Banishing the booze in the weeks after Christmas has become very popular in recent years. But are you giving your health a boost, or just fooling yourself?
It's raining outside and half the country is up to its knees in floods, but the buzz word for January is 'dry'. After the festive excess of beers, wines and spirits many of us are swearing off booze for the month to detox away December's intoxication.
This month, the Irish Heart Foundation launched its second annual On The Dry campaign (onthedry.ie) expecting some 4,000 participants to sign up, earning sponsorship to steer clear of liquor and raising much-needed funds for the charity's fight against heart disease and strokes.
Chatter on social media would suggest that thousands more are waging their own 'alco-holidays'. In the UK last year more than two million took part in Alcohol Concern's Dry January, with more than 11,000 jumping on the wagon for Cancer Research's 2015 Dryathlon.
But does ditching the drink for a month really make that much of a difference?
The feedback from last year's On The Dry devotees suggests it does. Nearly half of respondents said they'd lost weight, 62pc reported sleeping better and 79pc had saved money.
The benefits don't end there. Researchers for University College London monitored 100 men and women in their 40s, who took part in a 'dry January' campaign, and found that it significantly reduced blood pressure, cholesterol, liver damage and resistance to insulin. If such results had been part of a clinical drugs trial, they reported, the pharmaceutical company would have been "excited beyond belief".
Moreover, a short break can have lasting effects regarding how we drink. A study in the UK found that, six months after taking part in an alcohol-free month, people were less likely to get drunk, drank alcohol less frequently and found it easier to say no to an alcoholic drink in social settings.
Source: Chrissie Russell, Irish Independent, 07/01/16
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