(WGN Radio) – Now halfway into January, how are your new year’s resolutions holding up? If you’re one of the many who committed to “dry January” – quitting alcohol for the first month of the year – you might be feeling a bit… thirsty.
If putting down the booze entirely hasn’t proven sustainable for you, health experts suggest taking a softer approach. “Damp January” may be easier to pull off, and yields many health benefits from cutting back on alcohol.
“The condition of your skin, the increased amount of energy that you have, if you’re not replacing the alcohol with candy or sweets because you may start to crave those a little more if you stop drinking, you’ll definitely experience weight loss,” Alan Berki, a drug and alcohol rehab counselor with Cleveland Clinic, told Nexstar.
The CDC and National Cancer Institute have also tied alcohol use to an elevated risk of several types of cancer, including mouth and throat, larynx, esophagus, colon, liver and breast.
For many people, the idea of cutting back is less intimidating than cutting something out altogether.
“Any amount [of alcohol] less is better than any amount more, but there are amounts of alcohol that are considered harmful,” said Dr. Klayton Barrows, a family medicine physician with Seale Harris Clinic in Alabama.
“The key thing with alcohol is moderation,” said Dr. Jeffrey Kopin, Chief Medical Officer for Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital, in an interview with WGN Radio. “If you want to have a drink it’s OK, but don’t have too many drinks.”
Heavy drinkers should talk to their doctor about best ways to cut back, said Berki. But for most people, even just small changes can make long lasting impacts.
“Don’t overthink it,” said Kopin. “If you’re drinking in moderation, if you’re drinking in a way that’s appropriate for you, it’s fine. There’s no health reason not to do that, unless you have an underlying medical condition that says you shouldn’t be drinking at all.”
