Emmanuel Macron does not agree with the Dry January: the French president said no (once again) to proposal of doctors and scientists to institutionalize theI invite you to eliminate alcohol for an entire month. For him, known lover of good wine (he once declared that a dinner without a glass is a “sad dinner”), there is no need for the government to support a campaign to encourage people to abstain: it is better to focus on prevention policies that make the French even more aware .
Many accuse his executive of supporting the wine industry in this way too – which in France is worth 15.6 billion dollars according to the research company Ibis World – but Macron should still be given some credit: thanks to the controversy he has aroused his position, those who had never heard of it before are now starting to familiarize themselves with the idea of Dry January.
What is Dry January
An entire month without drinking, in fact, not so much to recover from the revelry of the holidays (as some do by participating in the vegan month, veganuary), but to experiment the positive effects on physical and mental health. The idea of Dry January was born thanks to the English activist Emily Robinson who, to prepare for a half marathon, decided in 2011 not to drink alcohol for the whole of January. Two years later – in 2013 – with the association Alcohol Change UK, British body that raises awareness of the effects of alcohol, its initiative has begun to be noticed, even beyond the United Kingdom.
What are the risks of alcohol
The New York Times writes that in recent years the Dry January involved between 15 and 19% of Americans. That is almost two out of ten people, habitual drinkers. Awareness of the risks certainly contributed to this renunciation. The IARC, it is always worth remembering, classifies alcohol as a type 1 carcinogenic agentthat is, among those substances certainly capable of causing tumors. The risk is always there: it is reduced but not eliminated even if limited to moderate consumption which, for the record, equates to two units of alcohol per day for men and one for women. According to the WHO, over 3 million people die every year due to alcohol abuse: in addition to cancer, 200 incidental pathologies and other consequences linked to abuse, including mental alterations which immediately a exposes you to risks such as road accidents.
What happens to our body when we stop drinking alcohol
Several scientific studies (among many, one of the most complete is in the National Library of Medicine) have proven that the benefits of abstinence are felt even in the short term for those who drink moderately. A separate discussion, in fact, must be made for those who suffer from alcohol addiction, who need much longer periods and also have to follow very tortuous paths.
For simple enthusiasts of good wine and excellent drinks, therefore, stop drinking alcohol even for just a month helps reduce intestinal inflammation, regulate the heartbeat, lower bad cholesterol levels (which rise due to free radicals stimulated by alcohol). It also helps to sleep better and – last but not least – with just thirty days of abstinence for those who drink moderately but regularly lose weight and also find benefits for your mood.
Experts also agree that a month can be enough lower the tolerance level of alcohol and therefore reduce consumption overall in the long term. As he pointed out to New York Times Sara Jo Nixon, neuroscientist and director of the Center for Addiction Research and Education at the University of Florida, this dry month can make people reflect and push people to ask themselves questions like: «Why am I drinking so much? How does what I drink affect the way I feel? Do I really need it?”.
How to participate in Dry January
It is told by those who have tried and try it, many on social media, confirming the fact that ten years after the launch of the initiative, the Dry January is a consolidated trend. On Instagram while we write posts just for the hashtag #dryjanuary is close to 600 thousand, and videos on TikTok garner millions of views. Content posted by influencers and ordinary people who talk about their month sober, who give advice on resisting the temptation of alcohol and offer alternative recipes. A good race, also stimulated by Alcohol Change UK which, to bring those who want to try it online, has also created a free application and a newsletter (you can sign up on the alcoholchange.org.uk website) which gives useful information every day, one more reason to say no to alcohol alcohol even just for a little while.
Why participate in Dry January
It’s a good thing that Dry January is talked about so much online, because alcohol consumption is growing especially among the first users of social media: young people. The 2023 report from the National Alcohol Observatory of the Higher Institute of Health says that there are approximately 1 million and 370 thousand children aged between 11 and 25 who drink alcohol uncontrollably in Italy. Often minors, not always aware of the risks they face, they need to be educated, sensitized and intrigued by showing them that they can and should drink well, that there are alternatives, and that they are very valid.
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