Many of us to try out Dry January in high hopes for a health reset and to get off to a good start in the New Year. The challenge is not easy however, particularly if you're someone who enjoys a drink with friends and got used to the abundance of festive tipples in December. Once it's all over and you've managed to complete the resolution successfully, you might be tempted to reward yourself with a few cheeky pints to celebrate.
But one expert has warned against going right back into old habits after Dry January as your body might react poorly to the sudden burst of nasty toxins that come with excessive alcohol.
Drinking heavily after participating in Dry January can actually reverse all of the hard work from the previous month, as your body needs to work that much harder to detoxify itself after the alcohol.
Giving up drinking for a whole month can benefit not just your weight but also your gut health, immune health, skin health, mental health, liver health, and heart health.
But when you get back to it, there can be some nasty negative impacts on your body.
Hannah Macey, Lead Nutritionist at Feel Complete, reveals what can happen to your body after you start drinking again after Dry January and it is not very pretty.
She said: "Part of the benefits of dry January is that it is also a great way to understand and realise our relationship with alcohol, which many find helps them to drink less after dry January.
"You have also put in the hard work through the withdrawal stages during dry January, such as feeling sluggish, dry mouth and dehydration, low mood, bad skin, anxiety and restless sleep in the early days, many people choose to continue drinking less, or not drinking at all, as not having those symptoms make life so much better.”
But when we start up again, she explains, our gut health suffers, as alcohol makes the stomach produce more acid, which can cause stomach lining to become inflamed and can show through symptoms including diarrhoea, heat burn, bloating, and gas.
This inflammation can also increase permeability (leaky gut) and damage the tissues in the intestines. This will decrease the body's ability to absorb nutrients from foods properly, which will potentially cause malabsorption issues, dehydration and lead to electrolyte imbalances. A leaky gut has been linked to changes in mood and anxiety.
Also, the surge in calories which comes from drinking alcohol can mean that weight gain is a real possibility. She says we might not always think about calories with booze but they can be significant.
Starting to drink again can also have an affect on your overall mood as alcohol is a depressant so you might begin to worry about things or become more anxious which in turn could have a huge knock on effect to your sleep cycle.
Your skin will also take a hit, it can become more dehydrated, dry, and more prone to blemishes, particularly if your sleep is impacted by drinking too much.
She adds: "Quitting alcohol temporarily (or completely) can positively impact your gut health and overall health. So, you have nothing to lose by keeping dry January, dry February, March, and April, you get the picture!"
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