It’s the month when you decide you want to detox from the indulgence of December. So you hide the alcohol, reset the routines, and test yourself not to drink for the rest of January. Then February arrives and you slide straight back to their baseline.
Happy (Dry) January! It’s the month when you decide you want to detox from the indulgence of December. So you hide the alcohol, reset the routines, and test yourself not to drink for the rest of January. Then February arrives and you slide straight back to their baseline.
So is Dry January actually a good way to look at your relationship with alcohol?
My comments on Dry January were published in Marie Claire a few years ago. And here we are again. Another January, another dry one.
This year I want you to try something different.
Dry January as a diagnostic, not a detox. Let’s dive in...
Where insight becomes impact
What I’ve been looking at this week…
I’ve seen the whole spectrum these last few weeks. People drinking 14 days straight because 'it’s Christmas.' Others letting children under 10 have 'a bit in the hope it reduces future drinking. Others who’ve never drunk at all.
The hard truth is this. Alcohol is harmful for your health at any age and at any amount.
Any month without alcohol is a great month for your health, so if you haven't started Dry January yet, it's not too late. Start today.
Here’s why. The science in one simple pathway. Your liver converts ethanol into acetaldehyde, then into acetate so you can clear it. Acetaldehyde is the problem. It’s toxic, reactive and causes harm.It damages DNA and shortens life.
Most people know the headline harms - liver damage, cancer, high blood pressure, driving tragedies. But here's one you might not have thought about:
Personality Changes.
Alcohol dampens your prefrontal cortex, that's the judgement and impulse-control centre in your brain. And it also enhances GABA signalling, your calming brake.
Which is why you feel less anxious while drinking and become more disinhibited. Which might initially seem like fun. You speak differently, decide differently... but you also take risks differently. Over time, reward and stress circuits adapt, and 'I only drink socially' can creep into 'I need it to switch off.'
And over time your personality changes - you become the irritable, anxious person you never wanted to be, even on non-drinking days.
I understand why people drink. The social awkwardness it softens. The 'I deserve this' feeling after a long day. The escapism from pressure.
What is harder to understand is repeatedly choosing relief that harms your health in the process.
To know the impact of alcohol on your health right now, here are the baseline tests I recommend so you can see for yourself without guessing, worrying or ignoring.
1) Function. Test Your Bloods Most people measure liver function by checking enzymes like ALT, AST, ALP and GGT and bilirubin and albumin. Useful, but incomplete. I also look upstream (what’s driving liver strain) and downstream (what liver strain is doing to the rest of you):fasting insulin and HbA1c, triglycerides, homocysteine, B vitamins (B1, B6, B9, B12) and hs-CRP.
2) Form. Have a FibroScan This is an ultrasound-based scan that shows liver fat and stiffness, so you can spot fatty change or early scarring even when bloods look 'fine'.
3) Firmware. Know Your Genetics Alcohol metabolism genetics helps you understand enzyme variants that affect acetaldehyde clearance and vulnerability in a way that is individual to you.
Function tells me how you’re coping. Form tells me what it’s done. Firmware tells me your vulnerability.
Track it to hack it.
What I’ve been monitoring this week…
For the next 7 days pick 3 health signals and track them.
1. Sleep fragmentation Wake-ups and restlessness, not just hours slept: use an oura ring, whoop band, garmin.
2. HRV trend Heart Rate Variability - a signal of nervous system load and recovery strain: use your wearable
3. Glucose variability or cravings Put on a CGM and watch glucose patterns
From knowing to doing.
What this means for YOU…
This is how you avoid the February boomerang. Build your A.O.S. Alcohol Operating System.
A. Awareness What 'job is alcohol doing for you? Be honest. Switch-off. Social ease. Reward. Relief. Sleep sedative. Escapism Name the job. Then you can replace the job.
O. Outcomes What does alcohol do to your numbers and your behaviour? Sleep fragmentation. HRV trend. Glucose swings. Cravings. Mood. Training recovery. Blood pressure. Blood tests. Liver function. Focus. Alcohol doesn't just change how you feel. It changes how you function.
S. Strategy Choose your February rule now, before you even reach February. This is the part most people never do. They white-knuckle January then “reward” themselves with a rebound.
Instead, use a step-down bridge that actually sticks: 2.2.2 2 drinks max 2 nights a week max Finish 2 hours before bed Then tighten it: 2.1.2 1.1.2
If your goal is zero, taper to your longevity endpoint: 0.0.0 0 drinks 0 loopholes dressed up as 'special occasions' 0 pretending alcohol is harmless
💼 Case in point: I use to drink alcohol, socially, at parties. Then last summer, on my birthday, after I did a I dive into the research on alcohol and fully understood it's effects, I decided to stop. Not a permanent stop. I just decided that I'd see what it was like to not have alcohol, and if I wanted it, I'd just have it. 18m on and I haven't wanted it or missed it. That's 2 birthdays, 2 christmases, lots of holidays, dinners and parties without alcohol - and I've had a great time and feel great too!
🎯 If you'd like any of the tests or devices I've mentioned and if you want to make decisions with precision based on your personal data and using devices that are specific for you, then book a private consultation and let's start to decode your health.
Where you’ll find me…
Last week: I had a wonderful afternoon with my family setting out our 90 day goals - the whiteboard and coloured pens were out, commitments were made and accountability set in motion. Being able to have these meaningful, supported conversations with my children is my definition of parental bliss!
This week: Filming with ITV for The Tonight Show! Looking forward to distilling science into what matters, what you can measure and what you can do.
Next week: Speaking at Cafe Royal in London with Roxie Nafousi and The Modems on Biohacking Beauty. It will be a fantastic event. Get a ticket, come along and say hello!
A thought to pause on…
“Comfort is convincing. It arrives fast. Consequences are cumulative. They arrive later."
Wishing you a wonderful week ahead (that's 168 hours of your million hour life!) Dr Alka
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Take the free LQThis article is general education, not medical advice, and reading it does not create a doctor-patient relationship. If something has been going on for a while, please get it properly looked at by your own doctor.