women become much more vulnerable to the negative effects of alcohol during the

medicals. But by and large, two things happen when you drink alcohol. The first is you

depress the activity of the good bugs. And you also inflame in the same way as you inflame

the liver and the brain, you inflame the wall of the gut. And of course, drinking strongly

associated with inflammation in the stomach.

You then start to interfere with the intrinsic immune system. So alcohol dampens down

immune function, which is why people who drink a lot are much more vulnerable to infections.

So do you want to have a relaxing drink and feel more confident with friends without the hangover and concerning health impacts?

Well, Professor David Nutt can show you how.

Hello and welcome to Age Better with me, Liz Earle.

My mission, as you know, is to change the conversation around ageing because you know we can decide just how well to thrive in later life in so many ways

ageing well is a journey and i want you to discover just how good it can feel to age better than you

ever thought possible and of course no conversation i think would be complete without a really

deep dive into alcohol especially especially as we age,

you know, for midlife women and older, it seems to affect us even more. And yet the pressures

for social drinking are never greater. Well, leading psychiatrist and neuro-psychopharmacologist,

Professor David Nutt, is a leader in the study of the brain, drugs and

conditions like addiction, anxiety and sleep. And he's going to explain exactly what alcohol does

to our bodies and our minds in the minutes and years after having a drink.

Well, welcome back, David.

I think this is the second time that we've spoken.

You were an early guest of mine, weren't you, on one of my formative first podcasts.

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