Photographed by Ashley Batz.
Did you throw back one too many glasses of champers in 2013 and vowed to resist booze in the year ahead? Join the club — you aren’t the only one having a "dry January." According to NPR, short-term absence from alcohol may actually be worthwhile. A study conducted by New Scientist proved that putting down the bottle has some considerably positive benefits.
A group of 10 New Scientist employees gave up the hooch, while four continued throwing them back, for a total of five weeks. The employees filled out health-centric questions and gave blood prior to participation. The folks who weren’t drinking actually had a decrease in liver fat (the precursor to liver damage) by 15 percent. Wowza! That’s not all though: Blood glucose levels dropped by 16 percent. Despite the positive findings, Dr. James Ferguson, a liver doctor not involved in the study, chimed in that any cut backs from alcohol are going to be positive, but skipping the bottle one month a year won't make much difference. Either way, these numbers are definitely enough to take in consideration when deciding to order that third martini.
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