you know, I would say I average 232 00:13:56,700 --> 00:13:59,250 S1: 5 to 7 drinks a week besides a few weeks. 233 00:13:59,250 --> 00:14:00,780 S1: You know, I've had some months where I just don't 234 00:14:00,780 --> 00:14:02,400 S1: drink alcohol in the same way. I'll have some months 235 00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:05,010 S1: that I lower my carbon take or some. Weeks where 236 00:14:05,010 --> 00:14:08,610 S1: I restrict calories, or certain days where I'm lower on protein, 237 00:14:08,610 --> 00:14:10,770 S1: or certain weeks where I'm lower on red meat. Right. 238 00:14:10,770 --> 00:14:13,050 S1: It's not a rule that I have to drink alcohol 239 00:14:13,050 --> 00:14:16,260 S1: every night, but for the most part, it is a 240 00:14:16,260 --> 00:14:20,190 S1: staple in my routine, and I actually feel as though 241 00:14:20,190 --> 00:14:24,420 S1: it's wonderful for social gatherings. As a palate cleanser, I 242 00:14:24,420 --> 00:14:27,960 S1: enjoy the taste of a nice glass of organic biodynamic wine. 243 00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:30,870 S1: I enjoy ordering an old fashioned at a restaurant and 244 00:14:30,870 --> 00:14:34,500 S1: sipping on that as I talk to friends. So basically, 245 00:14:34,500 --> 00:14:37,890 S1: that's my take on the actual damages that could be 246 00:14:37,890 --> 00:14:42,000 S1: potential from alcohol and the actual data on longevity. And 247 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:45,600 S1: I'll link to Chris Mastodons article in the show notes 248 00:14:45,600 --> 00:14:49,710 S1: for for this podcast again at Ben Greenfield life.com/alcohol podcast. 249 00:14:49,710 --> 00:14:52,350 S1: But pause for me for a second. Take a shot, 250 00:14:52,350 --> 00:14:54,030 S1: take a sip of your drink, or just have some 251 00:14:54,030 --> 00:14:57,870 S1: electrolytes and minerals, maybe some hydrogen tablets dissolved in water. 252 00:14:57,870 --> 00:15:01,470 S1: And we'll go on to the next part of what 253 00:15:01,470 --> 00:15:03,930 S1: I want to fill you in on, because in addition 254 00:15:03,930 --> 00:15:06,990 S1: to being asked many times whether or not alcohol is 255 00:15:06,990 --> 00:15:09,570 S1: healthy and why I'm not on the alcohol is completely 256 00:15:09,570 --> 00:15:12,750 S1: bad for you baby talk bandwagon. I'm also asking if 257 00:15:12,750 --> 00:15:16,410 S1: there are certain things that I consume along with alcohol, 258 00:15:16,410 --> 00:15:20,310 S1: to assist with the metabolism of some of the toxins 259 00:15:20,310 --> 00:15:24,930 S1: in alcohol, or to help ease some of the toxic 260 00:15:24,930 --> 00:15:28,050 S1: side effects. And a lot of people will say, well, Ben, 261 00:15:28,050 --> 00:15:30,480 S1: you just said that those toxic side effects and the 262 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:32,970 S1: oxidative stress that's created is good for you. Why would 263 00:15:32,970 --> 00:15:35,820 S1: you want to stop any of that? Well, look, I 264 00:15:35,820 --> 00:15:38,400 S1: take a pre-workout before I go work out and a 265 00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:40,710 S1: post-workout to help repair some of the muscle damage, you know, 266 00:15:40,710 --> 00:15:44,580 S1: things like creatine or colostrum or amino acids or fish oil. 267 00:15:44,580 --> 00:15:48,210 S1: When I'm in the sauna, I replace electrolytes and minerals, 268 00:15:48,210 --> 00:15:50,130 S1: and I even take things before the sauna to help 269 00:15:50,130 --> 00:15:53,670 S1: enhance blood flow, like niacin, for example. When I go 270 00:15:53,670 --> 00:15:56,310 S1: do cold, I like to take something that will increase 271 00:15:56,310 --> 00:16:00,570 S1: the brown fat activation, like grains of Paradise from my 272 00:16:00,570 --> 00:16:06,720 S1: pepper grinder or bitter melon extract, or berberine, or green tea. Uh, 273 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:09,570 S1: anything that I do, I'm constantly looking at ways I 274 00:16:09,570 --> 00:16:12,840 S1: can optimize that, help the body recover faster, and still 275 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:16,890 S1: reap the benefits of the response to this variety of activities. 276 00:16:16,890 --> 00:16:19,140 S1: You know, I'll even consume digestive enzymes right when I 277 00:16:19,140 --> 00:16:21,990 S1: have a meal, or I will have gluten guardian when 278 00:16:21,990 --> 00:16:24,420 S1: I even have a slice of sourdough bread, just to 279 00:16:24,420 --> 00:16:28,530 S1: help myself process those carbohydrates a little bit better. In 280 00:16:28,530 --> 00:16:31,290 S1: the same way that I might have a blood glucose 281 00:16:31,290 --> 00:16:34,650 S1: stabilizing agent prior to dessert, like a shot of apple 282 00:16:34,650 --> 00:16:37,740 S1: cider vinegar, or some key on lean, or some berberine 283 00:16:37,740 --> 00:16:41,310 S1: or something that will allow me to sort of have 284 00:16:41,310 --> 00:16:43,410 S1: my cake and eat it too, and still reap the 285 00:16:43,410 --> 00:16:48,090 S1: benefits from said cake. I have the same take on alcohol, 286 00:16:48,420 --> 00:16:49,860 S1: so let's talk about some of the things I would 287 00:16:49,860 --> 00:16:53,190 S1: do if I were drinking to make drinking arguably even 288 00:16:53,190 --> 00:16:56,280 S1: more healthy. The first is something that you'll see pop 289 00:16:56,280 --> 00:17:01,080 S1: up a lot nowadays in these hangover remedies. And hangover 290 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:03,210 S1: pills is something that I've been using for quite some 291 00:17:03,210 --> 00:17:05,189 S1: time that I get dirt cheap on Amazon, even though 292 00:17:05,190 --> 00:17:08,340 S1: you can get it in fancier and fancier compounds these days, 293 00:17:08,430 --> 00:17:11,550 S1: it's called DM. DM stands for a little bit of 294 00:17:11,550 --> 00:17:15,870 S1: a mouthful here. Die Hydro Morriston Die Hydro Meristem. Now 295 00:17:15,869 --> 00:17:19,649 S1: it's actually an extract from the Japanese raisin tree, which 296 00:17:19,650 --> 00:17:21,720 S1: is sexy in and of itself. That's a good enough 297 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:23,790 S1: reason to take DM, if you ask me. Just just 298 00:17:23,790 --> 00:17:25,919 S1: for the Japanese raisin tree that you're consuming that you 299 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:28,860 S1: can brag to your friends about, but they they did 300 00:17:28,859 --> 00:17:30,419 S1: a study on, it really didn't come to the spotlight 301 00:17:30,420 --> 00:17:33,720 S1: until 2012. And there was this professor from the UCLA 302 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:37,650 S1: School of Medicine, and he gave mice DM and then 303 00:17:37,650 --> 00:17:40,200 S1: got him drunk. Can't do these kind of studies in humans, 304 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:43,109 S1: I believe, due to ethical reasons. But little drunk mice 305 00:17:43,109 --> 00:17:46,620 S1: are okay. So what they test was whether dehydrated Ariston 306 00:17:46,619 --> 00:17:49,109 S1: which I'm going to start calling DM from now on 307 00:17:49,109 --> 00:17:53,580 S1: so I don't twist my tongue too poorly here. So 308 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:57,180 S1: DM blocks the effect alcohol has on Gaba and glutamate 309 00:17:57,180 --> 00:18:01,080 S1: neurotransmitters in the brain. Now normally alcohol binds to Gaba 310 00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:05,669 S1: receptors and activates them, leading to relaxation, social lubrication, and 311 00:18:05,670 --> 00:18:09,330 S1: sometimes excess confidence. Slurred speech with too much impaired motor function, 312 00:18:09,330 --> 00:18:12,869 S1: a feeling of being intoxicated. That's actually why sometimes alcohol 313 00:18:12,869 --> 00:18:15,480 S1: can wake you, or you can wake up in the 314 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:18,210 S1: wee hours after you've had a few glasses of wine, 315 00:18:18,210 --> 00:18:20,850 S1: for example, because you get flooded with Gaba and then 316 00:18:20,850 --> 00:18:22,679 S1: it wears off, and then you wake up in the 317 00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:25,440 S1: same way that a high sugar meal prior to bed 318 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:27,270 S1: could cause a spike in blood sugar, and then you 319 00:18:27,270 --> 00:18:30,120 S1: wake up later on due to the hypoglycemia that occurs 320 00:18:30,119 --> 00:18:33,060 S1: as a rebound response to that. Well, what does it 321 00:18:33,060 --> 00:18:36,090 S1: blocks these Gaba receptors. And when you block the Gabba 322 00:18:36,090 --> 00:18:40,110 S1: receptors you don't feel the alcohol as much. It basically 323 00:18:40,109 --> 00:18:43,620 S1: prevents intoxication. They even did a very interesting study where 324 00:18:43,619 --> 00:18:46,710 S1: they administered a fluid, which is a drug that blocks 325 00:18:46,710 --> 00:18:49,620 S1: the Gabba receptors. And all the benefits of DM on 326 00:18:49,619 --> 00:18:54,240 S1: reducing intoxication were totally lost because the fluid arsenal was 327 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:59,190 S1: keeping the DM from blocking those Gaba receptors. Now, this 328 00:18:59,190 --> 00:19:02,850 S1: is an interesting practical takeaway if you, like me, are 329 00:19:02,850 --> 00:19:05,460 S1: just having one drink and. You actually want to have 330 00:19:05,460 --> 00:19:08,669 S1: that drink not only for, say, the palate cleansing effect 331 00:19:08,670 --> 00:19:10,530 S1: or the enjoyment of the flavor, but because you do 332 00:19:10,530 --> 00:19:12,060 S1: want to spend a few dials, right? You want to 333 00:19:12,060 --> 00:19:13,860 S1: relax a little bit. Not that I'm saying we should 334 00:19:13,859 --> 00:19:16,380 S1: use alcohol as a crutch or anything else. You know, 335 00:19:16,380 --> 00:19:20,520 S1: weed or other supplements as a way to battle stress, right? 336 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:22,859 S1: We need to address the underlying issue. You shouldn't drink 337 00:19:22,859 --> 00:19:25,020 S1: at the end of the day because you're stressed. That's 338 00:19:25,020 --> 00:19:27,450 S1: not a good reason to drink, in my opinion. But 339 00:19:27,450 --> 00:19:29,399 S1: if you want to relax a little bit, it's nice 340 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:32,190 S1: to be able to feel the effects of alcohol. So 341 00:19:32,190 --> 00:19:33,899 S1: what I'm getting at here is if you want to 342 00:19:33,900 --> 00:19:36,629 S1: feel the effects of alcohol, don't take the anti hangover 343 00:19:36,630 --> 00:19:41,010 S1: party drug DM or party supplement DM before drinking, or 344 00:19:41,010 --> 00:19:42,540 S1: you're going to need to drink more to feel it. 345 00:19:42,540 --> 00:19:44,580 S1: And by the nature of drinking more, you do put 346 00:19:44,580 --> 00:19:49,050 S1: yourself at that risk of exceeding the acetaldehyde or methyl 347 00:19:49,050 --> 00:19:54,060 S1: glycol exposure. That would be appropriate in small amounts but 348 00:19:54,359 --> 00:19:57,359 S1: harmful in larger amounts. So basically, if you want to 349 00:19:57,359 --> 00:19:58,919 S1: fill your alcohol and you have one of these fancy 350 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:02,790 S1: DM anti hangover remedy capsules, don't take it before you 351 00:20:02,790 --> 00:20:07,440 S1: start drinking. However DM does something else. It accelerates the 352 00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:11,970 S1: breakdown of alcohol. So what it does is it increases 353 00:20:11,970 --> 00:20:17,340 S1: the activity of the liver enzymes ADH and LDH, alcohol 354 00:20:17,340 --> 00:20:24,149 S1: dehydrogenase and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase which help your body to metabolize alcohol. 355 00:20:24,150 --> 00:20:29,700 S1: So alcohol dehydrogenase ADH metabolizes alcohol to acetaldehyde, which can 356 00:20:29,700 --> 00:20:34,200 S1: cause hangover symptoms. But then LDH metabolizes acetaldehyde to that 357 00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:38,520 S1: relatively harmless byproduct. I was talking about earlier, acetate, which 358 00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:41,070 S1: is either used for metabolism or safely flushed out of 359 00:20:41,070 --> 00:20:44,310 S1: your body. So if you want to limit the buildup 360 00:20:44,310 --> 00:20:49,200 S1: of acetaldehyde using DM after drinking all the way up 361 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:52,620 S1: to as late as the morning after can take the 362 00:20:52,619 --> 00:20:56,820 S1: edge off of the acetaldehyde buildup. And so because of that, 363 00:20:56,820 --> 00:20:59,790 S1: it's quite common that when I'm having my evening glass 364 00:20:59,790 --> 00:21:02,460 S1: of wine, I don't take the DM. Prior to that, 365 00:21:02,460 --> 00:21:04,409 S1: I used to until I found out this information about 366 00:21:04,410 --> 00:21:08,100 S1: Gaba and glutamate. Now I'll take a little DM right 367 00:21:08,100 --> 00:21:11,369 S1: after usually just, you know, while I'm cleaning up the 368 00:21:11,369 --> 00:21:13,470 S1: kitchen after dinner, you know, after I've had a drink, 369 00:21:13,470 --> 00:21:18,030 S1: I'll have the DM. Okay. So that's important for another 370 00:21:18,030 --> 00:21:20,760 S1: reason that I'll get to later. And that's the fact 371 00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:24,359 S1: that sometimes it helps with your detoxification to take a 372 00:21:24,359 --> 00:21:26,940 S1: binder right before you go to bed. If you take 373 00:21:26,940 --> 00:21:30,030 S1: the DM right before you go to bed, whatever binding 374 00:21:30,030 --> 00:21:32,580 S1: agent that you use is going to bind the DM 375 00:21:32,580 --> 00:21:35,490 S1: and render it less effective and just basically turn it 376 00:21:35,490 --> 00:21:39,030 S1: into expensive pee or poop, as the binding case may be. 377 00:21:39,030 --> 00:21:43,050 S1: So basically, this is why you take the DM for example. 378 00:21:43,050 --> 00:21:44,760 S1: You know, as you're walking home from the restaurant out 379 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:47,070 S1: to your car, as you're cleaning the kitchen after dinner, 380 00:21:47,070 --> 00:21:49,950 S1: not right before you go to bed if you're taking 381 00:21:49,950 --> 00:21:53,970 S1: a binding agent. So, um, why would you take a 382 00:21:53,970 --> 00:21:56,129 S1: binding agent? I'll get to that later, but it might 383 00:21:56,130 --> 00:21:58,350 S1: be things that you consume along with the alcohol, like 384 00:21:58,350 --> 00:22:00,930 S1: vegetable oils. If you were out at a restaurant, it 385 00:22:00,930 --> 00:22:04,740 S1: might be concerns about sulfites, pesticides, herbicides and a drink. If, 386 00:22:04,740 --> 00:22:08,010 S1: for example, it wasn't organic wine, it might be other 387 00:22:08,010 --> 00:22:10,379 S1: fillers that you could be concerned about from your meal 388 00:22:10,380 --> 00:22:12,390 S1: or in the alcohol. So there is a good case 389 00:22:12,390 --> 00:22:14,940 S1: to be made for taking a binder. Just don't take 390 00:22:14,940 --> 00:22:18,810 S1: any of your other hangover remedies or alcohol processing remedies 391 00:22:18,810 --> 00:22:21,840 S1: at the same time as you take the binder. I 392 00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:23,430 S1: will put a link in the show notes to some 393 00:22:23,430 --> 00:22:25,800 S1: of my favorite sources for DM, but you can find 394 00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:28,619 S1: this stuff pretty dirt cheap on Amazon. That's usually where 395 00:22:28,619 --> 00:22:30,390 S1: I get it. Sometimes I'm just getting the best price 396 00:22:30,390 --> 00:22:34,710 S1: because DM is DM is DM. I think, uh, Mikaela Peterson, 397 00:22:34,710 --> 00:22:37,470 S1: Jordan Peterson's daughter, I believe she just sent me a 398 00:22:37,470 --> 00:22:40,409 S1: bottle of her party remedy, and I think that it 399 00:22:40,410 --> 00:22:44,100 S1: actually has DM in it, FYI. So that's that's one 400 00:22:44,100 --> 00:22:46,890 S1: you could use if you want to support the Peterson family. 401 00:22:46,890 --> 00:22:50,700 S1: So another very, very interesting compound that can also break 402 00:22:50,700 --> 00:22:53,730 S1: down acetaldehyde is one that I've done a whole podcast on. 403 00:22:53,940 --> 00:22:57,450 S1: It is a probiotic. It's called Z biotics. It works 404 00:22:58,290 --> 00:23:02,970 S1: incredibly well. You could choose between taking this or taking 405 00:23:02,970 --> 00:23:05,820 S1: DM because they're both going to do the same thing. 406 00:23:05,820 --> 00:23:09,180 S1: They break down acetaldehyde. You don't need to take both 407 00:23:09,180 --> 00:23:10,739 S1: at the same time. You could take one or the 408 00:23:10,740 --> 00:23:12,990 S1: other could be a matter of personal preference. Could be 409 00:23:12,990 --> 00:23:15,300 S1: how you feel when you test one versus the other. 410 00:23:15,300 --> 00:23:17,669 S1: But Z biotics is very interesting. I'll link to the 411 00:23:17,670 --> 00:23:20,070 S1: whole interview that I did with the guy who founded 412 00:23:20,070 --> 00:23:22,770 S1: Z biotics. I think his name is Zach, but they 413 00:23:22,770 --> 00:23:26,280 S1: took a bacteria and they figured out how to engineer 414 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:29,429 S1: it using genetic engineering, which isn't all bad, right? Genetic 415 00:23:29,430 --> 00:23:31,590 S1: engineering is not necessarily something that's going to make you 416 00:23:31,590 --> 00:23:33,990 S1: grow a third eye. It can be used simply to 417 00:23:33,990 --> 00:23:37,920 S1: cause bacteria to produce certain enzymes. And in this case, 418 00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:41,159 S1: what they took was a strain of bacteria called um 419 00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:46,410 S1: uh subtilis. And they transferred the trait for acetaldehyde breakdown 420 00:23:46,410 --> 00:23:50,699 S1: from the liver, that same acetaldehyde dehydrogenase enzyme, into the 421 00:23:50,700 --> 00:23:56,070 S1: probiotic bacteria. So now the probiotic makes acetaldehyde dehydrogenase in 422 00:23:56,070 --> 00:23:59,760 S1: your gut, which then breaks down the acetaldehyde for you. 423 00:23:59,790 --> 00:24:02,880 S1: It is side effect free. It works very well. It's 424 00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:04,970 S1: just a basic bacteria in. Out of your system. It 425 00:24:04,970 --> 00:24:08,570 S1: doesn't hang around in there, and it essentially allows your 426 00:24:08,570 --> 00:24:12,710 S1: body to get the benefits of drinking without necessarily having 427 00:24:12,710 --> 00:24:17,179 S1: as much acetaldehyde buildup. Now, it would be interesting. I'm 428 00:24:17,180 --> 00:24:20,090 S1: sure some of you have thought of this, to see 429 00:24:20,090 --> 00:24:23,600 S1: a study where they were able to look at the 430 00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:28,580 S1: mitochondrial proliferation, or the production of superoxide dismutase or other 431 00:24:28,580 --> 00:24:32,540 S1: endogenous antioxidants that occur in response to one drink. If 432 00:24:32,540 --> 00:24:35,540 S1: you were to have one of these anti hangover products 433 00:24:35,540 --> 00:24:39,500 S1: before you have the drink versus if you weren't and 434 00:24:39,500 --> 00:24:43,460 S1: the the theory here would be that if you if 435 00:24:43,460 --> 00:24:46,520 S1: you digest too much of the toxin yourself by using 436 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:49,550 S1: one of these supplements, do you limit the benefits of 437 00:24:49,550 --> 00:24:52,190 S1: the alcohol in the same way that some studies have 438 00:24:52,190 --> 00:24:54,140 S1: shown that if you take a bunch of vitamin C 439 00:24:54,140 --> 00:24:56,540 S1: and vitamin E after workout, or you go hit the 440 00:24:56,540 --> 00:24:59,600 S1: cold punch for too long after workout, you limit the 441 00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:02,960 S1: hermetic effect of the workout. So this is tricky. You 442 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:05,270 S1: don't really know, but I can tell you that I 443 00:25:05,270 --> 00:25:07,879 S1: feel pretty good when I use the Z biotics for 444 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:12,320 S1: the DM subjectively when I drink versus when I don't. 445 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:15,800 S1: So I would suspect that based on what I've seen 446 00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:19,310 S1: from Chris Mastodons writing that most of the benefits of 447 00:25:19,310 --> 00:25:22,550 S1: drinking kick in at about half a drink, and most 448 00:25:22,550 --> 00:25:25,520 S1: of the deleterious effects of drinking tend to kick in 449 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:28,520 S1: after 1 to 2 drinks. So if you are having 450 00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:31,040 S1: the equivalent of one full drink and you take something 451 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:33,409 S1: that helps you to break down the acetaldehyde or the 452 00:25:33,410 --> 00:25:36,470 S1: ethanol or the methyl glycol prior to that drink, then 453 00:25:36,470 --> 00:25:39,379 S1: you're probably still getting a lot of the benefits of 454 00:25:39,380 --> 00:25:42,440 S1: that half drink that maybe still is producing a little 455 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:46,640 S1: bit of acetaldehyde or other so-called toxins in your system. 456 00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:48,830 S1: So anyway, the Z biotics is super interesting, and that's 457 00:25:48,830 --> 00:25:51,350 S1: something you would take before you start drinking. You want 458 00:25:51,350 --> 00:25:53,570 S1: to in your system, when you start drinking, it's a 459 00:25:53,570 --> 00:25:56,090 S1: little shot. It's liquid. It's a little bit less convenient than, say, 460 00:25:56,090 --> 00:25:59,419 S1: a couple capsules of DM, but that would be another 461 00:25:59,420 --> 00:26:03,470 S1: thing that can be helpful when it comes to to drinking. Now, 462 00:26:03,470 --> 00:26:05,420 S1: the last thing that you want to think about from 463 00:26:05,420 --> 00:26:11,750 S1: a supplement standpoint is a binder, a binder. So a 464 00:26:11,750 --> 00:26:14,900 S1: binder is basically a specific compound that will bind toxins 465 00:26:14,900 --> 00:26:17,960 S1: or other metabolites and remove them via the digestive tract, 466 00:26:18,050 --> 00:26:21,770 S1: typically via the stool, so they're not reabsorbed into the body. 467 00:26:21,770 --> 00:26:24,770 S1: These are typically taken orally in a pill or powder 468 00:26:24,770 --> 00:26:27,230 S1: or a tincture form. The one that I use is 469 00:26:27,230 --> 00:26:30,919 S1: made by Quicksilver Scientific. It is their their detox binder. 470 00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:34,070 S1: It's basically activated charcoal and aloe vera and a few 471 00:26:34,070 --> 00:26:37,640 S1: other choice compounds. Binders can be used for heavy metals, 472 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:41,600 S1: for mycotoxins, for plastic particles, for pesticides, for herbicides, for 473 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:45,770 S1: volatile organic compounds, and even for things like acetaldehyde or 474 00:26:45,770 --> 00:26:50,119 S1: the toxic byproducts of alcohol. So what happens usually is 475 00:26:50,119 --> 00:26:52,850 S1: your liver is your main detox organ. It can remove 476 00:26:52,850 --> 00:26:54,740 S1: a lot of toxic chemicals on its own using the 477 00:26:54,740 --> 00:26:58,940 S1: liver's antioxidant pathways. But it does this by creating bile, 478 00:26:58,940 --> 00:27:02,690 S1: which is a digestive fluid that flows through the liver, or, 479 00:27:02,690 --> 00:27:06,080 S1: I'm sorry, from the liver, through the intestines to help 480 00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:09,080 S1: break down fats for digestion and absorption. Now, since a 481 00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:12,020 S1: lot of toxins are fat soluble, they enter the bile. 482 00:27:12,020 --> 00:27:15,649 S1: And in a perfect world, the toxins move with the 483 00:27:15,650 --> 00:27:18,560 S1: bile through the intestines, out of the body, through the stool. 484 00:27:18,619 --> 00:27:21,590 S1: But your gut lining is made of pretty delicate tissues 485 00:27:21,590 --> 00:27:24,020 S1: with veins and nerves that can pick up these toxins 486 00:27:24,020 --> 00:27:27,380 S1: and recirculate them. And that's where binders come in. Binders 487 00:27:27,380 --> 00:27:30,350 S1: attached to metals or chemicals or bio toxins and the like, 488 00:27:30,350 --> 00:27:33,710 S1: and then shuttles them to safety out of the digestive 489 00:27:33,710 --> 00:27:36,980 S1: tract without the risk of reabsorption and recirculation. So this 490 00:27:36,980 --> 00:27:39,139 S1: binder just sits in your digestive tract and grabs the 491 00:27:39,140 --> 00:27:42,650 S1: stuff before it gets reabsorbed. And this can also help 492 00:27:42,650 --> 00:27:45,619 S1: reduce stress on, you know, other elimination and detox organs 493 00:27:45,619 --> 00:27:49,040 S1: like the liver and the kidney help prevent inflammatory reactions, 494 00:27:49,040 --> 00:27:52,130 S1: help with uncomfortable detox symptoms. And a lot of popular 495 00:27:52,130 --> 00:27:56,840 S1: binders would be things like chlorella, charcoal, clay, and zeolites 496 00:27:56,840 --> 00:27:59,690 S1: like like bentonite clay fruit pectin is a very popular one. 497 00:27:59,690 --> 00:28:02,930 S1: That's a fiber. It's highly absorptive and beneficial for binding 498 00:28:02,930 --> 00:28:06,379 S1: things like heavy metals and mycotoxins and herbicides and pesticides. 499 00:28:06,380 --> 00:28:09,530 S1: It's not as strong as charcoal or clay, but it 500 00:28:09,530 --> 00:28:11,480 S1: does have a lot of benefits, especially for the gut, 501 00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:15,859 S1: especially for people who have constipation, humic acid and full acid. 502 00:28:15,890 --> 00:28:18,920 S1: These are interesting. They're made up of negatively charged atoms 503 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:22,640 S1: that attract positively charged mineral particles like heavy metals, and 504 00:28:22,640 --> 00:28:25,970 S1: these can be very useful for binding and taking metals 505 00:28:25,970 --> 00:28:28,850 S1: out of your body. Silica is another one. Silica is 506 00:28:28,850 --> 00:28:30,980 S1: very good for binding aluminum. It can bind to other 507 00:28:30,980 --> 00:28:34,430 S1: metals as well. And that, uh, that Quicksilver Scientific one 508 00:28:34,430 --> 00:28:36,140 S1: I told you about, it contains a lot of these 509 00:28:36,140 --> 00:28:39,800 S1: different compounds all at once, but charcoal is the main 510 00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:43,280 S1: superstar of that one. Charcoal is a broad spectrum binder. Now, 511 00:28:43,280 --> 00:28:46,010 S1: charcoal is very powerful, even though I like it as 512 00:28:46,010 --> 00:28:48,530 S1: a binding agent that I take before bed. And it 513 00:28:48,530 --> 00:28:50,480 S1: helped me out quite a bit when I had mold 514 00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:54,560 S1: and mycotoxins exposure. It will absorb anything you take along 515 00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:58,040 S1: with it any of your expensive supplements, your your sleep stuff, whatever. 516 00:28:58,040 --> 00:29:00,590 S1: So you have to time the charcoal. Usually for me 517 00:29:00,590 --> 00:29:03,200 S1: it's like the last thing I do right before I 518 00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:06,980 S1: fall asleep is I. The charcoal binder, and that's usually 519 00:29:06,980 --> 00:29:09,380 S1: at least a half hour, up to 60 minutes after 520 00:29:09,380 --> 00:29:14,810 S1: I've taken things like melatonin, relaxation compounds, magnesium that DM 521 00:29:14,810 --> 00:29:16,850 S1: I was talking about. So if you use a binder, 522 00:29:16,850 --> 00:29:19,130 S1: you basically want at least a good 30 to 60 523 00:29:19,130 --> 00:29:22,100 S1: minutes after you've consumed some of your other compounds. If 524 00:29:22,100 --> 00:29:24,950 S1: you don't want to soak all that stuff up. Um, 525 00:29:24,950 --> 00:29:28,640 S1: now another interesting one is Chlorella. Chlorella doesn't seem to 526 00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:31,910 S1: bind the beneficial stuff quite as much as this blue 527 00:29:31,910 --> 00:29:36,260 S1: green algae that's rich in vitamins and minerals and amino 528 00:29:36,260 --> 00:29:39,350 S1: acids and omega three fatty acids. And it does bind, 529 00:29:39,350 --> 00:29:42,320 S1: but it's not quite as powerful, and it doesn't excrete 530 00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:45,260 S1: essential minerals. So Chlorella is safer if you don't want 531 00:29:45,260 --> 00:29:47,660 S1: to get nutritional deficiencies. If you don't want to soak 532 00:29:47,660 --> 00:29:50,030 S1: up a lot of your spendy supplements, I would say 533 00:29:50,030 --> 00:29:52,370 S1: that's one that's going to have the least effect. If 534 00:29:52,370 --> 00:29:53,840 S1: you just want to take a binder and you don't 535 00:29:53,840 --> 00:29:56,420 S1: want to fuss around with timing, everything else is chlorella. 536 00:29:56,420 --> 00:29:59,330 S1: And I would say fruit pectin is pretty good for this. 537 00:29:59,330 --> 00:30:02,330 S1: Maybe the humic and phobic acids as well. A few 538 00:30:02,330 --> 00:30:06,440 S1: good brands besides Quicksilver Scientific, the brand Beam Minerals. They 539 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:08,989 S1: have these bottles of humic and folic acid that are 540 00:30:08,990 --> 00:30:13,910 S1: just fantastic. Uh, for Chlorella, you want good organic, like 541 00:30:13,910 --> 00:30:17,150 S1: cracked cell wall chlorella. I think this company energy bits, 542 00:30:17,150 --> 00:30:19,370 S1: they make one called recovery bits. That's pretty good for that. 543 00:30:19,370 --> 00:30:22,970 S1: You can chew them, you can swallow them. But basically 544 00:30:22,970 --> 00:30:25,970 S1: a binder would be something that you'd use right before 545 00:30:25,970 --> 00:30:28,430 S1: you go to bed at night. And that can help 546 00:30:28,430 --> 00:30:31,160 S1: out quite a bit with absorbing anything else that you 547 00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:33,230 S1: might have had with the meal or with the alcohol. 548 00:30:33,500 --> 00:30:38,060 S1: This is interesting for anyone who wants a done for you. 549 00:30:38,060 --> 00:30:44,390 S1: Complete biohacking at home. I am selling my entire tricked 550 00:30:44,390 --> 00:30:47,930 S1: out house located on eight and a half acres of 551 00:30:47,930 --> 00:30:55,580 S1: forested land in Spokane, Washington. 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So we've got Dmh. 570 00:32:15,290 --> 00:32:18,080 S1: We've got Z biotics and we've got binders is three 571 00:32:18,080 --> 00:32:20,810 S1: things that can help to mitigate some of the potential 572 00:32:20,810 --> 00:32:24,320 S1: deleterious effects of too much of an alcohol based toxin. 573 00:32:24,320 --> 00:32:28,070 S1: And then of course, just electrolytes and minerals and good hydration. 574 00:32:28,070 --> 00:32:32,240 S1: So the next thing that I'm often asked is, well, Ben, 575 00:32:32,240 --> 00:32:35,660 S1: when you drink, what do you drink? Well, I have 576 00:32:35,660 --> 00:32:39,200 S1: a whole list of healthy cocktails and even mocktails in 577 00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:43,310 S1: my cookbooks. Boundless Kitchen and Boundless Cookbook. Uh, I've I've 578 00:32:43,310 --> 00:32:45,860 S1: saved a ton of my different recipes for homemade Moscow 579 00:32:45,860 --> 00:32:48,560 S1: mules and vinegar shrub drinks and the like and put 580 00:32:48,560 --> 00:32:50,660 S1: them all in there. But a few of the things 581 00:32:50,660 --> 00:32:52,760 S1: that I tend to turn to in my own little 582 00:32:52,760 --> 00:32:56,360 S1: bartending laboratory at home, I always have lemon juice, apple 583 00:32:56,360 --> 00:32:59,450 S1: cider vinegar, and bitters. The main reason for those is 584 00:32:59,450 --> 00:33:01,250 S1: that when I mix them in with, say, a little 585 00:33:01,250 --> 00:33:05,510 S1: clean burning mezcal, uh, tequila. Mezcal is very clean gins, 586 00:33:05,510 --> 00:33:08,660 S1: very clean vodkas, very clean. I'll mix the lemon, the 587 00:33:08,660 --> 00:33:13,820 S1: apple cider vinegar and or the, um, the vinegar shrub 588 00:33:13,850 --> 00:33:16,880 S1: or the bitters in with some soda water and one 589 00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:19,370 S1: of these clean burning alcohols, about a shot or so. 590 00:33:19,370 --> 00:33:21,320 S1: And the cool thing about these bitters is not only 591 00:33:21,320 --> 00:33:24,320 S1: do they help to step up the liver's detox pathways, 592 00:33:24,320 --> 00:33:28,580 S1: but they also are acting as glucose disposal agents, meaning 593 00:33:28,580 --> 00:33:31,460 S1: they will lower the glycemic index of anything that they're 594 00:33:31,460 --> 00:33:34,550 S1: consumed with. Thus, you have a lower blood sugar response 595 00:33:34,550 --> 00:33:37,100 S1: to your drink and a lower blood sugar response to 596 00:33:37,100 --> 00:33:40,940 S1: any carbohydrates that you might consume with dinner. I also 597 00:33:40,940 --> 00:33:43,430 S1: am a huge fan of dry farm wines. Dry farm 598 00:33:43,430 --> 00:33:47,570 S1: refers to wines that have been taken from, as the 599 00:33:47,570 --> 00:33:51,410 S1: name implies, farms that use low amounts of irrigation. When 600 00:33:51,410 --> 00:33:54,590 S1: you don't irrigate a crop as heavily, you get a 601 00:33:54,590 --> 00:33:59,180 S1: less sugary wine, a wine that's lower in alcohol, but 602 00:33:59,180 --> 00:34:02,600 S1: a wine that's more concentrated in antioxidants. It's very similar 603 00:34:02,600 --> 00:34:05,400 S1: to how like a wild beat up. Plant is more 604 00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:07,860 S1: healthy for you than, say, like the big, fluffy, pretty 605 00:34:07,860 --> 00:34:10,830 S1: sugary produce you might get from the grocery store because 606 00:34:10,830 --> 00:34:14,129 S1: it's higher in its ability to spark your own endogenous 607 00:34:14,130 --> 00:34:18,540 S1: antioxidant production, while usually being lower in sugars like, uh, 608 00:34:18,540 --> 00:34:22,380 S1: like fructose, for example. So the idea here is that 609 00:34:22,380 --> 00:34:25,680 S1: when I'm making a cocktail, the base is usually lemon juice, 610 00:34:25,680 --> 00:34:29,040 S1: apple cider vinegar, vinegar, shrub and or bitters, a little 611 00:34:29,040 --> 00:34:31,770 S1: bit of soda water than a clean burning alcohol. Or 612 00:34:31,770 --> 00:34:36,030 S1: like I mentioned, this organic biodynamic dry farm wine. So 613 00:34:36,030 --> 00:34:38,580 S1: I get a shipment of six bottles of wine each 614 00:34:38,580 --> 00:34:42,060 S1: month from Dry farm wines. It's usually all European. It's 615 00:34:42,060 --> 00:34:45,299 S1: all selected to be organic, biodynamic, even if it's not 616 00:34:45,300 --> 00:34:48,450 S1: certified organic. They do their research. I've interviewed their founder, 617 00:34:48,450 --> 00:34:51,000 S1: Todd White. I'll link to that interview in the show notes, 618 00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:52,770 S1: along with the interview with the Z biotics Guy and 619 00:34:52,770 --> 00:34:55,860 S1: everything else. If you go to Ben Greenfield Live.com slash 620 00:34:55,860 --> 00:34:58,469 S1: alcohol podcast, but I would say the superstar that we 621 00:34:58,469 --> 00:35:02,009 S1: really love, my wife and I both make vinegar, shrubs, vinegar, shrubs. 622 00:35:02,010 --> 00:35:05,250 S1: When I interviewed TJ Robinson, the vinegar hunter who finds 623 00:35:05,250 --> 00:35:07,410 S1: all these artisanal vinegars that he sends to me and 624 00:35:07,410 --> 00:35:10,140 S1: packages up as like a quarterly send out, he told 625 00:35:10,140 --> 00:35:12,120 S1: me about vinegar shrubs. And this was a few years ago. 626 00:35:12,120 --> 00:35:15,000 S1: I've been making them ever since. So shrubs are very, 627 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:17,190 S1: very simple to make. Usually it's a 1 to 1 628 00:35:17,190 --> 00:35:20,070 S1: ratio of fruit, sugar and vinegar, a 1 to 1 629 00:35:20,070 --> 00:35:23,490 S1: ratio of fruit, sugar and vinegar. And you can drink 630 00:35:23,489 --> 00:35:26,490 S1: this shrub that you make as something that you might 631 00:35:26,489 --> 00:35:29,310 S1: have alcohol free over ice and soda water. My wife 632 00:35:29,310 --> 00:35:31,320 S1: does that quite a bit. Or you can add a 633 00:35:31,320 --> 00:35:34,020 S1: little bit of your mezcal tequila or your gin or 634 00:35:34,020 --> 00:35:36,810 S1: your vodka, or a clean burning alcohol like that to 635 00:35:36,810 --> 00:35:39,210 S1: the shrub. Sometimes I'll even make a sangria right where 636 00:35:39,210 --> 00:35:41,489 S1: I'll do like half wine, half shrub, a little bit 637 00:35:41,489 --> 00:35:44,820 S1: of soda water. It tastes fantastic. So a good place 638 00:35:44,820 --> 00:35:48,240 S1: to start for a basic what's called cold process shrub 639 00:35:48,270 --> 00:35:50,310 S1: is you do a pound of fruit, two cups of 640 00:35:50,310 --> 00:35:52,860 S1: sugar and two cups of vinegar, and for a heated 641 00:35:52,860 --> 00:35:55,319 S1: process you go with a pound of fruit, cup of sugar, 642 00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:57,780 S1: a cup of water and one cup of vinegar. Uh, 643 00:35:57,780 --> 00:35:59,430 S1: and again, I've got a whole recipe for some of 644 00:35:59,430 --> 00:36:03,569 S1: my favorite shrubs in my boundless cook or in a boundless, uh, kitchen. 645 00:36:03,570 --> 00:36:07,290 S1: But basically, we keep this shrub, this vinegar shrub in 646 00:36:07,290 --> 00:36:09,420 S1: a glass mason jar in the fridge, a big old 647 00:36:09,420 --> 00:36:11,759 S1: glass mason jar. And then we can use that as 648 00:36:11,760 --> 00:36:16,379 S1: a base for a drink. So, uh, the, the sugar 649 00:36:16,380 --> 00:36:19,290 S1: actually tends to be something that's balanced very much by 650 00:36:19,290 --> 00:36:23,190 S1: the glycemic index lowering effect of the vinegar. But let 651 00:36:23,190 --> 00:36:25,410 S1: me give you an example of like a cold processed shrub. 652 00:36:25,410 --> 00:36:28,290 S1: So you take that mix that one to 1 to 653 00:36:28,290 --> 00:36:30,239 S1: 1 mix that I talked about in the cold. One's 654 00:36:30,239 --> 00:36:32,370 S1: easier to describe. So that's why I'm going to describe 655 00:36:32,370 --> 00:36:33,990 S1: that one to you. So 1 to 1 to one 656 00:36:33,989 --> 00:36:36,510 S1: ratio of fruit to sugar to vinegar. So again for 657 00:36:36,510 --> 00:36:39,719 S1: a cold processed shrub you'd have a pound of chopped fruit, 658 00:36:39,719 --> 00:36:42,750 S1: two cups of sugar and two cups of vinegar. And 659 00:36:42,750 --> 00:36:47,160 S1: then what you do is you take your sugar and 660 00:36:47,160 --> 00:36:49,560 S1: your fruit and you combine them. You just mash it 661 00:36:49,560 --> 00:36:52,380 S1: all in a bowl, the fruit and the sugar. You 662 00:36:52,380 --> 00:36:54,840 S1: let that sit for about two days on your kitchen counter. 663 00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:56,279 S1: So it's going to ferment a little bit. It's going 664 00:36:56,280 --> 00:36:58,710 S1: to start to look really juicy. Then after a couple 665 00:36:58,710 --> 00:37:00,600 S1: of days of that just sitting on your counter, right, 666 00:37:00,600 --> 00:37:02,970 S1: that mix of fruit and sugar fermenting and sitting on 667 00:37:02,969 --> 00:37:06,480 S1: the counter, you strain the mixture into a measuring cup. 668 00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:08,580 S1: You get rid of all the fruit pulp and everything, 669 00:37:08,580 --> 00:37:11,730 S1: and then you combine that. It's basically like a syrup 670 00:37:11,730 --> 00:37:14,010 S1: that you've made. You combine that with an equal amount 671 00:37:14,010 --> 00:37:16,860 S1: of vinegar, just adding slowly as you go, tasting a 672 00:37:16,860 --> 00:37:19,500 S1: little bit as you go along. And then when you finish, 673 00:37:19,500 --> 00:37:20,700 S1: you can put a little bit extra fruit in there 674 00:37:20,700 --> 00:37:22,440 S1: if you want to, but basically you've just got your 675 00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:24,510 S1: liquid and that's it. You pour it into a jar, 676 00:37:24,510 --> 00:37:26,670 S1: you stick it in the fridge, right. So you basically 677 00:37:26,670 --> 00:37:28,500 S1: got fruit and sugar fermenting for a couple of days 678 00:37:28,500 --> 00:37:31,200 S1: on the counter. Then you add the vinegar, you put 679 00:37:31,200 --> 00:37:33,360 S1: it into a jar. You're good to go. Of course, 680 00:37:33,360 --> 00:37:35,940 S1: after you, after you strain out the fruit bits for 681 00:37:35,940 --> 00:37:39,150 S1: a hot shrub, it's pretty similar. You heat the fruit 682 00:37:39,150 --> 00:37:42,240 S1: and the sugar together. You let it bubble for a while, 683 00:37:42,239 --> 00:37:44,670 S1: and then you stir in the vinegar. And it's just 684 00:37:44,670 --> 00:37:46,890 S1: a way to speed up the process. But I think 685 00:37:46,890 --> 00:37:49,260 S1: the cold shrub, you get way better flavor. And I 686 00:37:49,260 --> 00:37:53,160 S1: think that fermentation will also lower the glycemic index a 687 00:37:53,160 --> 00:37:55,500 S1: little bit in the shrub. But there's recipes for like 688 00:37:55,500 --> 00:37:59,580 S1: watermelon mint and cider shrub cranberry apple shrub, tomato shrub. 689 00:37:59,610 --> 00:38:01,530 S1: It's fantastic. If you learn how to make a shrub, 690 00:38:01,530 --> 00:38:03,810 S1: you're going to be a great bartender. You can impress 691 00:38:03,810 --> 00:38:05,670 S1: your friends, you can be able to make fantastic drinks, 692 00:38:05,670 --> 00:38:08,400 S1: and it's a healthy way to have your alcohol. So 693 00:38:08,400 --> 00:38:11,399 S1: consider making a shrub drink. What else do I make? Uh, 694 00:38:11,400 --> 00:38:15,990 S1: I sometimes do go alcohol free and opt for ketones instead. 695 00:38:15,989 --> 00:38:18,870 S1: So there is a ketone called one three butane dial, 696 00:38:18,870 --> 00:38:22,530 S1: which seems to have very similar socially lubricating and relaxing 697 00:38:22,530 --> 00:38:25,470 S1: effects as alcohol, but with none of the acetaldehyde or 698 00:38:25,469 --> 00:38:27,239 S1: the methyl glycol or anything. So you aren't going to 699 00:38:27,239 --> 00:38:29,339 S1: get the hermetic benefits, but you do get a lot 700 00:38:29,340 --> 00:38:31,980 S1: of the benefits of drinking your way into ketosis. One 701 00:38:31,980 --> 00:38:35,160 S1: company that does this is ketone aid. They have like 702 00:38:35,160 --> 00:38:38,670 S1: a Moscow mule ketone flavor. They've got gin and tonic. Uh, 703 00:38:38,670 --> 00:38:42,180 S1: last night I was drinking there. It's like a, um, 704 00:38:42,180 --> 00:38:44,190 S1: it's almost like a margarita flavor. I forget the name 705 00:38:44,190 --> 00:38:46,529 S1: of it, but it's fantastic. I think they have a 706 00:38:46,530 --> 00:38:49,440 S1: mojito one. They've got a champagne. They used to have 707 00:38:49,440 --> 00:38:51,150 S1: a beer for a while. I didn't really care for it. 708 00:38:51,150 --> 00:38:53,489 S1: It tastes like a light beer. Uh, you don't really 709 00:38:53,489 --> 00:38:56,340 S1: want to mix it with alcohol. Uh, it seems to 710 00:38:56,340 --> 00:38:59,670 S1: produce excess tiredness when you mix one of these. Ketone 711 00:38:59,670 --> 00:39:03,960 S1: one three butane dial alcohol alternatives with alcohol. But. Great 712 00:39:03,960 --> 00:39:06,270 S1: if you want to have a cocktail without the alcohol. 713 00:39:06,270 --> 00:39:09,180 S1: All sometimes do that as well. On nights that I 714 00:39:09,180 --> 00:39:10,860 S1: don't drink, or on nights where I want a little 715 00:39:10,890 --> 00:39:14,310 S1: bit of a change up. Um, those are really the basics. 716 00:39:14,310 --> 00:39:19,740 S1: It's organic biodynamic wine, mezcal, gin or, I'm sorry, mezcal, tequila, 717 00:39:19,739 --> 00:39:24,090 S1: gin or vodka that's mixed with soda water or vinegar, 718 00:39:24,090 --> 00:39:28,379 S1: scrub apple cider vinegar or bitters. And then sometimes these 719 00:39:28,380 --> 00:39:30,480 S1: ketone drinks. And then when I'm out and about, I'm 720 00:39:30,480 --> 00:39:32,910 S1: at a restaurant. A lot of times you don't know 721 00:39:32,910 --> 00:39:36,330 S1: the source of the wine, but in three countries, here's 722 00:39:36,330 --> 00:39:38,640 S1: a trivia question for you. Three countries still tend to 723 00:39:38,640 --> 00:39:43,230 S1: use really good old world, organic, biodynamic methods for preparing wine. 724 00:39:43,230 --> 00:39:45,810 S1: And if you look at the wine menu, you'd want 725 00:39:45,810 --> 00:39:47,460 S1: to look for these three countries. And this is what 726 00:39:47,460 --> 00:39:49,200 S1: I do when I'm out and about. And it doesn't 727 00:39:49,200 --> 00:39:52,109 S1: necessarily indicate whether or not a wine is organic on 728 00:39:52,110 --> 00:39:56,190 S1: the menu. It's France, New Zealand and Italy. France, New 729 00:39:56,190 --> 00:39:59,489 S1: Zealand and Italy are three pretty safe countries to choose from. 730 00:39:59,489 --> 00:40:01,440 S1: If you're going to do a wine when you're out 731 00:40:01,440 --> 00:40:05,310 S1: and about. I also will scan the cocktail menu for 732 00:40:05,310 --> 00:40:09,270 S1: whichever cocktail is the lowest, and added sugars and syrups 733 00:40:09,270 --> 00:40:12,630 S1: and the highest, and bitters and herbs and spices. I'm 734 00:40:12,630 --> 00:40:14,580 S1: a real sucker for an old fashioned, so usually I'll 735 00:40:14,580 --> 00:40:17,549 S1: do whatever that restaurant or bars twist on. An old 736 00:40:17,550 --> 00:40:21,299 S1: fashioned is, uh, I'll look for mezcal, gin again. Vodka, 737 00:40:21,300 --> 00:40:23,940 S1: or I'll keep messing that up. Uh, you'd think I'd 738 00:40:23,940 --> 00:40:27,840 S1: know by now. Mezcal. Tequila. Gin or vodka as a 739 00:40:27,840 --> 00:40:30,600 S1: as a base. And then a lot of times, I 740 00:40:30,600 --> 00:40:34,410 S1: really like to check out what kind of bitters that 741 00:40:34,410 --> 00:40:37,170 S1: a restaurant has on the menu. And I will often 742 00:40:37,170 --> 00:40:39,779 S1: have a cocktail and then follow that up with just 743 00:40:39,780 --> 00:40:41,700 S1: a splash of soda water, a little bit of a 744 00:40:41,700 --> 00:40:43,920 S1: wedge of lemon and some bitters. And I've hung out 745 00:40:43,920 --> 00:40:47,430 S1: at parties for hours, having had one drink but not 746 00:40:47,430 --> 00:40:49,680 S1: making other people feel awkward because I'm walking around the 747 00:40:49,680 --> 00:40:52,470 S1: party the rest of the time, literally drinking bitters and 748 00:40:52,469 --> 00:40:55,530 S1: soda water on ice with a little bit of lemon 749 00:40:55,530 --> 00:40:58,200 S1: or lime, and sometimes a splash of juice like pomegranate 750 00:40:58,200 --> 00:41:01,080 S1: juice or cranberry juice or whatever they might happen to 751 00:41:01,080 --> 00:41:03,990 S1: have there at the bar. So those are some of 752 00:41:03,989 --> 00:41:08,430 S1: the alcohol options, plenty more in Boundless Cookbook and Boundless Kitchen, 753 00:41:08,430 --> 00:41:10,560 S1: my two cookbooks. But these are some of the other 754 00:41:10,560 --> 00:41:13,710 S1: things that I bear in mind when I'm drinking alcohol 755 00:41:13,710 --> 00:41:16,920 S1: as far as my actual choices. So we have covered 756 00:41:16,920 --> 00:41:20,339 S1: today the hermetic effects of alcohol and how it's really 757 00:41:20,340 --> 00:41:22,500 S1: the dose that's the poison and how much you drink 758 00:41:22,500 --> 00:41:25,380 S1: at once, and establish the fact that about one half 759 00:41:25,380 --> 00:41:28,109 S1: to one drink a day, on average, is really not 760 00:41:28,110 --> 00:41:30,090 S1: a big deal and may in fact have a health 761 00:41:30,090 --> 00:41:32,910 S1: promoting effect. We've established the fact that there's a big 762 00:41:32,910 --> 00:41:37,680 S1: difference between that and, say, alcohol use disorder, which I 763 00:41:37,680 --> 00:41:41,790 S1: think would be an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. We've also 764 00:41:41,790 --> 00:41:44,070 S1: gone into some things you could consume along with alcohol, 765 00:41:44,070 --> 00:41:49,230 S1: like DM uh, not necessarily before, but after the alcohol, 766 00:41:49,350 --> 00:41:52,110 S1: a Z biotics, which you would have before you have alcohol, 767 00:41:52,110 --> 00:41:54,629 S1: and even a binder that you might take before bed 768 00:41:54,630 --> 00:41:56,759 S1: at night. And again, for me, the binder isn't every night, 769 00:41:56,760 --> 00:41:59,220 S1: but particularly if I've been eating out at a restaurant, 770 00:41:59,219 --> 00:42:02,460 S1: I'm using the binder not just because I'm not 100% 771 00:42:02,460 --> 00:42:04,710 S1: sure of what's in many of these cocktails that they 772 00:42:04,710 --> 00:42:07,319 S1: add in, and the the nature of the ingredients and 773 00:42:07,320 --> 00:42:10,620 S1: the herbicides and the pesticides, etc. but also because I 774 00:42:10,620 --> 00:42:12,600 S1: often don't know the same thing about the presence of 775 00:42:12,600 --> 00:42:15,150 S1: seed oils or, you know, whether or not the beef 776 00:42:15,150 --> 00:42:17,879 S1: was organic at the restaurant. So I'm not necessarily walking 777 00:42:17,880 --> 00:42:21,060 S1: in there and annoying the host or the waiter or 778 00:42:21,060 --> 00:42:23,580 S1: the waitress with this laundry list of foods I can eat, 779 00:42:23,580 --> 00:42:26,250 S1: and I'm instead often just like enjoying my meal, then 780 00:42:26,250 --> 00:42:29,009 S1: taking a binder later on. We've talked about the different 781 00:42:29,010 --> 00:42:32,820 S1: alcohol choices that can be good, including the fantastic idea 782 00:42:32,820 --> 00:42:37,680 S1: of making your own vinegar shrub. And hopefully I've answered 783 00:42:37,680 --> 00:42:40,529 S1: more questions than I've generated, but those are some of 784 00:42:40,530 --> 00:42:43,560 S1: my answers to some of the main questions that I 785 00:42:43,560 --> 00:42:47,250 S1: received when I started talking about alcohol during my tour 786 00:42:47,250 --> 00:42:49,830 S1: of India, and that I wanted to kind of address 787 00:42:49,830 --> 00:42:52,620 S1: on this podcast. So again, all the show notes are 788 00:42:52,620 --> 00:42:56,100 S1: going to be at Ben Greenfield Live.com Slash Alcohol podcast. 789 00:42:56,100 --> 00:42:59,580 S1: I hope this has been helpful and educational. Hopefully it'll 790 00:42:59,580 --> 00:43:02,670 S1: entertaining for you. And if you have questions or comments 791 00:43:02,670 --> 00:43:05,040 S1: or feedback, leave them on the show notes, leave the 792 00:43:05,040 --> 00:43:07,589 S1: podcast a review. And thanks so much for listening in 793 00:43:07,590 --> 00:43:12,390 S1: to this special episode on all things alcohol. Do you 794 00:43:12,390 --> 00:43:18,089 S1: want free access to comprehensive Shownotes? My weekly roundup newsletter, 795 00:43:18,090 --> 00:43:21,870 S1: cutting edge research and articles. Top recommendations from me for 796 00:43:21,870 --> 00:43:23,850 S1: everything that you need to hack your life, and a 797 00:43:23,850 --> 00:43:29,580 S1: whole lot more. Check out Ben Greenfield life.com. It's all 798 00:43:29,580 --> 00:43:33,720 S1: there Ben Greenfield life.com. See you over there. Most of 799 00:43:33,719 --> 00:43:37,200 S1: you who listen don't subscribe like or rate this show. 800 00:43:37,440 --> 00:43:39,840 S1: If you're one of those people who do. Then huge 801 00:43:39,840 --> 00:43:44,460 S1: thank you. But here's why. It's important to subscribe, like 802 00:43:44,460 --> 00:43:46,950 S1: and or rate this show. 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