Dry January’s health benefits and how to take an alcohol break : Life Kit : NPR

Here’s NPR’s Allison Aubrey with what researchers have learned so far. The sober curious movement — people who are limiting their alcohol consumption — is relatively new. Early research suggests that even taking a short break from booze is good for your health. Yes, that’s why and how I was able to put together my book, Good Drinks! how to take a break from alcohol I was in search of alcohol-free mixed drinks at a time when, serendipitously, they were starting to be taken more seriously. Bartenders were (and still are) pushing against the boundaries that had previously limited “mocktails” to syrup-laden juices or glorified Shirley Temples, and consumers—sober or not—were getting curious.

• Try replacing your usual cocktail or beer with a nonalcoholic option, including many of the now popular mocktails available so you can still enjoy social time with friends without having alcohol in the mix.
• 62% reported « better sleep » and about half reported they lost some weight.
• “Nutrition therapy is very important in terms of feeding the liver and giving it the building blocks it needs to restore itself,” says Dr. Lindenmeyer.

Eric Nelson doesn’t take cocktails—or life, really—too seriously. His drinks are well crafted, but they also have a sense of humor, and I love the way he doctors every day Coca-Cola with savory soy sauce in this recipe. Well, that’s changing a bit, now that more and more delicious alcohol-free spirits and other products are available. Now, you can stock your alcohol-free bar with some beautiful bottles and lean on them to make drinks, if you want to. Just like a broken bone or infection needs time to heal, so does an overworked liver. While this depends on the amount of alcohol you have had over the years, your liver can see partial healing within two to three weeks, but this will depend on your health history.

What are the long-term health benefits of not drinking alcohol?

For drinkers who have become alcohol dependent, taking a short break is likely not an option. Many people who drink heavily have not had an easy road in managing their relationship with alcohol. « The findings of these studies are actually very surprising, » White says. Health risks linked to heavy, long-term drinking are well known, but this is some of the first evidence to help scientists understand how the body responds to even a short break from moderate alcohol use. « They found that at the end of that month — just after one month — people, by and large, lost some weight, » says Aaron White, the senior scientific adviser to the director at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

“Nutrition optimization is actually the most evidence-based and most important intervention aside from stopping drinking,” points out Dr. Lindenmeyer. This is because, for a lot of people who experience some kind of liver dysfunction, it makes them at risk of not getting enough proteins, calories or vitamins. The https://ecosoberhouse.com/ proliferation of craft mocktails made with nonalcoholic distilled spirits is making it easier and more fun for people who abstain from alcohol to feel like they are still part of the party. If you’re considering your relationship with alcohol, it’s important to educate yourself on the common risks of drinking.

Take note of your mental health

Remove it from a cocktail, and you’re left with sugar, acid, and some cold water. So, it takes some knowledge of ingredients and some doing in the kitchen to get that level of complexity without the alcohol. It can be hard to find (or even know) the balance of how much alcohol your body is able to handle. If you’re not sure if your drinking crosses a certain line or not, try measuring your alcohol intake.