September is a time when many people take a break from alcohol, although you could take a break without the annual campaign. An alcoholic drink can make a hundred-degree difference to your appearance, health and mood! As well as feeling good, you can measure the results with blood tests that can assess the effects of alcohol.
As you know, having time off works wonders for people. Batteries are recharged, energy levels are doubled, life feels more beautiful and there are more smiles all around. A break from alcohol has the same effect! Alcohol is part of many people’s lifestyle and food culture, so they don’t even notice that a glass of prosecco or a cocktail at the weekend can have such a big impact on their mood and health. Have you ever thought you drink too much or too often? To give yourself an adequate picture, it’s worth taking the Audit Test on alkoinfo.ee, which will easily tell you whether or not you should worry about your alcohol consumption.
As well as playing a major role in our body weight, sleep quality, appearance, stress and energy levels, alcohol has an impact on various organs and health in general. Even a one-month break from alcohol has noticeable results. Among many other benefits, Alkoinfo.ee highlights seven positive outcomes:
- Clearer head and better performance – sharper mind, improved memory and concentration, more mental energy and good ideas. As a result, your results at work will be more productive.
- Weight loss – Because alcohol contains a lot of calories and we tend to eat more when we drink alcohol, all those calories are evened out during the break! The average glass of wine alone has 120 calories. If you back this up with a healthy diet during the break, the results should be noticeable for everyone.
- Improved appearance – Because alcohol takes fluids out of the body, the skin becomes dry and lifeless. In the alcohol-free period, the skin starts to become more supple again, and the redness around the nose and cheeks is reduced.
- Stronger immunity – Alcohol exhausts and weakens the immune system, making it easier for viruses and colds to take hold. During an alcohol break, the immune system gradually recovers, and the longer it lasts, the more time the body has to recover.
- Sleep quality improves – A glass of wine in the evening may help you sleep faster and seem to calm you down, but alcohol is a depressant and sleep quality actually suffers. After just the first week of being alcohol-free, you will sleep better and feel more rested.
- Liver condition improves – Excessive drinking can cause fatty deposits in the liver, or alcoholic fatty liver, over a short period of time. There are usually no symptoms and we may not be aware of it. The fatty liver usually starts to decrease after a two-week break and in milder cases the liver recovers within 4-8 weeks.
- Relationships and sex life improve – By being sober, we say fewer things we regret and avoid some pointless fights. People are also more sexually sensitive, enjoy themselves more and are emotionally closer without alcohol.
Assess the results of your break from alcohol with a blood test
Certain blood tests allow you to assess whether alcohol consumption has already affected your organs. According to Dr Jüri Laasik, a laboratory doctor at SYNLAB, the largest medical laboratory in Estonia by volume, the number of people testing for the effects of alcohol is growing year on year, allowing potential organ damage to be detected at an early stage. “You don’t have to be an alcoholic to have damage, but this unfortunately also includes ‘lifestyle drinkers’ whose daily routine includes a glass of wine or a beer,” the doctor points out.
In view of the current alcohol-free month, Dr Jüri Laasik recommends that those who are taking a break from alcohol consumption and those who are still drinking regularly on a small but gradual basis should do the alcohol impact assessment kit. “Ideally, blood tests should be done both before and after the alcohol-free break, as this is the clearest way to see the results and the effects on the body,” Dr Laasik suggests, but blood tests at the end of the alcohol-free period also give a good overview. The Alcohol Effects Kit consists of 5 blood tests that provide information on the possible damage caused by alcohol consumption. If there are any abnormalities, this is also an important motivation to quit alcohol completely.
Among other things, the tests can help to detect liver damage, viral hepatitis, etc. “If the tests are out of order, this is a very big danger sign for the person, as damage to the organ systems may already have occurred and he or she will have to change his or her lifestyle,” stresses the doctor. “However, if everything is within normal limits, it does not mean that a person can increase or continue to consume alcohol, but that the principle of less and less often is the better.” An alcohol impact package test could be done once a year by regular drinkers.
