Why Go Dry? Ten Health Benefits Of Giving Up Drink This January

Dry January is growing in popularity and each year more and more of us pledge to give up the drink during what feels like the longest month of the year. Questions have been asked as to whether stopping drinking for a month is actually that beneficial to our health – does it not just encourage us to indulge all the more when February arrives? Here, Medical Nutritionist Naomi Beinart, PhD, gives her thoughts on why committing to a Dry January could be the best decision you make in 2019.

1. More energy

Alcohol can kill your energy in multiple ways. As well as giving you a hangover, it affects the quality of your sleep (see the next point), making you feel more tired the next day. It puts extra strain on your liver, which is tasked to store and release glucose for energy. It can also deplete your body of vital vitamins and minerals that help convert food to energy, such as vitamin B1 and magnesium. Cutting the booze helps all these processes return to normal, and should help bring back your natural energy and vitality.

Tip: Green foods are packed with chlorophyll, a natural antioxidant that helps us fight damaging and ageing free radicals. Some of the best natural sources are green tea and matcha, which boost low energy without exhausting our adrenals.

2. Clearer and younger-looking skin

Alcohol is dehydrating and can leave your skin looking dry and sallow. It can also deplete vitamins and minerals that are vital for healthy skin, including vitamin C, zinc and B vitamins. It may affect your hormone balance, increasing your likelihood of breakouts. And, perhaps worst of all, alcohol can have an ageing effect on your skin. So, ditching the hard stuff could be your passport to healthier, glowing, young-looking skin. Jennifer Lopez, who looks much younger than her 49 years, partially credits not drinking for her youthful looks.

Tip: Take teas containing super spices such as turmeric, fennel and cardamom, or aniseed, coriander and licorice. These can support digestion as well as cleansing the liver and blood.

3. Better sleep

Yes, having a few drinks can knock you out. But it’s actually bad news for how well you sleep. Your shuteye is more likely to be disrupted in the second half of the night. And the amount of time spent in REM sleep – the phase most associated with dreaming – may reduce too. All this makes your sleep less restorative, so even if you’ve been in bed for eight hours, you’ll feel unrefreshed and foggy-headed the next day. Ditch the drink and see how much better you can feel when that alarm goes off in the morning!

Tip: Try a nighttime drink containing herbs such as ashwagandha and valerian, along with other soothing, sleep-supportive herbs like lavender, chamomile and limeflower, to help sedate, ground and settle a hyperactive nervous system and busy mind.

4. Feel happier

Did you know alcohol is actually a depressant? Although it can have a short-term mood-boosting effect, its long-term effects can be negative. It can disrupt levels of neurotransmitters in the brain such as serotonin – the ‘happy hormone’ – leaving you more prone to depression and anxiety. So, if you drink to ‘drown your sorrows’, consider that abstaining might actually be a better choice for your long-term mental health and wellbeing.

5. Improving your performance at work

By improving your energy and focus, cutting down on alcohol can also boost your productivity at work. In a small study of 14 people who were moderate drinkers, those who gave up alcohol for five weeks reported an average 18% improvement in concentration.

6. A better sex life!

You may feel friskier after a couple of glasses of wine. But in the longer term, drinking more than the recommended weekly limit of 14 units can cause problems for both men and women in the bedroom. It can affect men’s ability to achieve or maintain an erection, and women’s ability to orgasm. It can also reduce libido in both sexes. If you want to perform better, or enjoy sex more, you could benefit from at least reducing your alcohol intake.

Tip: If stress is holding back your libido, try Pukka Herbs’ Wholistic Ashwagandha supplements. A study carried out by BioMed Research International showed that women who took a daily dose of ashwagandha over a month saw significant improvements in achieving orgasm and sexual arousal.

7. Healthier weight

Have you thought about how many calories you’re consuming just in alcohol? A large glass of wine can contain over 200 calories – around the same as two large slices of bread, or half a big bowl of pasta. This means that a bottle of wine can ‘cost’ you the same in calories as eating an extra full meal. The result over time can potentially harmful weight gain.

So, if you have a few pounds to lose, then cutting out alcohol could be the key ­– and make the weight loss effortless!

8. Lower blood pressure

Alcohol can be a factor in developing high blood pressure, which is a risk factor for heart attack and stroke. Cutting down your intake to the advised maximum of 14 units a week (for both men and women) could help lower your blood pressure – or keep it within a healthy range – and reduce your risk.

9. Save money!

Have you ever flinched at the thought of spending seven or eight pounds on a good-quality free-range chicken or some organic vegetables, yet thought nothing of buying several bottles of wine that cost the same amount? The foods give you much more in terms of nourishment for your body and mind than the wine will. How else could you spend the money you save by cutting out the booze?

10. Make the most of your weekend

Let’s face it; most of us have done it. We’ve had a heavy Friday or Saturday night, woken up with a hangover, then realised the day – and half the weekend – is already over before we’ve even started to feel human again. Think about what you could do with the extra time (as well as the money and energy) that you’ll gain back if you wake up with a clear head.