The holidays are over, and many residents of Manitoba are beginning to think more carefully about their health. The first question that comes to their mind is how to restore the body after holiday meals and whether it is worth giving up alcohol in January.
Many people believe that the answer to the second question is obvious: if there is a desire to restore health, the first thing to do is to give up alcohol for at least a month. However, not all experts agree with this.
So, Manitoba health experts have the assumption that alcohol-free January will not bring too many benefits in the future.
“The danger is that abstaining for a month can make it seem like people have a grip on their levels of drinking but, in fact, it can be the perfect decoy to justify drinking far too much in the festive season with increased intake for the rest of the year,” one of experts said.
As you can see, in his opinion, there will be more benefits for the body if alcohol consumption is reduced throughout the year, and especially during the holiday season instead of taking a monthly break after the holidays.
Canada’s low-risk alcohol drinking guidelines explain that women can have 10 alcohol drinks per week, and men can have 15 alcohol drinks per week without harm to their health. However, a lot of people in Manitoba exceed the norms and over the past 5 years there has been an increase in mortality due to alcohol use. Moreover, recent studies have concluded that women of Manitoba began to consume more alcohol than men.
“As women’s incomes went up and they developed more independence — not to mention as alcohol got relatively less expensive — women began to drink more.”
There are also several experts who say that dry January can help. About 30% of people who gave up alcohol in January last year reported that they began to consume less alcoholic beverages within a few months after January.
If you still decide to try to give up alcohol for a month, you should follow the basic rules:
you should inform your family about your decision;
meeting with friends in a cafe, you should also inform them in advance about your refusal of alcoholic beverages;
find new hobbies so that you have less free time to think about merry evenings with a glass of wine.
“Tap into your interests and see what’s out there. This could be the kick you need to finally try that ballroom dance class you’ve been thinking about. It’s also a great way to meet new friends.”