This year too, we are proposing to our readers to try the Dry January experience – perhaps even with the help of the free Try Dry® app (1) – to improve their health by abstaining from alcoholic beverages for at least one month.
Weight reduction, skin luminosity, greater physical and mental energy, and better sports performance are the most immediate benefits. With the prospect, in a longer period, of reducing the risks of premature mortality linked to 60 diseases. (2)
1) Dry January, the story
Dry January is a highly successful international campaign launched in January 2013 by Alcohol Concern, now Alcohol Change UK. The initiative was created by Emily Robinson, who joined the association in January 2012 to repeat the alcohol-free lifestyle she had tried in January 2011, to prepare for a half marathon. Finding unimaginable benefits for her physical and mental health.
Emily Robinson’s First Experience had gathered an unexpected interest among the British population, after an ‘escalation’ of its sharing, from a small group of friends to a series of events that were taken up by the mass media. The English, Emily explained, were often used to talking about alcohol as a permanent guest in their social relationships. And it was time to introduce a new topic of dialogue, such as Dry January and its benefits. (3)
2) International success
The first study conducted on Dry January – based on questionnaires completed by 4.232 participants, analysed by researchers from the University of Sussex (de Visser et al., 2020) – has offered promising results. Alcohol behaviour change expert Richard de Visser found that, six months after the campaign ended, seven out of ten people continued to drink less riskily than before. And almost a quarter of people who were drinking at ‘harmful’ levels before the campaign fell into the low-risk category. (4)
‘Don’t think about what you’re giving up but what do you gain from this experience?‘ is the leitmotif that has conquered Great Britain first, then France, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, Iceland, South Tyrol (Italy) and the Netherlands. Thanks to the widespread support of non-profit associations, health authorities and the media, but above all to interactive and reciprocal public involvement. The same managers of pubs and other public places, in the UK, have started to stock up on beers and other non-alcoholic drinks in view of the appointment at the beginning of the year.
3) A month without alcohol. What are the health benefits?
Stop drinking even for just a month can bring numerous physical and mental benefits, many Dry January participants report. Better sleep, brighter skin, and more energy during the day. And early studies on the topic offer further insights.
A study observational prospective (Mehta et al., 2018) on 141 adult individuals, in particular, evaluated the changes in metabolic risk factors and cancer-related growth factors associated with short-term alcohol abstinence. (5)
3.1) The prospective study
The study participants published in the British Medical Journal (Mehta et al., 2018) were divided into two groups, abstinence and control
– the first group (Dry January) consisted of 94 participants (average age 45,5 years), with a baseline alcohol consumption of 258,2 g/week;
– the second group (‘drinking as usual’) was instead composed of 47 participants (average age 48,7 years), with a baseline alcohol consumption of 233,8 g/week.
3.2) Results
Researchers found significant reductions in the first group, compared to the second, in the following values:
– HOMA index (−25,9%), (6)
– systolic blood pressure (−6,6%)
– diastolic blood pressure (−6,3%)
– weight (-1,5%)
– VEGF (−41,8%), (7)
– EGF (−73,9%). (8)
‘None of these changes was associated with changes in diet, exercise, or cigarette smoking. No significant changes from baseline were noted in the primary or secondary outcomes in the control group‘.
3.3) Preliminary conclusions
‘These results demonstrate that alcohol abstinence in moderate-heavy drinkers improves insulin resistance, weight, blood pressure, and cancer-related growth factors.
The data support an independent association of alcohol consumption with cancer risk and suggest an increased risk of metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and fatty liver syndrome‘. (4)
4) Damp January
Damp January, wet January, is the alternative proposal for those who are attracted by the benefits of a month-long break from alcohol but do not feel ready to face such a commitment. Experts explain that making an effort to seriously reduce alcohol consumption can still bring health benefits.
Choosing a Mocktail (alcohol-free cocktail) instead of a cocktail, a non-alcoholic beer instead of a classic one, can offer ‘a greater sense of control’ over alcohol consumption compared to ‘drinking as usual’. And it is in any case a useful opportunity to become aware of one’s baseline alcohol consumption, and one’s relationship with it.
5) Try Dry®, the app
Try Dry® It is an app made with great care – premium content and free download – to help everyone achieve their goals, such as:
– face the Dry January challenge, even if a few days late, towards the goal of 31 days of suspension of alcohol intake
– reduce the consumption of alcoholic beverages, according to the Dump January model, while keeping track of their consumption
– eliminate such consumption altogether. (1)
Simple yet compelling, Try Dry® tracks alcohol units, (7) calories and money each person can save by reducing or eliminating alcohol from their diet.
5.1) A ‘motivational’ app
The Try Dry® App has already proven its effectiveness in motivating people to understand their relationship with alcohol and supporting their efforts to simplify it. In the sacred respect of privacy and free will, each person can decide to:
– fill out a short questionnaire, or a more detailed text, to understand your risk level
– track your drinking pattern and follow your progress in terms of alcohol units consumed, calories and money saved over a period of time
– monitor your well-being with sleep indicators, energy levels, mood and desire intensity
– record thoughts, emotions, daily reflections, events or learnings in the ‘Notes’ section
– get ‘badges’ for your achievements
– enjoy other free tools, tips and resources in the ‘More’ section.
6) Alcoholic beverages, what are the alternatives?
FDA (Food and Drug Administration, USA) allows the word ‘healthy’ to be added to the labels of the healthiest drink of all, water. (10) The transition from alcoholic beverages to water is not easy and immediate for everyone, especially when the ‘drink’ is associated with psychological and sensorial gratification.
A satisfying solution, especially in the cold months, is offered by organic herbal teas widely available in many bars and clubs, as well as in supermarkets. The only care is to avoid buying teas and herbal teas wrapped in plastic bags, since they release hundreds of millions of harmful nanoplastics, as we have seen. (11)
The gesture of drinking a beverage which recalls the various alcoholic beverages can then be preserved thanks to the growing offer of their non-alcoholic alternatives, from 0% beer to dealcoholized wine and (no longer) spirit drinks (12,13,14). Saving, if possible, the aperitifs loaded with added sugars and chemical additives. (15)
7) Good intentions
Good intentions for the new year they can start by loving themselves and showing it to themselves with a detox break, at least for a month.
Why not give it a try? The benefits – also for the immune system, as we have seen (16) – can outweigh the difficulties, for each of us.
Involve in this experience, loved ones, friends, family and cohabitants will be able to strengthen their determination and share their well-being.
Best wishes to everyone, and happy new year!
Dario Dongo
Credit cover Try Dry® app
Footnote
(1) Try Dry®: the Dry January app. Try Dry® is the powerful, easy-to-use, and totally free premium app helping tens of thousands of people to take control of their drinking. Available on Google Play https://tinyurl.com/3amraj4j and App Store https://tinyurl.com/4d9s4r6x
(2) Dario Dongo. Dry January, a month of alcohol-free lightness. Seeing is believing. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
(3) The Dry January® story. Alcohol Change UK https://tinyurl.com/3f6n95w3
(4) Richard O de Visser, James Nicholls. Temporary abstinence during Dry January: predictors of success; impact on well-being and self-efficacy. Psychol Health. 2020 Nov;35(11):1293-1305. doi: 10.1080/08870446.2020.1743840
(5) Mehta G et al. Short-term abstinence from alcohol and changes in cardiovascular risk factors, liver function tests and cancer-related growth factors: a prospective observational study. BMJ Open. 2018 May 5;8(5):e020673. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020673
(6) HOMA (homeostatic model assessment) is a mathematical model used to measure insulin resistance and pancreatic beta cell function. Insulin resistance can be traced back to metabolic syndrome, diabetes and prediabetes, polycystic ovary, obesity and overweight, fatty liver
(7) VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) is a protein essential for vessel growth, both in physiological and pathological conditions. This protein is essential in modulating the intestinal inflammatory response
(8) EGF (Epidermal growth factor) is a growth factor that stimulates the reproduction and differentiation of many cell types, including epidermal cells. The alteration of this control can determine serious pathologies, including neoplastic transformation
(9) The alcohol unit, equal to 10 ml (8 g) of pure alcohol, corresponds to the quantity of alcohol that an adult can metabolise or dispose of in approximately one hour. To calculate the alcohol units in different drinks, you can use the Alcohol Units calculator https://tinyurl.com/yx5z2kdk
(10) Dario Dongo. FDA, USA. The ‘healthy’ logo on food labels. FT (Food Times). December 25, 2024
(11) Dario Dongo. Millions of microplastics released from tea bags. Study. FT (Food Times). December 28, 2024
(12) Marta Strinati, Dario Dongo. Non-alcoholic beer, 15 products compared. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
(13) Dario Dongo, Giorgio Perrone. Dealcolized wines, new EU rules and high growth potential. THE ABC’S. FT (Food Times). February 8, 2022
(14) Low and no alcohol drink reviews. Alcohol Change UK https://tinyurl.com/bcrtt24z
(15) Marta Strinati. Non-alcoholic aperitifs, our test on 11 products. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
(16) Dario Dongo, Andrea Adelmo Della Penna. Coronavirus, why eliminate or minimize the consumption of alcoholic beverages. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
