Health

Booze: Why you need a day off

by Paul Conneally | January 12, 2009 at 11:22 pm

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Health messages around alcohol are anything but not confusing on many levels.

One glass a day of red wine is good for you. One glass of red wine a day can cause cancer. Alcohol should never be drunk in pregnancy. The occasional glass in pregnancy won't do any harm. And so on.

All experts are agreed that too much alcohol is not good for our short term health and could cause long term damage and experts at the University of Southampton are urging all of us to take a booze holiday.

They suggest that a two week rest from any alcohol really gives the body a boost and also suggest that a couple of days not drinking a week is a good idea too.

Some health promotion specialists believe that there is too much emphasis on healthy daily limits rather than talking up other measures such as not drinking at all at least for part of the week.

another day starts
with a couple of pills
first crocus

And the good news is that your body will thank you for it (we can't give any guarantees about your soul). However hard you partied in December, a couple of weeks off (or more) in January will do you good. Increasingly, alcohol experts and liver specialists believe that breaks from alcohol are one of the best things drinkers can do for their health. An abstemious fortnight is more than just a token effort.

"In my opinion, it's an excellent idea for a number of reasons," says Dr Nick Sheron, consultant hepatologist at the University of Southampton. "For a start, alcohol shares the inherent property of nearly every drug. If you drink on a regular basis, you will develop a tolerance. You need more alcohol to have the same effect. Having a rest from it can help to reset your tolerance levels." In other words, taking January off will make your first drink in February more potent. You'll need less alcohol before you feel you've had enough.