How to Reduce your Dependence on Alcohol with Professor David Nutt
Date:
11 May 2023
Time:
6:00pm to
7:30pm
Zoom
Summary
“What GABA’s got to do with it?”
GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid) is both an amino acid and a neurotransmitter, which switches off the adrenal (stress) response, and helps you feel relaxed. That’s why alcohol has a relaxing effect – it causes increased GABA levels and makes you calmer, but with a sting in the tail.
Professor David Nutt, will explain how exactly GABA works to induce relaxation and what we can do to reduce dependence on one of the most widely consumed drugs on the planet – Alcohol.
What to Expect
In this webinar, you will learn the inner workings of why we crave certain substances and also:
- Discover a natural, non-addictive way to chill
- Reduce your dependence on alcohol
- Or quit alcohol with the back up of a safe way to relax when stressed
- Find out how GABA helps promote good sleep and lessens anxiety
Read Prof. Nutt’s paper on Functional Alternatives to Alcohol
Tickets
Date: Thursday 11th May, 6pm (UK BST)
Where: Zoom, a link will be sent to your email address after payment. The Recording and slides will be shared after the webinar
Tickets: £15 / £10 for FRIENDS
About Professor David Nutt
David Nutt is a psychiatrist and pharmacologist, and is currently the Edmond J Safra Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology and Director of the Centre for Psychedelic Research in the Division of Psychiatry, Department of Brain Science, Imperial College London and also CRO of Awaknlifesciences.
Professor David Nutt has worked all his professional life on ways to reduce the harms of alcohol. When he was the clinical lead for the UK government’s 2004 Foresight programme on drugs and the brain he came up with the idea of replacing alcohol with a less harmful alternative. As the UK’s ‘drug czar’ he became (in)famous when he pointed out that alcohol was causing more harm than MDMA.
He has worked since then to achieve this goal and two years ago his company GABA Labs launched a botanical spirit called Sentia. This uses a combination of food-approved herbs to produce a relaxing and sociability-enhancing experience equivalent to a glass or two of wine. Sentia works through enhancing GABA activity in the brain.
In addition, Professor Nutt is developing specific biomimetic molecules that activate the GABA system so to produce a similar alcohol-like effect. The vision is that this will be an ingredient that will be licensed to the alcohol industry. They will then use it as a less harmful alternative to alcohol in a range of drinks e.g. mocktails, as well as adding it to zero-alcohol beers and wines to produce alcohol-like effects. This product is being prepared to undergo food safety testing. Professor David Nutt also helped set up the Beckley/Imperial Psychedelic Research Programme.
David’s research has been featured in many tv programmes the BBC Horizon and the Channel 4 documentaries Ecstasy and Cannabis – live. His research has been the subject of the films Magicmedicine, The Psychedelic Drug Trial and the play ‘All you need is LSD’.