As of: January 2nd, 2024 1:24 p.m
Organs such as the stomach and heart benefit from abstaining from alcohol. Liver values also drop after just one month. Abstinence also helps you lose weight. How much alcohol consumption is safe?
Many people decide to give up alcohol for a month at the turn of the year. Alcohol not only has a lot of calories, it also stimulates appetite and worsens fat metabolism. Since alcohol is a poison that affects many of the body’s organs and functions, abstinence leads to a healthier, fitter body. Because many organs can regenerate sooner or later.
Dry January: abstain from alcohol at the start of the new year
The good resolution is particularly popular in Great Britain: around four million Brits take part in “Dry January”. Researchers at the University of Sussex have investigated the benefits of abstaining from alcohol for four weeks. Study participants reported that they slept better, had more energy, lost weight and improved their skin condition.
Avoiding alcohol: This is how the stomach, heart and liver benefit
Alcohol not only damages the liver, pancreas, intestines, etc. – it can also increase the risk of cancer, because alcohol breakdown products penetrate deep into the cells, right into the cell nucleus, and lead to damage to the genetic material DNA – which means there is a risk of cancer. If you abstain from alcohol, i.e. when alcohol molecules no longer have an effect, the body’s own repair processes can heal such damage. Abstaining from alcohol for just one month has these effects on some organs:
Im Magen Alcohol stimulates the production of stomach acid. If this happens all the time, the stomach lining becomes inflamed. But even after long and regular alcohol consumption, the stomach recovers with abstinence for just one to two months. That too Herz benefits from abstaining from alcohol. A study of 3,000 beer drinkers showed that from 0.8 per mille of alcohol in the blood, one in three develops cardiac arrhythmias and one in four suffers from heart palpitations. But after a recovery period of half a day, the heartbeat returns to normal. People who are prone to cardiac arrhythmias in particular benefit from an alcohol-free month: the heart can get back into the right rhythm and the water balance also normalizes. Those affected feel fitter overall. They benefit the most Leber from abstaining from alcohol for a month. She suffers the most from too much alcohol because she is responsible for detoxifying the body and distributing energy. But if it constantly has to break down alcohol, it stores it in the form of fat and becomes what is known as a fatty liver. This can grow to twice its normal size and often leads to diabetes and obesity. But a fatty liver can also regress. This development can be clearly seen in the liver values in the blood after just one month.
Enjoyable abstinence: cocktails without alcohol
Even a relatively short period of one month without alcohol is a benefit for the body – and the effects are clearly noticeable. Many people drink less than usual even after abstinence. If you don’t consume alcohol, you don’t have to go without delicious drinks – for example, there are many non-alcoholic cocktails and spirits such as gin, Aperol, Martini as well as wine and sparkling wine are now available without alcohol.
Alcohol consumption: how much is safe?
Many people misjudge the harmless limit of alcohol consumption. This also differs for men and women.
Doctors recommend for Women no more than 12 grams of pure alcohol per day – and on a maximum of five days per week. This corresponds to 100 milliliters of wine or a small beer per day. For Men The limit is about twice as high, i.e. a maximum of 200 milliliters of wine or two small glasses of beer per day.
If you don’t consume any alcohol at all for several days a week and drink two to three glasses of beer or wine with dinner or with friends at the weekend, you usually don’t have to worry. But if you get nervous about skipping your after-work beer, you should seriously reconsider your alcohol consumption.
Alcohol doesn’t help with problems
Alcohol becomes a risk when it is used as a problem solver – for example, when one learns early on that alcohol helps regulate emotions, relax and overcome social anxiety. Addiction counseling centers help you deal with alcohol – even if you are not yet addicted. There are questionnaires on the Internet that you can use to determine your own risk.
Experts on the topic
Senior Physician, Deputy Director, Head of Hepatology
Department of Internal Medicine I
Arnold-Heller-Strasse 3
24105 How
Department of Internal Medicine I
Arnold-Heller-Strasse 3
24105 How
Grindelallee 41
20146 Hamburg
Director of the Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology
Center for Internal Medicine
Carl-Neuberg-Strasse 1
30625 Hannover
Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology
Center for Internal Medicine
Carl-Neuberg-Strasse 1
30625 Hannover
Head Doctor
Franz-Barca-Weg 36
21271 Hanstedt / Buchholz in the Nordheide
Grindelallee 41
20146 Hamburg
Further information
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Visit | 09.01.2024 | 8:15 p.m