When it comes to nutrition, there are many things we think we know—until we dig a little deeper. There's the staggering rise in sugar consumption, the hidden science behind ultra-processed foods, and the direct connection between diet and mental health. Here’s a look at what you might not know about the food we eat, and why it matters more than ever.

It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and while awareness campaigns and pink ribbons fly, there’s a glaring truth that’s being overlooked: alcohol is directly linked to an increased risk of breast cancer. A recent study by Flinders University revealed that only 1 in 5 women in Australia are aware of this link. That means 80% of women are completely unaware of the risks they face when they reach for a glass of wine, beer, or a cocktail.

During a recent Zoom session for my group coaching program, Rediscovering Me, one of my clients shared a profound realisation. She said, "Sarah, it’s so much more than just not drinking. I can’t believe how my life has transformed in ways I never expected just from giving up alcohol."

Moments like these are why I love my job—witnessing how women’s lives shift beyond their wildest dreams simply by choosing sobriety.

We often overlook how alcohol affects brain health - in both the short and the long term. We think of liver damage, and the impact on our kidneys… When we look at the brain in relation to drinking, it quickly becomes clear that direct consequences include brain function, cognition, and overall neurological health.

Since qualifying as a Health and Wellbeing coach in 2020, a Grey Area Drinking Coach in 2021 and a Menopause Coach in 2023, I learnt a LOT about women’s health and ways to optimize it. But in all honesty, I’ve learnt even more from the incredible guest experts I have interviewed in my women’s health programs over the last 4 years. The information I’ve been able to learn from them has been mind-blowing. And it’s too important not to share. As we come off the back of Women’s Health Week, I want to share my top 10 women’s health hacks for optimal mental, physical and emotional wellbeing.

I am the woman you see at the grocery store with her toddler in the racecar shopping cart, purchasing the week’s groceries while having a Starbucks latte. I was also the same woman at the very same grocery store laying in the parking lot, fallen down drunk, waiting for my husband to kindly come and retrieve me as the cop on patrol was willing to let me go home if someone could take me there. Apparently, I was stumbling out of the store, started falling, and could not stand back up. A concerned bystander tried to help me and then determined to enlist the help of a policeman. I vaguely remember bits of this scene. Sadly, there were more of these incidents when I was incapacitated by alcohol, some I can barely recall and some I only know about from being told secondhand.

Hot Summer days for me used to mean afternoons with friends drinking chilled wine. I’d think, “Go without wine on a hot afternoon? No way!” In Winter, nights would mean red wine, for extra comfort, and an escape. The weather is a powerful and often overlooked trigger. These seasonal cues can prompt drinking in ways that are all about habits and social conditioning. There is a way to break free from weather triggers.

“Hobbies” I scoffed. “What mid life woman who’s raising kids, working full time, and running a busy home has time for hobbies! And besides – I have my favourite hobby right here.” I reached for my wine, gave an over-the-top sniff, and took a generous gulp. I could feel my body and mind relax and switch off as the depressant effects of the alcohol took hold. All I wanted was a way to switch off and unwind, momentary oblivion from a life where it felt I rarely had a moment to myself, where someone always wanted a piece of me.

Do hangovers get worse as we age? Yes! The days of bouncing back after a night out are replaced by prolonged headaches, nausea, and fatigue. Several factors are at play here, including changes in our liver function, enzyme activity, cumulative effects of long-term drinking, and hormonal shifts in women. Alcohol exacerbates the symptoms of menopause, making it almost impossible to drink even the smallest amount and not feel the effects.

There is absolutely no denying it – the early part of sobriety is the hardest in terms of those physical cravings. It’s a time of headaches, cravings, and feeling like alcohol is all you can think about. This is Stage One of sobriety, and it’s exhausting. However, Stage One passes. It gets easier. There are three distinct stages of sobriety. Understanding these stages can help you navigate the path to a healthier, alcohol-free life.

Let me show you the three stages of sobriety and how to get through each one.

As July fast approaches and many Australians brace themselves for a month off alcohol, maybe we need to shift the focus to not just taking a month off from drinking, but using that month to reflect on our habits, behaviour patterns, and mindset around alcohol.

A lack of boundaries and grey area drinking go hand in hand. Without boundaries we often feel overwhelmed, exhausted, resentful, angry, tense, and frustrated. These feelings are signs that our boundaries are weak or non-existent. We might be taking on too much at home or at work. We are giving more of our time and energy to everyone else, and our own needs are coming last. At the end of the day, when we are exhausted, wine takes the edge off these feelings (temporarily). Grey area drinking works in a cycle of hard, exhausting days, followed by drinking to unwind.

We’ve all been there - feeling the aftereffects of a night of drinking. Hangovers bring headaches, fatigue, poor concentration, and overall sluggishness, making it almost impossible to do our best work. When employees come to work with a hangover, productivity drops, deadlines can be missed, and the quality of work suffers.

A study by the British Medical Journal found that hangovers can reduce productivity by as much as 12% the day after drinking. In the US, hangover-related productivity losses cost employers an estimated $77 billion annually.

You may have asked yourself: Why am I constantly tired? Why does midlife feel like a fog of fatigue? And is alcohol making it worse? The answer is: Yes, alcohol makes midlife fatigue worse by impacting our sleep, hormones and overall wellbeing and vitality. In a nasty cycle, when fatigue becomes overwhelming, many of us turn to alcohol to cope and ‘lift’ our energy and mood.

Alcohol then worsens the fatigue and creates a cycle of dependence. Understanding the connection between midlife fatigue and alcohol is crucial for managing both effectively.

Mother's Day is here again and with it a bold display of Big Alcohol targeting women. Mummy Wine Culture is normalised, justified, and celebrated with special Mother’s Day offers that all seem to come with a glass of bubbles. The message to everyone (and alarmingly little girls) is this: Mum needs wine.

I’ve been 5 years alcohol free. Wow. That's half a decade of living life without alcohol. For the champagne-loving, cigarette-smoking version of me from the past, this is so hard to believe. And not just that, I don’t miss it one bit!

Perimenopause and strong cravings for alcohol – yes, it’s a Thing. Alongside all the well-known symptoms like hot flashes and mood swings, cravings for alcohol are more prominent in so many of us at this time. If you've found yourself craving alcohol more during perimenopause, you're not alone. Here’s what’s going on, and how you can navigate increased alcohol cravings during perimenopause.

I used to think alcohol-free holidays would be BORING. In fact, I rarely even imagined a holiday without late afternoon boozing in the sun, and nights drinking copious amounts of wine. Did I want to go on alcohol-free holidays? No. Did I end up LOVING alcohol-free holidays when I finally quit drinking for good? Yes.

When we take alcohol out of our lives, we need to add more fun in. If alcohol has been our main source of fun for years, then we need to replace it with activities, events, and people that light us up and make life more enjoyable. Otherwise, we start thinking an alcohol-free life is boring, flat, and uninspiring – and that’s just not the case.

From hot flashes and mood swings to interrupted sleep, menopause symptoms are exacerbated by drinking alcohol. In perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause, hormone levels change dramatically and so do the enzymes that process everything we eat and drink. As we age, women have smaller amounts of alcohol dehydrogenase, an enzyme that metabolises alcohol in the stomach.

That means women absorb more alcohol (than men) into their bloodstream. Symptoms of menopause are then exacerbated like hot flashes, mood swings and insomnia. Even bone density.