It's obvious how the tradition for a dry January got started. New Year's resolutions have always been traditional, and considering the severity of those eggnog hangovers, cutting back on drinking is an obvious candidate.
Dry January mandates that participants give up booze for 31 days, right after the liver-pummeling that is New Year's Eve. The thought is the break gives your liver a chance to reset, and allows your biology to return to a healthier place. There are certainly some of you out there right now, counting the days till February 1, when you'll break up a bottle of whiskey and chug three pints of beer just to start. And that's where the weakness in dry January is revealed. It's not really good for you at all.
Sure, NPR reports that the practice has short-term benefits, that fat levels (precursors for liver failure) decrease, and that participants also lose weight. But come February most of them hit the sauce twice as hard, putting themselves right back where they started if not further along.
So do yourself a favor and go out to your favorite pub and order a pint right now. Doctors in the NPR story say it's much better to abstain a little every now and then, which gives your liver repeated breaks instead of giving it one extended holiday to be followed by an alcoholic Odyssey. Pick two or three days you think you can stick to, and enjoy yourself the rest of the week. Just don't make one of those days today. And make sure you read this article again tomorrow.
