This story was reported and written by Radio IQ.
Dry January is the idea that you take a break from drinking alcohol for a month. Heads up to those who imbibe, Dr. J. P. Arab, Director of Alcohol Sciences at VCU Health, has some bad news: “Now we have extensive data showing there is no benefit of alcohol and there is only harm.”
Arab’s focus is on liver problems. He’s seen patients without other symptoms walk into his office because they’ve suddenly turned yellow from jaundice which means their liver has shut down, often from alcohol abuse.
Arab said there are no nerves in your liver, so you won’t know until it's too late. But even if you're not sure you’ve got a problem, it may be a good time to try Dry January just to find out.
“You know, I will not drink alcohol at all during January to be mindful of why I’m drinking, what are my patterns," Arab told Radio IQ. "And some people may realize that they were heavy drinking.”
VCU Professor Francesca Lyn has taken part in Dry January a few times. Sometimes her friends were doing it, other times she lost a loved one and didn’t want to fall down a worse path. She still drinks occasionally now, but she can see why it may help those who need it.
“If you want to do something and stick to something then maybe it's not the alcohol, maybe it's goal setting,” Lyn told Radio IQ.
On a side note, bartenders told me January is their slowest month. So, if you order a mocktail in line with your Dry January experiment in the next few weeks, consider tipping like its top shelf.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
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