The many health benefits of taking part in dry January

A movement that started about 15 years ago in the UK is spilling over in to the U.S.

We’re talking about Dry January, where people pledge to cut out or cut back on their alcohol intake.

From weight gain to cancer–high blood pressure to diabetes.

Alcohol, simply put, does us no favors.

“We know that alcohol, in any form, contains calories that are typically in excess of what would be nutritionally beneficial,” said Dr. Hannah Madden, a family medicine physician at Care New England.

NBC 10’s Barbara Morse spoke with doctors about the benefits of dry January. (WJAR)

So cutting it out can help you shed some pounds.

Here’s something else to sleep on.

“Alcohol really fragments our sleep and prevents us from getting in to those deeper sleep cycles,” said Madden.

It can increase our blood pressure and blood sugars.

“I would think about what is alcohol doing for me in my life? Is it something that I’m depending on for a certain feeling or a certain outcome or is it more of a social aspect?” she said.

Then, figure out how much you’re drinking. Writing it down can help.

“This can be really helpful. It can be a helpful way to track more accurately what you’re drinking. Some will estimate oh I’m having five drinks but really there’s two shots in every drink so that would be ten drinks really and so it would be helpful both to track as well as to really applaud yourself for progress that you’re making, watching those numbers as they decrease,” said Madden. “Achieving something like cutting back or abstaining for an entire month often boosts confidence and encourages people that they can do this or achieve this hard thing…If somebody is a heavy drinker, a daily drinker having upwards of four to five drinks a day going cold turkey can actually be more dangerous than beneficial for those people.”

So what advice does she have for them?

A person pouring a drink into a glass. (FILE)

“I would recommend slowly cutting back, whether that’s reducing by one drink a day or thinking about it in terms of a week, cutting back on your daily or weekly intake would be really beneficial,” she said.

The concern is alcohol withdrawal.

“Which includes sweating and nausea, confusion and kind of an overall shakiness,” said Madden.

This is when you should really consult with your doctor who can prescribe medication and or behavioral therapy to help you quit.

Even if you aren’t over drinking, Dr. Hannah Madden, who’s with Care New England, says cutting back a little can go a long way in improving your health.