Dry January has become a popular challenge, encouraging people to cut back on alcohol for the month.
Dr. Paul Guzik, a gastroenterologist with Dignity Health, weighs in saying, “I think for the right person, it’s a great thing to do and it’s a great exercise—just like many New Year's resolutions. It’s an opportunity to start fresh and show up in a different way than they're used to,” he says.
So what happens to your body when you cut out alcohol? Dr. Guzik shared some of the benefits:
- Weight loss (alcohol has empty calories with little nutritional value)
- Improved memory and cognitive function
- More stable mood (since alcohol is a depressant)
- Better sleep
- Stronger immune system
He also added a word of caution for anyone with a history of alcohol abuse, “for certain folks who maybe are relying on alcohol every single day and consuming large quantities of it, it probably is actually unsafe to to do Dry January without being monitored by a health care professional.”
For more information on how to get help with alcohol dependency, click this link to learn about the SLO Sobering Center.
