Should you try Dry January? Why a break from alcohol benefits women's health

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Drinking too much alcohol is a serious health issue for women. Copyright Getty Images stock
By A. Pawlowski with TODAY Health and Wellness
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If you're asking why you should face the world without a sip of wine or beer for a month, there are some compelling health reasons to do it.

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A lack of liquor can do a body good, especially if you're a woman.

What is Dry January?

"Dry January" is underway, a month when many people voluntarily stop drinking alcohol after the excesses of December and start the new year on a sober, clearer, more refreshed and healthy note.

"I decided to take a break from alcohol — in my case, red wine — for the month of January for three main reasons: one, to see if I would sleep better; two, to break the habit and get a fresh start in 2019; and three, to see if I could actually do it," Sue Lepping of Boulder, Colorado, told TODAY.

It's not too late to join, but if you're asking why you should face the world without a sip of wine, beer or spirits for a month (especially during the coldest, darkest, dreariest time of the year), there are some compelling health reasons to do it.

Do moms need too much wine? Women's drinking habits spark concern

Why should you participate in Dry January?

"It's a kind of self-diagnosis of how important alcohol really is to you," Sharon Wilsnack, an expert on drinking behavior in women and a professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at the University of North Dakota, told TODAY.

"Can you go a week or can you go a month without any alcohol? And if you can't, why not? What is it that's driving your need for alcohol?"

"I'd advise anybody to try Dry January," added Dr. James C. Garbutt, a psychiatry professor at the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies at the University of North Carolina.

It lets people "sample sobriety" without being overwhelmed by the concept of skipping alcohol forever, he noted:

"Sometimes, within four weeks people will say, 'I'm sleeping better and I feel less irritable and less anxious. I like this, maybe I'll just keep this going for a while longer.'"

Alcohol is not 'benign'

Dry January began in 2012 as an initiative by Alcohol Change UK, a British charity, to "ditch the hangover, reduce the waistline and save some serious money by giving up alcohol for 31 days."

Some 4 million people took part in the challenge in 2018, with more Americans taking notice each year.

The growing awareness comes as recent studies have found no evidence that light drinking might help keep people healthy.

In fact, more than five drinks a week on average can take years off a person's life, researchers said last year.

"Alcohol is not completely benign, but people want to forget that," Garbutt noted.

Women may be especially vulnerable, yet they are drinking more than before.

"Alcohol use is increasing among women in the United States at a time when it's decreasing among men," Aaron White, a biological psychologist and senior scientific adviser to the director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, told TODAY last fall.

Drinking too much alcohol is a serious health issue for women

Women are at greater risk for some of the negative effects of booze.

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Biological sex differences mean women's bodies absorb more alcohol than men's and take longer to break it down.

Alcohol increases the risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, liver, colon, and breast among women, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns. Women who drink are also more vulnerable to brain and heart damage than men. Their risk of cirrhosis and other alcohol-related liver diseases is higher than for men.

Drinking is such a big factor that the CDC last week listed limiting alcohol intake as one of its four "totally doable New Year's resolutions" that will reduce the risk breast cancer.

Benefits of giving up booze for a month:

Even a brief break can make a difference.

Regular drinkers who abstained from alcohol for just one month were found to have a "rapid decrease" in certain chemical messengers in the blood that are associated with cancer progression, a recent study found. The participants also saw improvements in their insulin resistance, weight and blood pressure.

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Almost three-quarters — 71 percent — of people who took part in Dry January last year said they slept better and 67 percent had more energy, according to a new University of Sussex study. More than half, 58 percent, lost weight and 54 percent reported better skin.

Heavy drinkers who take a break might also notice they have less heart burn and reflux; feel less irritable and anxious; and have fewer headaches, Garbutt said.

He and Wilsnack cautioned a 30-day abstinence from alcohol won't erase the damage years of heavy drinking can do.

"But if women are more vulnerable, which I think they are, than when they cut back, they should see proportionally a greater gain in those health consequences… But I would recommend it for both women and men. It's a good idea," Wilsnack said.

It doesn't have to be all or nothing

TODAY's Savannah Guthrie calls it "dryish January" — a little more dry than December. The goal is to consciously drink less even if you don't give up alcohol altogether.

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Wilsnack advised journaling during that period to help you see patterns: When did you have the strongest urges to drink? When did you miss it the most?

If you vow to make it through the month booze-free and still end up having a drink at a party or with dinner, don't feel like you're a failure and don't get too down on yourself, Garbutt said. But if you've noticed you're drinking more frequently and the amount is increasing over time, think about exploring that, he added. Perhaps try another "dry" month.

"If you can't even make it through a week, say, without saying, 'I'm going crazy, where is my wine when I get home from work?' then that seems to me a red flag that you may be developing a dependence on alcohol," Wilsnack said. That's when it may be time to talk with your doctor.

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