Dry January Benefits: A Powerful Body Detox

Do you want to start the new year off strong? Dry January is the way to do it. Cutting back on the booze will not only save money and calories, but it's also an incredibly healthy lifestyle switch that offers countless benefits—for your wallet, your liver, your mind and more!

But does going alcohol-free for one month actually have a long-term impact on your health? Let's discuss the benefits of Dry January, what happens to your body when you stop drinking, and sustainable ways to limit or eliminate liquor from your life.

What is Dry January?

Dry January started in the UK in 2013, with a modest group of about 4,000 people. Since then, it's spread around the world like wildfire, with more than 175,000 people participating in it in 2023. Dry January has served as a powerful public health initiative, challenging individuals to completely abstain from drinking alcohol through the entire month of January.

If this sounds like one big wet blanket of a health movement, we urge you to consider this: excessive alcohol intake is nothing to scoff at. In fact, most people don't realize just how damaging it can be, and also, how easy it is to slowly slip into the habit of drinking more and more. Nearly a quarter of American adults reported binge drinking in the past month. Concerningly, more than 6% reported heavy alcohol use.

"Oh, I'm not a binge drinker," you might be saying. It's worth thinking about more closely, though: binge drinking means having four or more drinks for women or five or more drinks for men per occasion. Eight or more and 15 or more for women and men respectively per week count as heavy drinking.

So, it's easy to see how even if you don't intend to do it, excessive drinking might be more common than you think.

How does drinking affect your health?

To better understand how Dry January can offer significant health benefits, we first need to talk about how alcohol can damage the body in the first place.

• Brain health

  —Beyond the headache that comes with a dreaded hangover, drinking alcohol can make it harder for your brain to operate optimally. Not only can it interfere with your motor skills, but it can also negatively influence your mood—contributing to anxiety and depression. Ultimately, whether it's one drink or four, alcohol can alter your mood, behavior and coordination.

• Heart health

  —Alcohol can also affect your heart in several different ways. Not only can alcohol increase blood pressure, but it can also increase the risk of irregular heartbeat, disrupted blood flow to the brain, and can contribute to cardiomyopathy (a drooping heart).

• Liver health

  —Your liver perhaps pays the biggest price for excess drinking. Heavy drinking can cause fat to build up in and around the liver that can lead to thickened and scarred tissue around the organ. (More on the liver shortly.)

• Pancreatic health—

  While you might not think too much about your pancreas, this organ plays an important role in digestion and blood sugar regulation. Drinking makes it harder for the pancreas to produce enzymes and hormones that are necessary for proper digestion. Excessive drinking can make the pancreas produce toxic substances that can eventually lead to swelling, inflammation and pain that can spread throughout the body.

• Immune system and cellular health

  —Your immune system also takes a beating when you drink, making it harder for your body's first line of defense to protect you when challenges arise. It also causes cells to grow and spread, which is why people who drink excessively are more likely to get cancer.

Trying Dry January is a great way to help support all of these vital systems in your body and help it detox from the effects of alcohol for the better.

Dry January benefits

There's a powerful mental shift when you abstain from alcohol, even if you only plan on it for the month of January. Participating in this challenge can help you feel more in charge of your drinking habits, and even after the challenge ends, people often decrease their alcohol intake.

Concerned you'll rebound with a vengeance on February 1? Don't be! Very few people report increased drinking following voluntary abstinence. And even those who were unsuccessful at sticking to the plan 100% still reported health benefits, such as better sleep, weight loss, and healthy insulin signaling.

It also helped people to more seriously change their drinking habits overall, which can help shift your physical and mental health for the better. So, just a one-month stint indeed can benefit you in the long run, since it can permanently instill better practices into your lifestyle.

Why wait until January to stop drinking?

You can stop drinking whenever you like! However, the beauty of Dry January is that it's a SMART goal: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Plus, with the added benefit that you're not alone (this is a global health initiative after all!), it can put you in a stronger position for success!

Is Dry January a good strategy for a healthy liver?

Yes, Dry January is an excellent way to support liver health.

Out of all the organs in the body, the liver is most sensitive to the havoc that alcohol can wreak. The good news is that the liver is the master detoxer and does a good job of recovering all on its own after a night of drinking. However, consuming less alcohol means that the organ doesn't have to work as hard to filter out the bad stuff.

Sure enough, research tells us that abstaining from alcohol for one month decreases the levels of gamma-glutamyl transferase , which is a marker of a healthy and happy liver. Not sure where your levels are at? It might benefit you to periodically get a lowdown on your liver health with a lab test.

Want to see even better progress? Pair this month-long challenge with high-quality nutrients that support a healthy liver, including milk thistle, NAC and glutathione.

Preparing for Dry January: Tips for success

One of the best tips we can offer for a successful Dry January is to plan in advance! Here are some items for your to-do list:

1. Drink less in December

   . Rather than quitting cold turkey, consider tapering off during the month of December. That way, the lifestyle change is less likely to hit you like a ton of bricks.

2. Put dry social events on your calendar

   . Consider finding an alternative for your weekly Happy Hour. Maybe you and the crew check out the neighborhood's coffee shops, or you can choose a physical activity instead—like hiking or trips to the dog park.

3. Be prepared for cravings

   . Mocktails are also a great replacement for your typical boozy beverages! Will alcohol in the house be too tempting? Empty your liquor cabinets and wine fridge before the new year.

4. Get support

   . Additionally, it can be of immense help to have a support system in place—people you can turn to when your cravings kick in. Sometimes, all it takes is a kind word from someone who cares about you to remind you of why you started Dry January in the first place.

Tips for reducing alcohol intake

We mentioned tapering off your alcohol consumption ahead of Dry January. How can you do this?

First, you need an idea of how much you're currently drinking. So, start logging it! Most healthcare providers recommend either abstaining from alcohol completely or else drinking in moderation.

Moderate drinking is defined as no more than 1 alcoholic beverage per day for women and no more than 2 per day for men. One alcoholic drink contains 14 grams (0.6 fl oz) of pure alcohol, so 12 fluid ounces of regular beer (5% alcohol), 5 fluid ounces of wine (12% alcohol), or 1.5 fluid ounces of 80 proof distilled spirits (40% alcohol) would each be considered one drink.

During the first week of December, can you cut back by about one drink per day? Toward the middle of the month, can you cut back again? These baby steps make it feel like less of an adjustment. Your body and mind are less likely to register the change.

New year, same you, better habits

Weight loss, better health, a sharper mind, a happy liver, and so much more—these are the things that Dry January has to offer. Grab your favorite mocktail recipes, add trusty liver nutrients to your diet, connect with a group of friends with this shared goal, and make the new year your best year yet.

References

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