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Even just one month of abstinence from alcohol can have numerous positive effects.
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Stopping drinking promotes liver regeneration and improves insulin sensitivity, while also reducing blood pressure.
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Alcohol provides empty calories and worsens sleep.
Avoiding it helps you lose weight and improve the quality of rest.
And much more
You probablynever drank, or maybe you drink occasionally.
Or perhaps you drink steadily and do not admit that it is not true that playing sports cancels out the effects of alcohol and that, therefore you can drink whenever you want.
It matters little: whether it’s you who drinks or whether it’s a friend or a friend, you know that it’s not so good for you, without detracting from the pleasure of drinking moderately and in company once in a while.
If you run or play sports and drink, you could try quitting even for a month: after all, you know what sacrifice is, right?
If you want to go through this ordeal, a National Geographic article explains what happens (nicely) to your body when you do.
The first to benefit is your liver
You already know: the organ most loaded by alcohol metabolism is the liver.
So when you quit, it is also the first to thank you as it embarks on a warm location to spend a well-deserved vacation.
Although you may never have realized it, the liver is in a constant struggle to flush out the toxins produced by alcohol.
Habitual consumption, even moderate, can cause damage to this important organ.
When you eliminate alcohol, the liver begins to regenerate.
If you are in the early stages of alcohol-related liver disease, such as hepatic steatosis (fatty buildup in the liver) or chronic inflammation, a break from alcohol could reverse these negative effects.
And even in more severe cases, such as cirrhosis, although the damage cannot be completely reversed, stopping drinking can slow the progression of the disease.
Perhaps you’ll be pleased to know, though, that the liver has a superpower: it is the only organ in your body capable of regenerating up to 70 percent of its mass, even after sustaining damage!
Insulin sensitivity improves, and so does blood pressure
Giving up alcohol also helps you increase insulin sensitivity, resulting in better blood sugar control.
If you have diabetes or are at risk of developing it this is great news.
By stopping drinking you then also lower your blood pressure, since alcohol raises it.
It may not seem like much at first, but in the long run, having your blood pressure under control is an indicator of excellent health and an indicator of lower risk of premature death.
Lose weight and sleep better
Alcohol contains calories, and of a particularly sneaky sort: in fact, they call them “empty,” since they come from foods or beverages that provide energy in the form of sugar or fat, but without providing essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, fiber or protein.
Without giving you energy benefits, in short, even just a couple of glasses of wine or beer a week can add hundreds of extra calories to your diet.
When you stop drinking, since you take in fewer calories, you can lose weight, especially if you don’t replace alcohol with cakes and chocolate.
Your sleep also improves: while it is true that alcohol makes you fall asleep earlier, it is also true that it does not give you a restful sleep.
So you’ll also notice that the next morning you won’t have a hangover (assuming you drank a lot the night before) and especially that the sleep will have had a more profound effect on your physique.
Mood gains, anxiety and depression lose out
Who wouldn’t want therapy that decreases anxiety or depression without drugs or side effects?
If you suffer from it, first of all, know that alcohol is a central nervous system depressant, which means that, in the long run, it can worsen mood and increase symptoms of depression and anxiety.
That’s why quitting drinking allows you to give your brain a break, too, and improve your mental health.
You only need as little as a month without alcohol to notice greater emotional stability and a reduction in negative feelings.
This improvement can be especially noticeable if alcohol was used as a kind of “self-medication” to manage stress.
Better skin and tidier bowels
Alcohol consumption can also be seen on the skin, as it dehydrates it, making it duller and more prone to blemishes.
A break from alcohol helps it regain its radiance and hydration.
Alcohol is also aggressive toward the gut microbiome (dysbiosis) and damages the intestinal lining, leading to digestive problems.
Unfortunately, to fully restore the microbiome takes more than a month, but you have to start somewhere, right?
Awareness: Understanding How Alcohol Affects You.
That we like awareness by now you know.
In alcohol consumption there is little awareness of the side effects, or rather: there is a negative awareness that underestimates them while simultaneously overestimating the positive ones (which, it should be remembered, apart from some facilitation in socializing, do not exist).
Here is where those who consume it convince themselves that they need it to overcome shyness in a social context or to be more creative. None of the above. As you stop drinking, you realize that creativity does not depend on alcohol and that, in fact, it inhibits it.
And if you happen to go to a party where everyone is tipsy and you sober, you can appreciate how far removed from reality was that impression you once had, which was that everyone was fun and sprightly at parties: instead, they will appear to you as they really are, that is, slow as they are slowed down by alcohol and funny.
But only because they think they are.
A good start
Beginnings can be a prelude to longer-lasting stories, right?
Observing a month of abstinence and appreciating the benefits may lead you to want to continue.
Many of those who participate in “Dry January” (since 2013 now a fixture of the British calendar but which has now spread far beyond the UK) continue not drinking, having appreciated its benefits.
Or they decide to drastically reduce use to the only occasions when it really makes sense to indulge in a pleasure that we know is harmful: dinners, social events, a night out with friends.
Just don’t turn occasions into habits.