In one of our first appointments, Tom told me that he had a non-addictive personality. “I donʼt get addicted to things,” he said. He could live with, or without anything. We both knew he could lose a little around the waist, so I told him to reduce his alcohol consumption, as best he could. No problem. Except that every weekend so far, heʼs gone out and drank a lot of beer. I asked him why and he said that beer tasted too good not to. And then they say naturopathic medicine doesnʼt work.

BEER: Information changes all the time. What I knew about diabetes in the 90ʼs is not what I know now. Thereʼs an article in Best Health that says beer can actually help you lose weight, reduce your risk of Alzheimerʼs and diabetes, and may be a good source of vitamins and minerals. WTF. Nick Naylor: Thank you for smoking.

THE SKINNY: Within each of us is an expert debate team – affirmative and negative. Like with exercise: You can argue every reason why you should go to the gym and every reason why you shouldnʼt. Tie games lead to overtime. In psychology, they call it – rationalization. On the streets its called – making excuses. Itʼs a defence mechanism trained to justify feelings and avoid the truth. Its the dilemma of making decisions with the frontal cortex; since its job is to think, rationalize, reason – it does exactly that. Richard Linklater once said in Waking Life: “On really romantic nights of self, I go salsa dancing with my confusion.” Itʼs movement that doesnʼt get your anywhere. Avocados can be good for you. Six a day, is not. Everything has a place of balance. But itʼs dynamic, so it changes all the time.

ADVICE: Go with your gut. Itʼs never wrong. No one has ever said, I went with my gut and it f#cked me. But if you confuse automatic habits with instinct, or donʼt believe in “gut instinct”, drop it. Just look at your gut. Itʼs not a muffin top because it wants more muffins. It wants you to take it for a walk. Thatʼs how you love it.

OPINION: Can substances that impair cognitive function, really nourish you? Take a moment here. There are a substances that shift your state of mind, and do not impair cognitive function. These substances I am for, under the right conditions; a chat for another day. But alcohol – this tends to inspire daredevil behaviour. Not proud moments. Like chips. Once you start into the bag, itʼs not hard to go for bottom. No one ever took a shot of Ayahuasca and said, keep ʻem coming, Sam. Herein lies the difference.

HANGOVER: Since weʼre talking about alcohol, we gotta talk about sex and the liver. Be safe, people. STIs may feel as rare as the lottery, but thereʼs always a winner. If youʼre going to go for it, please use a condom. And also pick one up for the liver. Milk thistle: the liverʼs condom. It is hepatoprotective and hepatorestorative. Taken before or after, it will do either, respectively. It wonʼt erase the effects of all night beer pong the night before, but it can mitigate some of the damage your discipline tried to help you with before alcohol gagged it and locked it in the back room. So, if you happen to run into someone who says alcohol can benefit your health, I suggest you tie your shoelaces and run like hell in the opposite direction.

Written by: Dr Jenny Jun, N,Dr.