Dry January Is Actually Bad For Your Health, Say Experts
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It's like a ritual, drinking at Christmas, isn't it? You'll take any offer going when it comes to nights on the piss during the run-up to the inevitable boozy festivities, waking up with a Buck's Fizz in hand on the day itself and as soon as Christmas dinner is cleared, you get carried away with beer pong.
And it doesn't stop there - is there any night as good for a drink as Boxing Day? Then there's the football and we finish up with New Year's Eve - usually underwhelming but always alcohol-fuelled.
So if you're one of the three million Brits set to take on 'Dry January', and still figuring out how you'll get past the boredom of the first week, we wouldn't really blame you. But here's something to consider - some experts are warning that it can actually be bad for your health.
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If you're going to do it, you need to do it properly - as soon as the clock strikes midnight you need to Cinderella the shit out of that drink, otherwise you've failed at the first hurdle.
But experts have warned that taking an 'all or nothing' approach could do more harm than good.
Yes, there are huge benefits: weight loss, financial gain, better shut-eye.
But apparently taking 31 days out of your (normally) boozy calendar means that you could be more likely to give yourself permission to drink as much as you like when February rolls around - and then for the rest of the year...
Men's Health reports that the Royal College of Physicians recommend three alcohol-free days a week instead, while the British Liver Trust suggests at least two consecutive booze-free days a week to maintain a healthy liver.
Sounds good enough to us. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday we will be sober. Whereas Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday are all ours.
Ian Hamilton, a lecturer in the Department of Health Sciences at York University told the Express: "Dry January risks sending out a binary, all or nothing, message about alcohol - that is, either participate by abstaining or carry on as you are.
"Alcohol Concern's ambition is to alter people's relationship with alcohol by encouraging us to reduce the amount we drink, not just for a month but for life.
"Unfortunately, this type of campaign has had no rigorous evaluation."
And just when I was thinking about giving it a crack, I've managed to talk myself right back out of it. Oh well.
