CHRISTMAS CAKE

[jillybeanposh]

Hi everyone I know this may be a silly question but I have just had a piece of Christmas cake that has been dosed with brandy. As I don’t drink at all would this affect my AF? Thanks Jillybean

[BobD Volunteer]

If it hasn't already then probably not. When alcohol affected me it did so on first taste! A bit late now anyway I guess.

[jillybeanposh]

I only had about half an inch square then realised. No more then. Thanks Bob. Happy Christmas

[Frances123]

Agree with Bob but also the length of time a Christmas cake takes to cook a lot of the alcohol will have cooked out or evaporated and just the flavour left.

X

[Gillybean123 in reply to Frances123]

Hi there, not if it had been doused weekly with alcohol!!!!

[Frances123 in reply to Gillybean123]

Jillybeanposh originally said dosed. I took that to mean the fruit had been dosed/soaked in alcohol prior to cooking. I apologise if I misunderstood or it was a typo and I got that wrong.

[FiveMilesSouth]

I have found alcohol does affect the onset of minor AFib episodes so I steer clear. I’m still getting used to this reality so I have soaked fruit for several months in rum and only just realised I won’t be eating any of it! Still it will give others pleasure.

The issue for me isn’t not being able to have alcohol, it’s dealing with other people I’m with saying kindly that a little bit probably won’t make a difference. So I often furtively order alcohol free beer or keep in some alcohol free Gin and Tonics! Takes the pressure off me. Maybe I will make Christmas cake no 2 and serve everyone the alc one and me the non-alc 🤣

[jillybeanposh in reply to FiveMilesSouth]

Hi there, it was a cake I had

Made myself that I know what was in it. I only had about half an inch and then thought you shouldn’t be having that. That was about 5 hours ago so

Must be ok. Had a bout of AF last night and thought please no.

[Camelia23 in reply to FiveMilesSouth]

I have friends who say, you just need to drink a little more then you'll get used to it! Probably they can't be friends. In my 50s and early 60s I enjoyed a drink but my body says no!

[Gillybean123 in reply to FiveMilesSouth]

Hi there, you know the alcohol free gin and tonics are they the ones that are 0.5%. I had them ages ago but just ordered some for Christmas I thought they were 0.05%. Am I wrong. Cheers Gill.

[jillybeanposh]

People are the same with me someone

asked me the other night if I was sure I didn’t drink.

[Wightbaby]

Same thing happened to me the other night when we were out for dinner.....I had ordered Xmas pudd. and never even thought to check. One mouthful and wow, could I taste the alcohol!!......probably Brandy.........left the rest

No ill effects lucklily!!

[Hidden]

I wouldn’t have thought that the quantity of alcohol involved would be sufficient to trigger AF. There is the wider question of whether the (likely) increased quantity of food-and the types of food-that we consume at Christmas could trigger AF. Given that the emergency services are likely to be stretched at this time it’s probably wise to be careful about eating and drinking over this period- spending Christmas in A and E with AF definitely wouldn’t be much fun.

[Shcldavies]

Don't think the alcohol will be a problem, not least as it has probably evaporated during cooking. I do believe the chemicals in the fruit from preservatives may be a problem though but again this depends on what the cause of your arrhythmia is.

[Bob56]

As has been said a couple of times, I think the general change in diet over Christmas is more of a risk to us AFers than a small amount of alcohol in a cake or pudding. Over eating, eating later at night, too much rich food are all triggers for me, so trying to be sensible when the Quality Street tin is passed around again is the key. However, it is just as well that Terrys Neapolitans are no longer around otherwise I would be in real trouble!

Merry Christmas

[xfrack]

I used to find that meals which distended the stomach, or were rather hot or cold hot were triggers for AF. I now have no noticeable AF.

As for brandy, a mouthful will make me sick.

[Annekw]

Hi I still use my Christmas cake recipe that I have used for many years and is always enjoyed by our family and friends and I’ve never had any problems with my AF!

[Hidden]

The cake will hurt you more than the alcohol. Here is the data on that subject that I have accumulated over the years:

--------------------------------

After 9 years of trying different foods and logging EVERYTHING I ate, I found sugar (and to a lesser degree, salt – i.e. dehydration) was triggering my Afib. Doctors don't want to hear this - there is no money in telling patients to eat less sugar. Each person has a different sugar threshold - and it changes as you get older, so you need to count every gram of sugar you eat every day (including natural sugars in fruits, etc.). My tolerance level was 190 grams of sugar per day 8 years ago, 85 grams a year and a half ago, and 60 grams today, so AFIB episodes are more frequent and last longer (this is why all doctors agree that afib gets worse as you get older). If you keep your intake of sugar below your threshold level your AFIB will not happen again (easier said than done of course). It's not the food - it's the sugar (or salt - see below) IN the food that's causing your problems. Try it and you will see - should only take you 1 or 2 months of trial-and-error to find your threshold level. And for the record - ALL sugars are treated the same (honey, refined, agave, natural sugars in fruits, etc.). I successfully triggered AFIB by eating a bunch of plums and peaches one day just to test it out. In addition, I have noticed that moderate (afternoon) exercise (7-mile bike ride or 5-mile hike in the park) often puts my Afib heart back in to normal rhythm a couple hours later. Don’t know why – perhaps you burn off the excess sugars in your blood/muscles or sweat out excess salt?? I also found that strenuous exercise does no good – perhaps you make yourself dehydrated??

I'm pretty sure that Afib is caused by a gland(s) - like the Pancreas, Thyroid (sends signals to the heart to increase speed or strength of beat), Adrenal Gland (sends signals to increase heart rate), Sympathetic Nerve (increases heart rate) or Vagus Nerve (decreases heart rate), Hypothalamus Gland or others - or an organ that, in our old age, is not working well anymore and excess sugar or dehydration is causing them to send mixed signals to the heart - for example telling the heart to beat fast and slow at the same time - which causes it to skip beats, etc. I can't prove that (and neither can my doctors), but I have a very strong suspicion that that is the root cause of our Afib problems. I am working on this with a Nutritionist and hope to get some definitive proof in a few months.

Also, in addition to sugar, if you are dehydrated - this will trigger AFIB as well. It seems (but I have no proof of this) that a little uptick of salt in your blood is being treated the same as an uptick of sugar - both cause AFIB episodes. (I’m not a doctor – it may be the sugar in your muscles/organs and not in your blood, don’t know). In any case you have to keep hydrated, and not eat too much salt. The root problem is that our bodies are not processing sugar/salt properly and no doctor knows why, but the AFIB seems to be a symptom of this and not the primary problem, but medicine is not advanced enough to know the core reason that causes AFIB at this time. You can have a healthy heart and still have Afib – something inside us is triggering it when we eat too much sugar or get (even a little) dehydrated. Find out the core reason for this and you will be a millionaire and make the cover of Time Magazine! Good luck! - Rick Hyer

PS – there is a study backing up this data you can view at:

https//cardiab.biomedcentral.com/a...

[Janau]

I have SVT and I have worked out over the 30 years I have had it sugar is my only trigger. Especially on an empty stomach. No sugary breakfasts! My husband has a fib. Very interesting. Will be limiting his intake thank you

[momist]

I've just had a glass of whiskey. I know I shouldn't, but it's been a hard day. No ill effects, thankfully.

[sotolol]

I make mine and I soak it in brandy. It’s the only alcohol I have all year now. So enjoy. My heart loved it. No effects. Merry Christmas 🤶🏻