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This is Alcohol Freedom Finders. This week we talked to Caroline Sherlock, an additional therapist, a functional medicine practitioner, and a lecturer on genetics and mutually genomics. So Caroline, as Liam Neeson once said, has a very particular set of skills acquired over a long career, and it was actually this that made her own drinking feel progressively out of alignment with who she was professionally as well as who she wanted to be as a mother. Her particular set of skills did initially make her an expert in mitigating the effects of alcohol on the body. She used all manner of biohacks to avoid hangovers, but ultimately she realized that this same deep knowledge could be instrumental in helping her find alcohol freedom and talk about becoming a fellow alcohol freedom finder. She's even started her own coaching business called Alcohol Freedom Coaching. So let's dive in and hear all about it from Caroline.

Justine Clark: 0:52

Wow. Uh,

Caroline Sherlock: 0:54

Uh,

Justine Clark: 0:54

excited

Caroline Sherlock: 0:55

excited to,

Justine Clark: 0:55

have Caroline with us today. She is a fellow, the Naked Mind coach, and also an incredible, functional medicine practitioner. So we're really excited how gonna bring together both freedom from alcohol and the, the, the health aspect as well. So, welcome Caroline.

Caroline Sherlock: 1:14

thank you very much for having me here. I'm really excited to be talking to you both.

Barry Condon: 1:19

Yeah, it's lovely to, lovely to meet you, Caroline. So why don't you take us back to, when you, decided for yourself you needed to make a change with your. Relationship to alcohol.

Caroline Sherlock: 1:29

Sure. So this was something that I had been contemplating for a while and it really came to a head, as with I think many of us during the pandemic. which I found super stressful, as did most of us. And, I had been questioning my relationship with alcohol for, for a while. I, I had used alcohol for years. in terms of just switching off at the end of the day, didn't really see it as a particular problem. Never had hangovers. I never really felt drunk, to be honest, with, with what I was doing. Got up high, very high functioning. and it, and it wasn't really a problem, in my mind until I started to question my relationship when I wasn't really able to take a break from it successfully. That lasted really for more than, honestly, kind of four or five days. I think the maximum I managed to do was. Was 10 or 11, which seems utterly ridiculous. So I started to have that cognitive dissonance come in whereby I was just thinking, you know, what, what am I doing here? and I've been a functional medicine practitioner, well a nutritionist for kind of 20 years now, and I do a lot with, genetics and nutrigenomics and lecture and teach on it. And I have my own client, client base, obviously. and. I, I knew that my, my genes were not good at the end of the day in terms of being able to detox. And I knew, you know, I, I'd become an expert basically on, I guess, alcohol and detox and how it had, was metabolized. I knew everything, so I was biohacking everything. I was using the supplements, I was using the diet. I, you know, was a personal trainer before I got into nutrition as well. You know, I was doing everything right, but there was a lot of biohacking going along, which was. Quite ridiculous when actually the solution, to be honest, was just stop drinking. But I was putting it all in, you know? And but I kept looking at my genes and there's a particular little gene called a glu around the glutathione family, which is how we detox. And my glutathione genes are terrible. And there's this kind of nagging thought at the back of my head that this is gonna catch up with me one day. You know, you know, I tell my clients, you can't outrun. A bad diet and I was thinking, what am I doing? Because my genes are not gonna be so forgiving, you know, as I go forward like this. So that really had been there for a while. and the second thing was that. My daughter had had some health challenges and I decided at that point I wanted to be 100% present for her and available whatever time of day or night. And if I was drinking at all, I didn't feel that I was as switched on, obviously as I should be. and that might've been 11 o'clock at night or two in the morning. So that didn't sit well with me. and then the final thing was I decided that I just really wanted to. Be an inspiration as we all do for our kids, and a good role model. And this was kind of the final, I think, nail in the coffin for me because I decided that I was not showing them the strong kind of female lead that I thought I was doing because I was effectively dealing with stress with alcohol in the evening and turning to a glass of wine, which I did not feel was a good role model, for my kids. And I'd grown up around alcohol, you know, it was. Kind of what I believed was okay. And I got to the point where I thought these three things came together so much and I just thought, it's not okay anymore. I need to do something about it. And I found it hard to stop, you know, quite honestly. And we were in the pandemic. There was always a reason, wasn't there to, and another stressful day, you know, something else happened. And I had heard, Annie Grace actually talk. On a conference, on an addiction conference that I was on a few years back, with a doctor in the States, and I'd really resonated with her and her methodology. I really liked what she said, so I re-found her basically. And this naked mind and everything started from there at that point. Yeah.

Justine Clark: 5:38

Well, uh,

Caroline Sherlock: 5:40

uh, there's a lot there.

Justine Clark: 5:41

I think

Caroline Sherlock: 5:42

I think

Justine Clark: 5:42

struck

Caroline Sherlock: 5:43

struck me

Justine Clark: 5:44

there is

Caroline Sherlock: 5:44

there is the fact that

Justine Clark: 5:46

much

Caroline Sherlock: 5:46

much a

Justine Clark: 5:47

normal functioning. Person. And I love the idea about, you know, you had all the biohacks and I think our audience is gonna be not so much interested in the biohacks for drinking, but now all of your biohacks around how to recover from having drugs so much. But we'll come onto that in a bit, I'm sure. What I'm

Caroline Sherlock: 6:06

What I'm really.

Justine Clark: 6:06

is if you tried so many times and you only managed four or five in a max of 11 days of, of not drinking, what about, the methodology? Really, know, made the change for you what sunk in.

Caroline Sherlock: 6:22

It was really the, the emphasis on it's not your fault and the compassion, you know, because ev I was utterly convinced. I, I didn't want to be labeled. also in the health world, the health and wellness world, there is a lot of drinking that goes on, you know, that people don't talk about. But there is a lot of, self-judgment, self-criticism, I think around that as well. And I really like. Annie's approach to, you have to have this self-love and compassion for yourself, which I had never really viewed at all, in that way before. So that really worked for me. And also questioning all the stories. You know, this is what we do. We deconstruct everything, don't we? And the beliefs that we have and that we hold. And I had these deep ingrained beliefs that, you know, that everything actually required. Alcohol, you know, and maybe that was me telling myself that story, but a lot of that came from maybe a long time ago. and really, you know, to, at the end of the day, you know, it's a reward. It's a treat. It's how you switch off. Or you go to a, you go to anything, you go to a concert, you go to the theater, you know, and you have a drink. You know, it's, and it's this constant. Beliefs and this, this is what it's doing for me. And I think what really resonated with the methodology was taking apart that and looking at it from a really objective point of view. Because I knew the science, you know, I knew the, what happens with the blood sugar. I know you know what happens in terms of the damage, but I didn't wanna hear that. You know, and no one does do they, you know, when you are in it, you don't wanna read something, you don't wanna be lectured to. You don't wanna hear that it's bad for you. Of course we know it's bad for you. And so what I really liked was that methodology of let's just step back from what we're feeling, the emotions around it. you know, what actually is the feeling that I'm experiencing when I want to pick up this drink? Is it because I actually want what's in it or is it because I feel, you know, lonely or bored, or that I feel that I need some sort of a reward for what's just happened? So, you know, I liked that. It, that ability to do that and the, the detached kind of, let's step back from it and explore and let's get curious about it. And it's an experiment. I had no intention ever of giving up alcohol permanently. If someone had said to me, you know, and this is the thing someone had said to me, you know, you're gonna give it up. I'd be like, no, there's absolutely no way. And even on, so, so I was successful on my fourth alcohol experiment for a variety of different reasons. but even then I went into it just with this, I just want to take a break. I want to prove to myself that I can take a break. I don't wanna give it up. It was a 10 day break. I was intending 10 days, you know, that was all I felt genuinely I could achieve. And then I thought, if I got to two weeks, great. You know, that's excellent. And it just continued, you know? And I felt so good from what I was doing, that's what happened. But if you'd said to me at the beginning, you're gonna give it up, I wouldn't have even started it because that was not even an option as I think. It is for a lot of people, you know? yeah.

Barry Condon: 9:34

Yeah, no, I get that. I mean, I, I, I think when I stopped, I don't think I'd, I'd gone more than two or three days

Caroline Sherlock: 9:41

Yeah,

Barry Condon: 9:42

for as long as I could remember. And, I think, you know, Justine often says that we're auto-enrolled into a society that, that we're drinking is everything.

Caroline Sherlock: 9:52

it is. I.

Barry Condon: 9:53

you know, what you do when you're not working and or, you know, when you're together with people when you are, you know, as you said, you know, all those occasions they are an occasion to drink and, and. It, it goes hand in hand with, with all these things and to, to, to try and step away and see it not as the, the, the sort of, answer to, to all your, desires and, and, and, and, and, and soothing and, and all the things that it, it pretends, to give you is, is very, very difficult. so how, you know, what, what's, what's, what was the sort of. I in that fourth, did you say fourth time that you, you did the,

Caroline Sherlock: 10:25

It was the fourth time.

Barry Condon: 10:27

that it was the, was the lucky one. what was it that, that, in that, you know, at the end of that, what was it that that sort of made you think, oh, well actually I could go longer than 10 days? Oh, I could, I could, I could, you know, do this, for the foreseeable future.

Caroline Sherlock: 10:45

So that fourth time, I, it, it, I feel it wasn't luck. It was planning with that and I. Stepped back. I approached it with kind of military precision because I thought if I do this properly and then if I still fail at it, which is how I was thinking at the time, I thought, you know, I don't know what, what I'll do next. so I kind of set myself up to not fail, and I took into account how I was gonna feel, what I was gonna do, with that first week. So the coaching for me was just instrumental and then I layered on what I do when in my, functional medicine clinic and I knew that my sleep was probably gonna be terrible because when I had tried that before, and I think this is what people don't tell you either. You know, you try and give it up. Everyone's like, oh no sleeps. You sleep so much better. You feel so much better. And the reality is, for many of us, actually no. It gets. Worse. It's rough, you know, if you have been, having a glass of the wine of wine at the end of the day for, you know, however long. So I, I looked at all of these things and I planned and I did biohack my way around, sleep around, how I was gonna feel and also what I was gonna do, and really thought this time about, well, you know, what am I gonna do on a Friday night or Saturday night because. For as long as I could remember, you know, my Friday and Saturday nights had had a glass of wine, you know, or, or more in them. So it was really that who am I, you know, what is my identity? And I remember distinctly getting into the end of that first week and Saturday morning just thinking I'm up early. I feel, I actually feel good. You know? And I think the changing thing was that with this particular time was that. I'd got it right. I actually felt good. I didn't feel terrible through that whole week, and beyond. And I did feel better and better and better. And as you know what happens, you get your self respect back through doing that. You think, actually, I can do this. I've done it. And then that just is a rolling stone for wanting to do more and keeping going with it. And it was never a. It was never, I'm gonna get to three months, I'm gonna get to, you know, there was never a timeframe. It was just for today, let's just see if we can get to the next weekend. And I think, you know, where I'd always fallen before was on those weekends, the Friday. That was why it was a kind of 10 days, you know, or four or five days. You'd start on a Monday or Sunday, get to the Friday, Saturday, and then it would go wrong. And I think the more that you repeat that action and you realize you can get through it and actually it's okay, and actually you feel great for doing it, you, you keep going with it. And I think this time, the productivity and this is what you gain, you know, you talk about what you gain through doing it, the productivity that you can feel, and the time that you get back is huge. You know, so like our business that month. Our existing business like just flew through the roof, like I haven't seen

Justine Clark: 13:59

totally agree with you.

Caroline Sherlock: 14:00

Agree with you.

Justine Clark: 14:01

you know, this big

Caroline Sherlock: 14:02

I think, you know, this move I've done from

Justine Clark: 14:04

Zealand, there is no

Caroline Sherlock: 14:05

is no way

Justine Clark: 14:06

been

Caroline Sherlock: 14:06

I would've been able to

Justine Clark: 14:07

You know, pack up a

Caroline Sherlock: 14:09

pick up.

Justine Clark: 14:09

the house, do all the planning. I did it. My husband was working full time, so it was down to me to, with military precision over a two year period to move our whole lives into, into New Zealand, checking out schools the whole lot. It was

Caroline Sherlock: 14:21

Yeah.

Justine Clark: 14:22

And I can safely say I was not stressed and I did not get sick during the process. There was a

Caroline Sherlock: 14:29

Yeah.

Justine Clark: 14:29

points where I was like, whoa, this is a lot. But I genuinely, I genuinely believe that. we, we do get so much more of our, you know, productivity back. The three things that

Caroline Sherlock: 14:40

Things you

Justine Clark: 14:41

that have really

Caroline Sherlock: 14:41

really stood

Justine Clark: 14:42

people will, will be really helpful for them is it's

Caroline Sherlock: 14:46

is it's number one, compassion is

Justine Clark: 14:49

coming at

Caroline Sherlock: 14:50

coming.

Justine Clark: 14:50

compassion and like, even if you do have a little drink, midweek and you, you, and you go, oh no, it's day one again.

Caroline Sherlock: 14:57

Yeah.

Justine Clark: 14:57

day one. Again, with this work, it's just information. You

Caroline Sherlock: 15:00

Yeah.

Justine Clark: 15:01

on, you're still on your journey. The second

Caroline Sherlock: 15:03

The second part is the plan,

Justine Clark: 15:05

I think,

Caroline Sherlock: 15:05

I think

Justine Clark: 15:06

for all of us,

Caroline Sherlock: 15:07

of us,

Justine Clark: 15:08

that have failed with that

Caroline Sherlock: 15:09

that have failed

Justine Clark: 15:10

night,

Caroline Sherlock: 15:10

night and so many.

Justine Clark: 15:12

plan the hell out of it. If that means you don't go out for the first couple of Fridays, if that means that you. You, you plan a movie night, if that means that you get in really expensive alcohol free products and chocolate, I, it doesn't matter. Is planning is key to get over those first few firsts of doing things, without alcohol. and then the last piece, which I do want you to talk more about'cause

Caroline Sherlock: 15:34

Because No.

Justine Clark: 15:35

about, this is I want to know. Your top biohacks when you were in that first, month. So that people can, who, who, aren't necess still gonna come and well, they can come and see you, give'em those details. But as a starting point, what's

Caroline Sherlock: 15:50

What's key gonna help them?

Justine Clark: 15:52

first couple of weeks?

Caroline Sherlock: 15:55

So this is, this is what I think is key and this is what made the difference for me. You know, and there's some people, you know what, there's some people that can just give up alcohol like that and that's fine. There's no issue. There's some people that can just work on the emotions and the coaching, and that's fine. For me, I needed more. So I approached it with, sleep. I knew my sleep was gonna be disrupted, so I. I allowed for that. but also I looked at, some of the sleep pathways. So how we produce melatonin, for instance. a lot of the calming. Herbs that we use that help to promote sleep. And I put those in for myself. So I would have magnesium in the evenings, and there's a particular form of magnesium that you can use that actually promote sleep. So it's not just any old magnesium. So I, I did all this and I had the kind of calming herbs in, so I did everything that I could around sleep. So I think sleep is key because as soon as your sleep's off, if you don't, you know, and if you're, if you're working, if you're high functioning, if you're, you've got stuff to do. You know, even if it's just take kids to school, but if you're running a business as well, you know, you can't afford to not have sleep, you know, in that first week. So that was really important to me. The second thing was making sure that my diet was on track with blood sugar, because when we drink, our blood sugar is regulation is off. And so by feeding your body with adequate protein, replenishing the nutrients that we would lose. Through drinking, you know, and particularly the B vitamins, which are very involved with energy production, chromium that helps to balance blood sugar. There's lots and lots of these different nutrients that, you can get in a multivitamin. But, but I particularly focused on them. and also knowing my genetics, I kind of. Put in more of some of these, particularly where I knew that my, pathways were gonna be compromised and I also supported my liver, you know, so with some of the, more detox. Friendly foods. so I really planned the diet and I really think that was key because if you try to give up and if you do not have adequate protein in, if you end up eating kind of bowls of pasta and cereal or just kind of toast because you don't really know what you're doing, your blood sugar's all over the place and it's gonna make you feel terrible, you know? So, so you're kind of. Setting yourself a little bit up for failure there if you've haven't got that based diet. and I think the third thing with me was I understood the neurotransmitter pathways. So when we, when we say neurotransmitters, it's all the, the chemicals that make us feel good. So like, serotonin makes us feel happy. GABA helps us to relax and dopamine's kind of the really well known one with, with, with alcohol. But actually. Focusing on, pathways that help us relax. So GABA for instance, you know, it's, it's very clever what alcohol does. It latches on to the GABA receptor in the body. So we don't need to then produce our own gaba. And GABA is your chill out, relax. It's our kind of natural sedative basically. So when you're having alcohol in that latches onto it. But when you take the alcohol out. Your body's kind of going, where is that? What's happening? So you've got this heightened sense of anxiety. So actually what we wanna do during that first week is really promote that relaxation so that you don't have as much anxiety fill the stress. And you know, on the, on the converse side, you've got this little thing called glutamate and alcohol excites that, you know, it makes us have more. It's more glutamate. And again, when you take the the alcohol out, you know, you, you get this rebound effect. So you've kind of got more anxiety, excitement. And there's, there's lots of foods that trigger glutamate, you know? So you don't wanna be having those foods in the first week because it's gonna make you feel more anxious, more stressed. And for many of us, that's the entire reason. You know, in some cases that people turn to alcohol in the first place is to reset these neurotransmitters by kind of the only tool. That we know how at that time, and, you know, alcohol does that very successfully. It plays around with that balance, but then of course has these rebound effects and leaves us feeling worse. So, so if you know, if we know that, you know, you can get through those first two weeks a little, make it a little bit easier, which then sets up your chances of continuing, You know, and, and continuing to go without alcohol for longer, I think it gives people more of a chance of success and it's per, it's, it's certainly what made the difference for me, really, you know, kind of using the supplements and, and for want of a better word, biohacking these pathways. But it was particularly sleep, blood sugar, and the neurotransmitters that I focused on, and it really was a winning combination, and that's what I, you know, really focus on with. With clients, you know, it, it, it gives you a better chance of winning with this and, and succeeding during those first few weeks. And I do think, you know, as you know, if you get through those first few weeks, most people can get to kind of 21 days or 28 days, and that might be all they want to do, and that's fine, you know, but there is that momentum once you start, you know, going with it. And, you know, that's where it gets interesting because a lot of these. Nutrient deficiencies don't just self resolve in kind of a couple of days. You know, some of them are one week, two weeks, some of them are three months, you know, and some areas are, you know, kind of up to a year, you know, to, to actually rebound. So by working on those and continuing to incorporate it, that's where it can be really interesting'cause you are working with your own physiology and biochemistry with it at the same time as. Taking apart all these beliefs that we've held for so long, you know, and, and rebalancing everything.

Barry Condon: 21:51

Yeah, I mean, that was for me, the most powerful part of, of, changing my, Relationship with alcohol was to see it differently, to understand the science, to understand that the, you know, the, the, the way the neurotransmitters work and the, and the rebound as you call it. That, that, that idea that, you know, I, I, you know, initially I drank'cause it was fun. I drank to have fun and, and it was fun for, for a long time. It was fun. And then, you know, you get responsibilities. Your, your life changes your. Not out with friends as often, and you end up, you know, I ended up, you know, drinking more than I should have been or more than I wanted to plan to, at home. And, and it became a, a sort of thing that, you know, you had more responsibility. You had a mortgage, you had a, a job, responsibilities. And, and I was, you know, looking back, I realize I was drinking because I was stressed. I was drinking because I was, you know, feeling, you know, under pressure. and knowing now. that actually, you know, it was sort of chicken and egg thing really, because the, alcohol, like you said with the rebound, it, it boosts all those feelings of stress. You know, it, as you said, that your, your relaxation, receptors, the GABA receptors are, are, are, are either closed or I don't know exactly how, how that that works, but it, they're, they're, they're not functioning in the same way that they, they

Caroline Sherlock: 23:06

Yeah.

Barry Condon: 23:06

be. so you. are left in a sort of situation where, you know, you're being flooded with cortisol and, and all the sort of stress hormones trying to fight off the, the alcohol, sedation effect. and those last, you know, you know, they last the whole day, the next day. and, and so it's, you know, you, you never quite get back to a regular baseline'cause your body's thinking, well, I'm not gonna bother.

Caroline Sherlock: 23:30

Yeah, totally.

Barry Condon: 23:31

the, the happy hormones, to a normal base level because you're gonna, you're gonna flood me with, with alcohol, which is gonna set everything, you know, tip everything the wrong direction. And so yeah, understanding that and thinking, oh gosh, you know, so what I thought of as the solution was actually part of the problem, was a real mindblower. but sugar, yeah, that one I really didn't expect. And because,'cause I never, I sort of thought, you know, well, I, I don't drink. Cocktails and, you know, I just drink wine and, and maybe the odd beer and, and, and, and so I thought, well, I mean, I you say that it actually messes with the whole, your whole sort of, glucose system rather, it's not, not, not so much that alcohol or wine is, is is full of sugar, it's just that it messes with, or, or is it both That it messes with the, the system as well.

Caroline Sherlock: 24:19

It is smooth. It is both. So it depends. It depends what you're drinking, but yes, for sure. So alcohol raises the blood glucose level very, very, very quickly. And the problem is that it's, it's this, the compound when it's broken down, it's the acetaldehyde. which some people don't break down particularly well, but that's very, very damaging to the cells. And so you can, this is why when we, you know, people, people who drink, you know, are at more risk of diabetes and, and, you know, blood sugar dysregulation because the insulin that the receptors on the cells just don't work as well because they become damaged over time and you might not see that immediately. But it just sits there in the background until it gets to the point where your body can't actually handle the glucose, you know, very well at all. so yes, that blood sugar dysregulation is there, and the other reason is, you know, your, your sleep is disrupted significantly. The, the REM sleep and sleep is just when we detox, when we, when we sort everything out. But sleep is highly linked to that. Gut microbiome as well, which, regulates sugar levels. And, you know, if you think about it logically, anything that we eat or drink goes through the digestive system. And we know that alcohol really affects the gut microbiome. It makes the gut leaky, and it makes it much harder for our body to just regulate, you know, how we're feeling. And, and if you have not got, you know, appropriate levels of the other neurotransmitters of serotonin, if your dopamine's all over the place. You know, because we're, you know, looking for that drink, that reward at the end of the day, if your GABA's off as well. and many of the others, you know, you become reliant on that. I guess that alcohol coming in. Just that little burst of energy, that little kind of mood up regulation as well, what I love, what I love what you're talking about here is.

Justine Clark: 26:06

it, it compounds the idea that it's not our fault. So we know through Annie Grace's work, alcohol's fault, not ours. But what you are talking

Caroline Sherlock: 26:14

Talking

Justine Clark: 26:14

what I deeply

Caroline Sherlock: 26:15

deeply.

Justine Clark: 26:16

is that

Caroline Sherlock: 26:16

Is that

Justine Clark: 26:17

happening to us by biochemically. Means that a, we may have a dispo predisposition not to cope with alcohol well, but moreover, we, when we are trying to recover or from just from a day-to-day drinking, that our bodies actually needs the alcohol just to feel,

Caroline Sherlock: 26:35

feel normal?

Justine Clark: 26:36

again. we are

Caroline Sherlock: 26:37

We're running outta time.

Justine Clark: 26:38

Caroline, and I'm

Caroline Sherlock: 26:39

Caroline,

Justine Clark: 26:39

to hear, you'd answer our

Caroline Sherlock: 26:41

answer our last

Justine Clark: 26:42

is,

Caroline Sherlock: 26:42

is,

Justine Clark: 26:43

three

Caroline Sherlock: 26:43

in three words

Justine Clark: 26:44

more,

Caroline Sherlock: 26:44

more.

Justine Clark: 26:45

what,

Caroline Sherlock: 26:46

what,

Justine Clark: 26:46

biggest sort of takeaway

Caroline Sherlock: 26:48

takeaway about being

Justine Clark: 26:49

alcohol

Caroline Sherlock: 26:50

freedom? Three words. So, I, freedom, obviously, but everyone says freedom, so I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna do that one, but my first is gratitude and, I feel hugely, immensely grateful. That I have not got alcohol in my life anymore. You know, I could not be happier. That for my, second half, you know, of my life, that it feels like a gift that I have a, a second chance, you know, so I, I'm so grateful to have found Annie Grace and. The community and also be able to do the work that I do and have the background that I do to, to have done this. So that would be the first one. Gratitude. Second one is alignment for me because I really feel that, you know, I've always been very open. I share whatever I talk about, whatever, you know, and what you get is what you see with me, you know, and I really feel so aligned that I am, you know, 100% genuinely walking my talk. Now there is, you know, no hiding anything and that makes. A huge difference. Okay. So, alignment. And I think the third thing would be, I feel it has given me this sense of, mission and drive in that, you know, this is, this is really what I, I wanna do now. And I think it's a very underrepresented area because it's not just that first month, one month, two months, three months that we need to focus on. There is a whole lifetime ahead of us where. We can change the trajectory of our lives and all of the things that are associated with drinking alcohol, whether or not it is raised risk of Alzheimer's, dementia, diabetes, liver cancer, all of these things we can influence, you know, our ability to deal with them by upregulating certain pathways, you know, and mental health as well, or hormones. All of these things that alcohol disrupt. Including liver function and thyroid function and sex hormones, you know, and the neurotransmitters. We can affect all of those and we can positively influence our ability to live long and healthy to, you know, I'm aiming for a hundred or more. You know, and I think once you have. Given up alcohol. You know, I don't wanna be taken down by any of this stuff. You know, we've done the hard work and I don't think it's acceptable to just kind of sit here. I wanna make sure that my cells are working properly. you know, I want to make sure that my cognitive function is there till the old age, and so that none of the drinking that I did is gonna affect that as far as I'm concerned. So I'm very driven to share that with, as many people as I can. It's kind of not just. Give it up and okay, we are done. It's okay. What about the damage that has been done and how can we mitigate that and actually how can we make our lives and our health better than, you know, even if we hadn't done that drinking before? And there's ways to do that, and that's what I'm really passionate about now. So driven would absolutely be my last word there.

Barry Condon: 29:49

That's brilliant. and I think there'll be a lot of people who, who want to know more and want, want to. I want you to help them. so where can they find you?

Caroline Sherlock: 29:56

So they can find me on my website, which is alcohol freedom coaching.com. and go there and just, yeah, connect with me and find out more.

Justine Clark: 30:07

Thanks so

Caroline Sherlock: 30:08

Thanks so much for being Caroline.

Justine Clark: 30:09

I mean, I

Caroline Sherlock: 30:10

I mean, I just love the depth

Justine Clark: 30:12

knowledge

Caroline Sherlock: 30:12

knowledge that you have and

Justine Clark: 30:14

worked with Caroline.

Caroline Sherlock: 30:15

Caroline

Justine Clark: 30:15

in a previous life with, as a functional health practitioner, and I can, can't recommend her, compassion knowledge. yeah, she's a font of information and kindness. So do reach out to Caroline

Caroline Sherlock: 30:29

Oh, thank you, Justine.

Barry Condon: 30:30

Caroline.

Caroline Sherlock: 30:31

Thank you both. It's been so good talking to you.