FREE Alcohology app is top new Health & Fitness app in UK, ranked ninth in US

App ranking and promotion service AppBrain reports the new Android device app, Alcohology, tops the list for New Health & Fitness app usage in the United Kingdom and number nine in the United States.  The FREE new app -- truly free, with no popups or banners -- was launched Jan. 1.

Alcohology is in the Google Play Store and in Kindle Apps. An IOS version is planned.

The app is targeted toward health and counseling professionals, drinkers – whether they have the disease of alcoholism or just consider themselves moderate drinkers – and anyone concerned with a loved one's drinking. Scott Stevens, author of the recovery book, EverySilver Lining Has a Cloud, created the application, “because sometimes the swaying factor among many is knowing what alcohol does to otherwise healthy tissues.”

The app features short, topical videos on the evidence-based studies on alcohol and dismisses the 'junk science' touting alcohol's health benefits. “Take the emotion out of a loaded public-health issue and rampant family drama and take the facts first,” says Stevens. “Not observational-studies, but some of the quality, recent research, will break a few myths and knock down some resistance to choosing abstinence over moderate or heavy drinking.”

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of CBS Sports' Power Up Your Health featuring Scott Stevens.  Host Ed Forteau led a discussion on the health risks and myths of health benefits of drinking.  Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview with Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international author from the UK, among his works is the Alzheimer's book "Time to Let Go."  Download the FREE Alcohology app in the Google PlayStore today.

The Sobriety :60+ #25: Junk science vs. facts on alcohol and heart, liver health

A "study" a week ago said daily drinking (e.g. drinking alcoholically) is a heart-failure beater. Evidence today shows how it mauls the liver. Read the transcript or watch the short episode on YouTube.

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of CBS Sports' Power Up Your Health featuring Scott Stevens.  Host Ed Forteau led a discussion on the health risks and myths of health benefits of drinking.  Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview with Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international author from the UK, among his works is the Alzheimer's book "Time to Let Go."  Download the FREE Alcohology app in the Google PlayStore today.

The Sobriety :60+ episode 24 looks at why treatment matters even when it's not "successful"

When the focus is on treatment method or success rate stats, the point is entirely missed.  Read the transcript and see the new YouTube video.   The segment is also found on alcohologist.com and the NEW Alcohology app, free for Android devices.  http://youtu.be/-141Of-UTgg


Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of CBS Sports' Power Up Your Health featuring Scott Stevens.  Host Ed Forteau led a discussion on the health risks and myths of health benefits of drinking.  Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview with Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international author from the UK, among his works is the Alzheimer's book "Time to Let Go." 

The Sobriety :60+ #23 looks at alcohol overdose

You have no idea which drink will put you into a body bag until after you've had it. Read the transcript for the new episode of The Sobriety :60 and catch the video on youtube.  You can also find this vignette on the FREE Alcohology app for Android devices.

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of the Dr. Alan Simberg's show, Life Changing Insights, featuring Scott Stevens.  Dr. Simberg led a discussion on the health risks and myths of health benefits of drinking.  Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview with Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international author from the UK, among his works is the Alzheimer's book "Time to Let Go." 

CDC: Despite binge warnings, six die a day from alcohol overdose

An overdose of the non-prescription central nervous system depressant drug, alcohol, claims 2,200 lives a year in this Jan. 6 article.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Jan. 6 Vital Signs puts it starkly: 2,200 die every year from drinking too much, too fast. Very high levels of alcohol – a central nervous system depressant drug – shut down the brain's control of critical body functions, leading to death for an average of six people every day. These are poisoning deaths, not alcoholism deaths or drinking and driving fatalities or other hazards of alcohol use.

Despite the risks, more than 38 million U.S. adults report binge drinking an average of four times per month and consume an average of eight drinks per binge. Binge drinking is defined as consuming four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men on an occasion. The more you drink, the more you risk dying from it.

Many of the health risks of moderate to heavy use are apparent in the new Alcohology app for Android devices (see related article), but the CDC is using its voice to warn of immediate and often fatal consequences of alcohol use across the board. “Alcohol poisoning deaths affect people of all ages,” notes the CDC, “But they are most common among middle-aged adults and men.”

When the sedative alcohol is consumed, it works on the brain from the outside inward. This means higher functions (judgment, fine motor skills) are depressed first. Then gross motor control (coordination) and finally control of vital systems like heartbeat, breathing and body temperature control. Usually, a person will pass out before the body reaches this point under a more moderate pace of drinking that keeps pace with or slightly exceeds the body's capacity to rid itself of the drug. In binge drinking, the alcohol concentration increases so rapidly that the vital systems are depressed – or shut down.

CDC scientists analyzed deaths from alcohol poisoning among people aged 15 years and older, 2010-2012. Among key findings in the CDC report:

• Three in four alcohol poisoning deaths involve adults ages 35-64, and most deaths occur among men.
• While the majority of deaths are among non-Hispanic whites, American Indians/Alaska Natives have the most alcohol poisoning deaths per million people.
• Deaths rates from alcohol poisoning vary widely across states, from 5.3 alcohol poisoning deaths per million residents in Alabama to 46.5 deaths per million residents in Alaska.

“While this study reveals that alcohol poisoning deaths are a bigger problem than previously thought, it is still likely to be an underestimate,” admits the CDC. The organization calls on states and communities to take steps to reduce alcohol poisoning deaths by preventing binge drinking, including:

• Supporting proven programs and policies to decrease binge drinking. States with stronger alcohol policies have less binge drinking.
• Partnering with police, community groups, health departments, and doctors, nurses, and other health care providers to reduce binge drinking and related harms.
• Monitoring the role of alcohol in injuries and deaths.

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of the Dr. Alan Simberg's show, Life Changing Insights, featuring Scott Stevens.  Dr. Simberg led a discussion on the health risks and myths of health benefits of drinking.  Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview with Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international author from the UK, among his works is the Alzheimer's book "Time to Let Go." 

THE SOBRIETY :60+ #22 on drinking, lung health and COPD

A newer area of study is alcohol-related lung health issues. The 22nd episode of The Sobriety :60+. The transcript is available here  and the video is on youtube at http://youtu.be/HTtXlA0C-7E
 The new Alcohology app (free) will be updated shortly.

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of the Dr. Alan Simberg's show, Life Changing Insights, featuring Scott Stevens.  Dr. Simberg led a discussion on the health risks and myths of health benefits of drinking.  Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview with Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international author from the UK, among his works is the Alzheimer's book "Time to Let Go." 

Alcohology app bridges gap between alcohol science and myth

According to the creator of the new 2015 app, Alcohology, there's a wide gulf between what people think alcohol does for them and what alcohol does to them. Case in point: The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism notes that less than10 percent of the public realizes alcohol is a carcinogen. It's free in the Google Play Store and in Kindle Apps. An IOS version is planned.

The app is targeted toward health and counseling professionals, drinkers – whether they have the disease of alcoholism or just consider themselves moderate drinkers – and anyone concerned with a loved one's drinking. Scott Stevens, author of the recovery book, EverySilver Lining Has a Cloud, created the application, “because sometimes the swaying factor among many is knowing what alcohol does to otherwise healthy tissues.”

The app features short, topical videos on the evidence-based studies on alcohol and dismisses the 'junk science' touting alcohol's health benefits. “Take the emotion out of a loaded public-health issue and rampant family drama and take the facts first,” says Stevens. “Not observational-studies, but some of the quality, recent research, will break a few myths and knock down some resistance to choosing abstinence over moderate or heavy drinking.”

The journalist and author frequently reports on alcohol and health and notes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last year identified alcohol as the third-leading cause of preventable death and illness in the U.S. “Alcohol-related car wrecks take about 1 out of every eight of the 89,000 annual deaths linked to alcohol use. The alcohol issue is more than a drinking and driving. It's a $226 billion annual health, wellness and productivity concern.”

Alcoholism is a consistent family problem and the disease is in the spotlight with the new Android app. Stevens knows all too well about the trials of recovery. His award-winning non-fiction book is a unique, bold take on sobriety, relapse and recovery. And he's in recovery himself, after a two-liters-a-day drinking problem. “I've had to eat my own cooking, sure, but this app is also geared toward moderate or occasional binge drinkers. You don't need to have a drinking problem to be a problem drinker. This is a toxin the body doesn't favor much. The app is clear about that.”

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of the Dr. Alan Simberg's show, Life Changing Insights, featuring Scott Stevens.  Dr. Simberg led a discussion on the health risks and myths of health benefits of drinking.  Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview with Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international author from the UK, among his works is the Alzheimer's book "Time to Let Go."