Hitting Snooze on Booze
I’ve been trying to go booze-free for a month since January. (Of 2014.) It always seems like a good idea at the time, a way to save money while possibly improving my health. But the moment the thought comes to my mind, so do all of the reasons why I shouldn’t.
“It’s almost (enter any holiday here)! It would be Scrooge-like not to celebrate our country’s independence/turkey/presents/our country’s presidents/whatever St. Patrick’s Day is about!”
“It’s almost (enter friend’s name here)’s wedding! They would take it as a deep personal offense if I didn’t participate in the champagne toast!”
“I’ve had a horrible week. I need wine.”
“I’ve had a horrible day. I need wine.”
The list is never ending, probably because my commitment to this is so thin. In an attempt to convince myself to finally do it, I did some research after asking myself: Are there benefits to taking a month off booze?
The results are a little murky. There is no scientific evidence that abstaining from alcohol for one month has any health benefits, but the staff at the New Scientist decided to embark on their own version of a trial, with the help of a professor of hepatology (which studies the liver, among other things) in 2013. For the trial, 10 staffers drank no alcohol for five weeks, and then compared the amount of fat on the liver after five weeks to the amount of fat on the liver before they gave up alcohol. While liver fat may seem like an odd choice of test, it’s actually telling, as an accumulation of fat on the liver can be a precursor to liver damage.
The 10 people that gave up alcohol found that the amount of fat on the liver fell an average of 15 percent after the five weeks, while blood glucose levels fell an average 16 percent, which can be a sign of improved blood sugar control. Sleep quality and levels of concentration amongst participants also rose, although they participants did also say they had less social contact during the time.
It’s an infant of a study, and more research is positively needed. But the initial health effects of taking a month off alcohol are promising — that is, if you don’t go out and binge the day you’re finished. The most beneficial approach to drinking is probably to do so in moderation, if you really want to see long-term benefits.
