One Month without Alcohol Has Serious Health Benefits

A study from the UK’s Royal Free Hospital has concluded that stopping alcohol consumption for a month has incredible benefits for a person’s health.

The study examined 102 healthy patients who participated in a “dry” month campaign, therefore abstaining from drinking for one month. The women in the study normally consumed about ten glasses of wine or beer per week (twenty-nine alcohol units), which is almost twice the recommended amount (Wilkerson, 2015). Men in the study consumed thirty-one units of alcohol, which is ten units over the recommended limit for men.

Researchers found that after four weeks of abstinence from alcohol, the participants’ “liver damage was reduced by 12.5 percent, and their diabetes risk was down 28 percent” (Wilkerson, 2015). Additionally, participants lost weight, had lowered blood pressure, and found they were about to focus and sleep better.

According to a liver specialist who oversaw the study, Gautam Mehta, the findings of this study are significant because they show how much improvement the body undergoes after abstinence from drinking, though it is still unknown how long the benefits could last if the participants returned to drinking their normal amount.

References

Wilkerson, M. (2015). Taking a month off booze has ‘staggering’ health benefits. Retrieved from https://www.thefix.com/taking-month-booze-has-staggering-health-benefits