In my occupation it can be beneficial to take a month off here and there. December was particularly eventful this year, with many celebratory work lunches and dinners, plus holiday pints with customers and suppliers. If December wasn’t on steroids I wouldn’t have done Dry January.
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I think one of the main ideas behind dry January is to prep one’s body for Mardi Gras 
We are doing a “damp January” by limiting our indulgences to a wine tasting on a weekend or a glass of wine with dinner out. Because we are also limiting our eating out, that limits the wine consumption .
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I would have responded by asking them (sales meeting attendees) “So, when will be adding the ‘Surgeon General’s Alcohol linked to Cancer’ warning label to all our alcoholic products.” 
That would have went over well.
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I do Dry January because it’s a good reset for me. I tend to overindulge on everything (beverages and food/sugar) from Thanksgiving until NYE. I’m a pretty black and white person, and it’s just easier for me than attempting a, “drier,” or, “damp,” January. I’m not sure what that looks like, whereas, “No alcohol,” is pretty simple.
Also, I am more mindful of what I’m eating when I’m not drinking. For me, it just helps me dial everything back that has been slowly creeping up.
I think this is the fourth or fifth year I’ve done it. Only negative for me is my birthday is in January.
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Me, too. Happy birthday, @Hoggirl! 
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Back atcha!
Happy birthday to both of you! Come over for a martini or margarita in February. Pick your poison.
I can’t imagine being in GKUnion’s line of work and not sampling the wares. I don’t feel like drinking alcohol until I tell myself I can’t. I will say it is easier with H not drinking at all.
My mother was a teetotaler almost her entire life. She was extremely healthy other than slightly elevated cholesterol. She lived a clean life in large part due to getting sick from drinking vodka in the sun and smoking a cigarette at a young age. That left a strong impression on her. However, her cause of death was liver cancer. Not sure what to make of that.
I’m confident when February 1st rolls around H and I may enjoy a nice bottle of wine together. Or we might have to wait until Valentine’s Day. Having a break will make us appreciate it all the more.
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I decided to cut back, but not doing a totally dry January.
The one time I tried “dry January” was in 2021. Then I remembered that I was retiring that month. So I had to downgrade to “damp”.
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I have a similar story–my mother never had a drop of alcohol in her life. She also was a health food fanatic (back when it wasn’t fashionable). She banned all sugar and white flour from our house. Once a year (at Christmas) she made a Croatian pastry (she was an immigrant from Croatia). As a kid, my lunches consisted of dried figs or fruit with cheese or turkey sandwiches on black rye bread (no mayo). Trust me–no one wanted to trade lunches with me. We hardly ever had butter in our house; it was alway olive oil. My Mom passed away from breast cancer. Go figure.
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Cancer is a fickle mistress.
It can be caused by lifestyle. It can be caused by genetic factors. And then it can be caused by unknown and random factors
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It’s never even come up at work. We sell A LOT of kegs. What are they going to do with those? LOL!
For 20 years I went dry from New Years to St. Patrick’s Day. A month isn’t that bad.
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Get out your sharpie.
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Alcohol consumption increases overall calorie intake and can raise levels of certain fats known as triglycerides, which in high quantities have been associated with fatty buildup on artery walls. Excessive drinking can also cause high blood pressure, arrhythmias and heart failure, said Dr. Jennifer Haythe, a cardiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
“Alcohol is actually a toxin to the heart,” Dr. Haythe said. She encourages her patients to abstain or significantly limit alcohol intake, relegating their drinking to just one night a week, for example. She recommends that patients with heart failure stop drinking altogether.
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That’s the problem with medical advice in a nutshell. She says “can” in one paragraph, and then “is” in the next.
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That sounds like good advice to me. 
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I don’t see the problem. Alcohol can cause high blood pressure, arrhythmias and heart failure (among other things.) Alcohol is a toxin. Both statements are true, aren’t they?
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Drove past a local pub that had their billboard updated… “Dry January is Fake News” it said. The parking lot was full. Warehouse wine district was not very busy… but the winery that serves pizzas was HOPPING! We ate and drank in perfect moderation.
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LOTS of things are toxins, but we knowingly consume them in moderation because we accept the risk. Risk cannot be eliminated from our lives. So, to make a blanket statement that everyone should quit drinking because alcohol is a toxin is analogous to saying that you should stop driving because over a million people a year die in motor vehicle accidents.
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I just ordered a pair of sandals. They came with a CA prop 65 cancer warning. Going to take the risk. And wear them. While sitting on the couch with a prop 65 warning drinking coffee with prop 65 warning …unless it’s in the evening…where I’ll be enjoying a - as of this moment - glass of wine which is not yet causing me cancer.
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I have been taking a nightly dose of milk thistle for over 40 years…so…maybe that will help the ol’ liver hang in there.
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