Nigella Lawson has long been an icon for women, especially for those who have grown up alongside her as she evolved into an internationally renowned cook, author and television personality. Her elegant, often outspoken take on feminism, diets, fashion and entertaining mean that many of us want to join her "modern women of a certain age" tribe.
Part of me still can’t imagine Friday night without the pop of a cork.
So when Nigella announces she is cutting down on alcohol as it makes her feel anxious, you know she is not alone. Speaking on singer-songwriter Jessie Ware's podcast Table Manners, Nigella revealed she has cut back on drinking as it tends to "exacerbate" her anxiety. Although she believes alcohol reduces her worries at first, it leaves her with "a horrible tight feeling of worry". She says she still drinks, "but not very often. If I have even two glasses of wine, I need to have lots of food afterwards" as it raises her blood sugar levels.
Nigella Lawson revealed she has cut back on drinking as it tends to “exacerbate” her anxiety.Credit:Elements Margaret River
I recognised the scenario. In fact, I'd faced it in the past 24 hours. I went out with two female friends the previous night for a drink and a catch-up. We ate a one-course dinner and shared one bottle of white wine. When we finished it, we considered another glass but opted for water. I felt rather virtuous.
But the next morning I woke to a fuzzy head. At breakfast, I heaped on an extra two tablespoons of muesli and added twice the amount of my usual banana. And a slice of toast and honey. One milky coffee was not enough. The real killer, though, was the effect of the previous night's alcohol on my ability to do the crossword. It was a woeful effort. I wouldn't say I was anxious, but I was not filled with self-love by any means.
After my mother died in April, I found solace by drinking rosé in the evenings in my garden. This is common, bereavement counsellor Julia Samuel told me, and reassured me that these feelings would pass. They have, largely, but I can see that life's more difficult problems are like icebergs for midlife women to hit. Many doctors report that women who were once moderate drinkers run into problems as bereavement, retirement, empty nests and illness enter their lives.
Like a midlife switch from Manolos to trainers, women start to notice post-40 that the way their body deals with alcohol is changing, too. As their organs shrink with age, it is harder for the body to process alcohol; also, most people become a little heavier, and as the extra fat can't absorb alcohol, it lowers your tolerance and increases the chance of a bad hangover. One report suggested that this is why women, who typically have more body fat than men, are often said to have worse hangovers.
Of course it's not just women who are shunning alcohol. This Naked Mind, by a Colorado blogger and businesswoman, is one of a raft of recent books on cutting back: The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober, The Sober Diaries and Mindful Drinking, in addition to the slew of media stories and TV documentaries.
I don't think we're heading back to the days of a sherry at Christmas, but I do see women adopting a more measured response. As Nigella said on the podcast: "I've never been a big drinker [but] I do like it. If you don't drink, after the first hour of a party you're in a different room to everyone else and that can be quite difficult."
But as she has always said, it's about portion control – just as much with wine or spirits as it is with chocolate.
Louise Chunn is the founder of therapy platform welldoing.org.
Telegraph, London
Source: Read Full Article