Dry January is more and more cool, but is it really good for you?
Among the techniques to limit the consumption of alcohol, dry January has made inroads above all in the generation Z but is spreading everywhere
Dry January, a month without alcohol
by Donatella Cinelli Colombini
This trend is a kind of early Lent but with the same regenerating purpose after a period of abuse such as that of the Christmas and New Year holidays. It consists in avoiding all sorts of alcohol throughout the month of January
DRY JANUARY IN UK AND USA
My friends from London city have told me that Dry January is very popular in the world of finance. In the United Kingdom, in fact, since 2013 Alcohol Change UK has been conducting major campaigns to promote it and helps participants with a coaching action through a free app. Inside there are not only tips but also the calculation of calories and money saved during the month without alcohol.
The Morning Consult survey conducted January 4-5, 2021 with 2,200 US adults found that 13% of American respondents were participating in Dry January.
DRY JANUARY IN FRANCE
Even among young French people <<many do it>> as proved by the Ifop survey (Institut Français d’Opinion Publique) on 985 subjects. 27% of French people intend to reduce their consumption of wine, beer and spirits in January, with 7% attempting Dry January for the first time, rising to 18% among 18–24-year-olds.
Keeping sober using alcohol-free drinks makes things easier, and 19% of respondents drank alcohol-free wine at least once in 2022.
What remains to be clarified is if it really good for you.
EFFECTS OF DRY JANUARY ON HEALTH: PROS
Many experts agree on the benefits of Dry January and among them is Kim Fromme, professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Texas, who explains how the month without alcohol serves to rest the liver but also to check one’s relationship with alcohol . In the USA there are 15 million alcoholics and among them a growing number of women.
Civiltà del Bere reports the opinion of the wine economist Mike Veseth who predicts dark times for those who produce wine, beer and spirits <<The marketing gurus of Heineken beer, to give just one example, have not invested by chance in the new Heineken 0.0>>. An opinion that should make us reflect especially those who, like me, own cellars and vineyards.
EFFECTS OF DRY JANUARY ON HEALTH: CONS
Dr. Preethi Daniel of the London Doctors Clinic tries to answer this question. He has conducted specific investigations. If the transition is from dependence to alcohol withdrawal, slight dehydration and insomnia, restlessness, tremors, nausea and anxiety may occur. But these are small disturbances compared to the pathological relationship with alcohol.
The liver could have excellent benefits especially if abstinence reaches six weeks. This opinion is questioned by Dr. Michael Apstein according to whom moderate doses of alcohol are safely metabolized by the liver if taken regularly and not occasionally. In this sense, those who do a month of abstinence and then drink more than the recommended doses get even worse effects. In other words <<little is better than nothing>> especially if the glass accompanies the meal and is associated with a healthy lifestyle.