Posted on January 19, 2018 by Kate Halsall
Dry January hit the news this week. The Independent looked at what happens to the body when you go “cold turkey” and give up the booze; another newspaper stated that only two thirds of people will stick with it until the end of the month.
There’s no denying it, for some December is a month of excess. Apparently that’s why over 3.1 million people commit to Dry January. For some people this is a great opportunity to raise money for charity; for others it’s a chance to give their liver a much needed break! But is it worth it? I read an article recently which questioned whether abstaining for a month actually provided anything other than short term benefits. So I thought I’d have a look into it!
Short Term Effects
Before I list some of the commonly listed short term effects, ask yourself whether a month long enough without alcohol enough to get any real health benefit? It really does depend on how much you normally drink! If you actually don’t drink that regularly or that much, then not drinking at all for a month is going to impact you less significantly than if you were having a drink every or every other day or if you were binge drinking at weekends and so on.
- Weight Loss – everyone loves this reason! Keep in mind that this comes back to how much you drank in the first place AND this is just a month we’re talking about – if you go back to drinking again after January well…..weight loss could happen because:
- Consumption of less calories – The NHS states that a 175ml glass of wine contains around 126kcal. Alcohol contains calories – and most of those calories are from the natural sugars within the beverage
- Maintenance of blood sugar levels – Whilst your body is processing alcohol, it is not regulating your blood sugar. This impacts how your body using and processes insulin and your own glucose stores
- Liver function – alcohol interferes with the way your liver stores fat.
- More Energy – this is down to the fact that alcohol inhibits the absorption and usage of vitamins and other nutrients. Once you remove alcohol, your body goes back to utilising the Vitamin B, A, D & E it gets from the food you consume, as well as calcium and iron.
- Better Sleep Quality – whilst a lot of people find that some alcohol can help them fall asleep quicker; studies show that you spend less time in a “deep sleep state” which can leave you feeling restless. Thus without the booze, you’ll get a better nights sleep!
- Better Skin – as alcohol is a diuretic, it can cause your skin to become dehydrated. If you want to look more youthful, give up the booze!
- Withdrawal Symptoms – no one said it was going to be all good! Again it comes down to how much your normally drink, but remember that alcohol is a drug. As such you may experience sugar cravings, headaches, the shakes and so on.
Long Term Effects
From giving up alcohol for one solitary month – you think that there will be long term effects? Only if you then give up or cut down from that point! Let’s face it, we know that cutting down drinking can reduce your chances of diabetes, heart attack, strokes, liver disease and so on; but you need to be consistent – one month isn’t going to make a difference BUT it’s a start. Let’s be honest – are people really doing Dry January for a long term gain?
In summary, if you need to get your mojo back after a month of excess, then Dry January acts as a catalyst for it. There is not a lot of research to prove that it provides anything other than that. Ultimately it will help regular or binge drinkers, but for those who just have an occasional glass of fizz………..