Why Cutting Back on Alcohol Is the Best Way to Improve Your Healthy #healthy2020 #lessalcohol #dryjanuary

Reducing alcohol consumption is a common health goal...especially after a festive holiday season full of celebrations! Every year, many people take part in Dry January. As The Weekend Gourmet's correspondent shares today, reducing or eliminating alcohol can yield some key health benefits. Looking for some great non-alcoholic beverages? My Sugar-Free Sparkling Cranberry-Lime Mocktail and Sparkling Limonada taste great with ZERO alcohol!

Cutting out alcohol is a very popular new year's resolution these days. That may be because people tend to overindulge over the festive holiday period and they want to give themselves a break...or maybe they want to cut back in the long term. Whatever the reasons, cutting back on alcohol is actually one of the best resolutions there is -- provided you stick to it! As this article shows, there are some significant health benefits resulting from reducing alcohol consumption. 

Image Source - Pixabay CCO License

Weight Loss 

Alcohol is very high in calories. Most people find that even if they're sticking to a strict diet and exercise plan, a few drinks can stop them from losing weight. If you cut out alcohol completely -- or even just reduce your intake -- you'll notice that you lose weight a lot faster. If you're already trying to be healthier this year, reducing your alcohol intake will make it so much easier for you. 

Reduced Risk of Addiction 

Alcohol addiction can affect anybody if they're not careful with their intake. It creeps up on you slowly...and if you're using alcohol to relieve stress or medicate a mental health issue...it’s easy to become reliant on it. It can be very difficult to conquer alcohol addiction, so you may need to spend some time in a sober living facility while you get on top of things again. However, if you can cut back on the amount of alcohol you consume -- and more importantly, the regularity with which you drink -- your risk of alcohol addiction will be greatly reduced. 

Better Sleep 

People often make the mistake of thinking that alcohol helps with sleep because they fall asleep faster after drinking. However, alcohol actually makes you very restless during the night. That means you will not have uninterrupted, restful sleep. You're also more likely to wake up early and find it difficult to fall back to sleep. If you cut back on your alcohol intake, you'll likely find that you wake up feeling well rested in the morning. That's because the quality of your sleep has improved. 

Improved Mental Health 

Excessive drinking is very common in people who have mental health issues. Often, alcohol is a form of self medication, because it helps to boost their mood or calm their feelings of anxiety. However, alcohol actually damages your mental health and increase symptoms of depression and anxiety over time. Even if you don't have a mental health condition, drinking alcohol can have a negative impact on your mood. Many people drink to relieve stress after a hard day at work, but alcohol actually makes you feel worse the following day and increase your stress levels. Over time, this will damage your mental health and can lead to more serious problems. If you can find healthier ways to deal with your stress, your mental health will improve as a result. 

Bottom line: you don’t need to give up alcohol forever if you want to be healthy. However, there are a lot of health benefits that come with cutting back -- or giving up alcohol all together -- for a short while.