BENEFITS OF GIVING UP ALCOHOL!
By krushmichheda
BENEFITS OF GIVING UP ALCOHOL!
Sober Spring, Dry January, Go Sober October and many more names are infamous challenges around the world that promote alcohol abstinence which could be for different causes but mainly to reset one’s relationship with alcohol. Many turn towards these 30 or 100 day challenges post festival. We at Core, believe in a slow and gradual approach and hence kept the challenge for a fortnight.
For most individuals the reason to take it up is for the purpose of detoxification but the changes that your body goes through are a lot more:
Improved sleep pattern
For many, alcohol is used as a sleeping aid but it disrupts the body’s circadian rhythm which affects the overall functioning of the body. It also suppresses melatonin which regulates the sleep-wake cycle and facilitates sleep. Turning away from alcohol has shown to reduce insomnia and anxiety and improve sleep quality.
Better hydration levels
As we are all aware, alcohol is a diuretic which means that it dehydrates you by pushing fluids out of the system. Being away from alcohol can improve your body’s hydration status, helps in getting rid of toxins, prevents diseases and improves organ functioning.
Relieves Liver
Alcohol is treated as a toxin for the body, the liver has to metabolize it into a non-toxin compound, acetate. Regular consumption of alcohol can lead to cirrhosis of the liver or alcoholic fatty liver. Abstaining from alcohol is a form of treatment for the disease or to prevent it in the first place. Regularly going alcohol free for a few days relieves the liver.
Weight Loss
Going off alcohol saves the body from a lot of additional empty calories. Did you know that each ml of alcohol serves 7 kcal almost as much as fat which serves 9 kcal. So, if you are someone who consumes alcohol regularly or binge drinks on the weekends, abstaining from alcohol can help in cutting extra calories and helps you shed weight.
Lowers chances of cardiovascular diseases:
The resveratrol content in red wine has made many believe that alcohol consumption is good for the heart but this falls true only for occasional drinking. Opposingly, high alcohol consumption is one of the causes for cardiovascular diseases as it leads to an abnormal lipid profile and can also disrupt the maintenance of optimum blood pressure levels which are markers for cardiovascular diseases. Cutting back on alcohol can help lower blood pressure levels and improve lipid profile.
