Do You Have a Drinking Problem?

Whether or not someone is an alcoholic can be a very sensitive topic. It can be hard to look at yourself in the mirror and be honest about whether or not you have a drinking problem.

Not sure if you have a drinking problem?
Take a minute to reflect on your life and ask yourself the following questions –
Do you feel disappointed or angry if you go to an event and there is no alcohol available?

Do you have trouble maintaining a relationship for any length of time?

Do you lose your temper all of the time?
Are hangovers and drunkenness preventing you from making it to work, spending time with your kids or saving money?

Are you in debt and you don't know why?

Do you drink alone or in secret?

Do you forget conversations or do others accuse you of repeating yourself?

Do you drink in secret or at odd times of the day or when you are alone?

Have you lost interest in hobbies, pastimes or favorite interests?

Do you have a few drinks and start quarreling?

Do you go to a bar every night?

Are you amazed by the way you can drink and drink and drink without getting drunk?

Are you unfaithful to your mate?

Do others say your personality changes when you drink?

Is everyone abandoning you, refusing to lend you money or socialize with you?

Do you have trouble meeting your commitments or responsibilities – especially financial ones?

Has your drinking sabotaged the completion of a major task or job at work, or home?

Are your kids and other family members avoiding you and you don't know why!

Have you continued to drink even though it is causing problems in a relationship and someone is asking you to stop

Do you have recurring legal problems as a result of drinking including fighting while drinking or being sued by landlords because you spent the rent on drinking

Do you drink and drive?

Are your loved ones actually threatening you with an intervention?

If you even answered yes to just two or three of these questions then it is likely you have a drinking problem.
According to information released by the World Health Organization a few years ago, alcoholism was one of the 10 biggest risks to health on a global basis.

In fact, in some developing countries, alcoholism was said to be the biggest single threat to health whereas in the industrialized West, it was the third biggest health risk!

Needless to say if you think that you or a loved one (such a teen or a spouse) had this problem then your entire family's safety and peace of mind is at risk.

Healthy Sugar Substitutes

My kids have sweet tooths and so do I and my husband. Still we all know how sugar is supposed to be bad for you.
The first thing that you have to do is cut the level of refined sugar that you take on board every day. This means that you must cut right back on sugar rich foods such as cakes, cookies, candies, chocolate, jellies and the like and if you currently ladle sugar all over your breakfast cereal in the morning, stop doing it right now.
In addition, if you take sugar with your tea or coffee, try to wean yourself off sweetening your drinks or if this is something that you cannot imagine doing, try a natural sweetener like stevia or sucanat as alternative.
The first of these natural sweeteners is somewhat controversial in that it is approved by the FDA as a dietary supplement but not as a sweetener. Nevertheless, even though it is a little expensive, the extreme sweetness of stevia means that a little goes an awful long way, so the cost per cup of tea or coffee is probably no different to cost of the sugar you are currently buying.
On the other hand, sucanat is a one-for-one direct replacement for processed sugar and as always, there are plenty of places on the net where you can obtain both of these substances.
The point about having too much sugar in your diet is that not only does all of that instant energy tend to get piled on as fat if it is not used, processed sugar is bad for your immune system and particularly for your skin. Consequently, if you consume too much processed sugar or products made from sugar, it is pretty much a given that you are going to suffer boils and other skin problems.
Of course, this does not necessarily mean that you have to cut all sweet foods from your diet, but what you should do is replace the sweets that you used to use with natural sweet substances wherever possible. For example, eating plenty of fruit and vegetables is an essential of any well-balanced diet, and if you want to boost your immune system, then you can replace some of the sweetness that you have lost with the sweetness of fruit.
Furthermore, there are lots of other entirely natural sweet substances that you can use to satisfy your sweet tooth. The sweet syrup that is commercially extracted from Agave comes in three different variations, ranging from a ‘light version' that has little traceable taste of the plant (just sweetness) to the version that carries a noticeable taste of the plant itself.
You then have reliable old standbys like maple syrup as well as less known but entirely natural sweeteners such as barley malt, date sugar, fruit juice concentrate and sorghum syrup.
There is also honey with some varieties such as manuka honey from New Zealand having acknowledged antibacterial qualities as well as being stunningly sweet as well. Indeed, as you can read on the website, the antibacterial qualities of this particular honey are so pronounced that you can even apply it to wounds for its antibacterial qualities!