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Tag: health benefits

  • Dry January Has Many Benefits, Research Reveals

    Dry January Has Many Benefits, Research Reveals

    A reduction in year-round drinking is one of the many benefits of going dry for the entire month of January, new research shows.

    For some, saying no to alcohol for the first month of a new year is viewed as the ultimate way to reset — especially after the holidays. 

    Known as Dry January, this movement initially began as a public health campaign in the UK, Inverse reports. It has gained popularity in recent years, and new research from the University of Sussex indicates it holds a plethora of benefits for participants.

    “The brilliant thing about Dry January is that it’s not really about January,” Dr. Richard Piper, CEO of Alcohol Change UK, tells Inverse. “Being alcohol-free for 31 days shows us that we don’t need alcohol to have fun, to relax, to socialise.”

    The recent research involved three online surveys, Inverse reports. The first had 2,821 participants who agreed to take part in Dry January. The second survey involved 1,715 people in the first week of February. Then, the third involved 816 participants in August. 

    Of those, participants who completed Dry January and all three of the surveys were found to have something in common: They were drinking less in August. More specifically, Inverse states, their self-reported numbers indicated that their weekly days involving drinking decreased from 4.3 to 3.3. Their average consumption decreased from 8.6 units per day to 7.1, and they reported being drunk about 2.1 times monthly instead of 3.4 times.

    But decreased drinking wasn’t the only benefit found among those who had completed Dry January. The research also revealed that 88% saved money, 71% experienced better sleep, 70% saw general health improvements, 67% claimed to have more energy and 58% saw a decrease in weight.

    Organizations like Alcohol Change UK encourage people to participate in the month. Alcohol Change UK even offers free access to their Dry January app and continued support. 

    “The good news is that Dry January is the perfect training ground for helping you cut down from February onwards,” the website reads. “Cutting down permanently is, for many people, very hard, because habits are hard to break. Dry January is an excellent way of learning what your habits are and how to break them, enabling you to cut down longer-term. You can think of it as a bootcamp for drinking self-control.”

    Despite the benefits, the research team raises the point that Dry January may be dangerous for some individuals. For heavy drinkers, quitting cold turkey can induce withdrawal, which involves symptoms like sweating, restlessness, insomnia, nausea, stomach cramps and hallucinations.

    For such individuals, the team suggests speaking with a medical professional before taking part in Dry January.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Big Claims About Pot's Health Benefits Made Possible By Limited Research

    Big Claims About Pot's Health Benefits Made Possible By Limited Research

    “It’s hard to study marijuana, and there’s money to be made in the business. That’s an unfortunate combination that makes it exceedingly hard to separate the truth from the hype.”

    Cannabidiol (CBD) can alleviate your PTSD and anxiety symptoms, while THC can reduce your nausea and inflammation—or, at least, that is what the medical marijuana industry wants you to believe.

    As using cannabis has become more socially acceptable, industry insiders are making big claims about their products’ health benefits, despite the fact that there is limited scientific research on cannabis due to the federal government’s tight control on the Schedule I substance. 

    “Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, but if something is being marketed as having health benefits, it needs to be proven to have health benefits,” Salomeh Keyhani, a professor of internal medicine at UC San Francisco told The Verge. “I think it’s very dangerous to be asserting that things are very beneficial without thinking about risks.”

    Keyhani authored a study published in September in the Annals of Internal Medicine examining how Americans perceive cannabis. He found that 81% of Americans believe that marijuana has at least some health benefit, and 66% believe it can help relieve pain. Nearly 30% of people surveyed believe that using marijuana can prevent health issues. 

    The research on the medical benefits of cannabis shows that Americans may be vastly overestimating its effectiveness. “Americans’ view of marijuana use is more favorable than existing evidence supports,” authors concluded. 

    “Limited evidence suggests that cannabis may alleviate neuropathic pain in some patients, but insufficient evidence exists for other types of chronic pain,” authors of another study in the Annals of Internal Medicine wrote, noting that research also shows that cannabis can increase the risk for mental health consequences. 

    Despite the Drug Enforcement Administration’s promise to grant more licenses to study cannabis, this has not happened, meaning that research has lagged behind the growing social acceptance of marijuana. This has allowed an industry to be created around cannabis as a health product, without research on the benefits or dangers. 

    “The irony is that by trying to keep us ‘safe’ and refusing to reschedule, the DEA is making us less safe by letting us be drowned by hype without quality evidence either way,” writes Angela Chen of The Verge. 

    Last Tuesday, voters in Michigan approved legalizing recreational marijuana, meaning that a quarter of Americans can now use the drug for non-medical use, and many more can opt into a medical marijuana program. 

    “All the while, the research lags behind,” Chen writes. “It’s hard to study marijuana, and there’s money to be made in the business. That’s an unfortunate combination that makes it exceedingly hard to separate the truth from the hype.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • "Sober October" Gains Traction As Way To Reset Mentally, Physically

    "Sober October" Gains Traction As Way To Reset Mentally, Physically

    Sober October is derived from a UK campaign aimed at raising awareness about alcohol consumption. 

    Going alcohol-free doesn’t have to be just for those in recovery. 

    According to Forbes, there are both mental and physical benefits to taking a month off from alcohol—and anyone can dial in on those benefits by taking part in Sober October. 

    The idea borrows from a popular campaign in the UK, where Go Sober for October acts as a way to raise awareness around alcohol consumption and is also part of a fundraiser for Macmillan Cancer Support. 

    Sober October is a good opportunity for individuals to reset their bodies before the holiday season, as the holiday months often involve eating and drinking more than is recommended. The month of abstinence can also reset the body as the winter months approach, which, for some, can be draining and depressing.

    For those who drink often and heavily, the idea of Sober October may sound intimidating. But, the Evening Standard notes, it’s doable if done in a safe manner.

    Dr. Fiona Sim, former general practitioner and medical adviser to the non-profit Drinkaware, tells the Evening Standard that individuals should be aware of the dangers of quitting cold turkey. 

    “Because your body has been used to having lots of alcohol, you may experience some very nasty side effects, including trembling hands, headaches and lack of appetite,” she said. “The same can apply even if you’re a moderate drinker, although the side effects tend to more psychological, such as irritability and poor concentration. So unless you need to give up drinking quickly, you would probably find it better to cut down more slowly and steadily by having some drink-free days each week.”

    Sim recommends telling those in your social circle the truth when participating in Sober October. 

    “Tell the people closest to you, because they’ll need to know why you turn down a drink of an evening, which you might not normally do,” she said. “Some people might even join you in stopping or cutting down their own drinking once they hear your story.”

    It’s also important to remember that people who pass judgment on the decision may be facing issues of their own, Sim says.

    “Like anything else in life, it’s important always to be yourself and not be swayed by other people judging you or by thinking they are judging you… So please remember that if you think people are going to judge you harshly for drinking less, it is those people who have the problem, not you.”

    Sober October isn’t the only month designated for going alcohol-free. Also popular is Dry January, during which individuals abstain from drinking for the first month of the new year, as a way to reset and start off the year on a healthy foot.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Scientists On Marijuana's Health Benefits: We Need More Evidence

    Scientists On Marijuana's Health Benefits: We Need More Evidence

    “We don’t have evidence about many things marijuana is marketed for and we need to communicate that to the public,” says one doctor.

    Many Americans increasingly believe that marijuana has health benefits, even though there is little to no evidence one way or the other, Newsweek reported.

    Over 9,000 U.S. adults participated in an online survey, with 81% responding that weed had at least one medical benefit. From treating diseases like epilepsy and multiple sclerosis to providing some measure of relief from anxiety, stress or depression, the majority of Americans feel the drug is medically valuable.

    Not so fast, scientists say.

    “The public seems to have a much more favorable view [of marijuana] than is warranted by the current evidence,” the University of California San Francisco’s Dr. Salomeh Keyhani said in a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

    Interestingly, because the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) categorizes weed as a Schedule I substance (alongside heroin and MDMA), researchers are limited in being able to research it at all.

    “[People] believe things that we have no data for,” Keyhani cautioned. “We need better data. We need any data.”

    In the absence of empirical data, she suggests, Americans are coming to their own conclusions about the drug.  

    “Cannabis is useful for neuropathic pain; it might be useful for nausea and vomiting for cancer and HIV, anorexia, and it might have use in refractory epilepsy in children, but those are very narrow indications,” Keyhani told MedPage Today. “We don’t have evidence about many things marijuana is marketed for and we need to communicate that to the public.”

    A 2017 Gallup survey reported that 45% of U.S. adults have tried marijuana once, while other surveys indicated that 22% of Americans regularly use it. With weed now legal in over half of the U.S. for medicinal purposes, marketing is becoming a huge factor in public perception, Keyhani observed.

    “It’s a multi-billion dollar industry, not regulated to the extent of tobacco or alcohol,” she said. “It seems every state is developing a regulatory structure itself. The conflict between federal law and state law has left an open space commercial entities can exploit.”

    Despite widespread support for marijuana, the survey revealed that 91% of Americans believe it carries risks. (Only 9% believed the drug has no risks.) The survey yielded some surprises, too:

    • 37% of Americans thought edible marijuana could prevent health problems. 
    • 50.1% agreed that marijuana was “somewhat addictive.”  
    • 25.9% said it was “very addictive.” 

    The average age of participants was 48 (“64% were white, 12% were black, 16% were Hispanic, and 8% were of other races”).

    Mount Sinai’s Yasmin Hurd said the results aren’t surprising so much as they highlight “the fact that scientists and clinicians don’t publish their studies in newspapers, so the general public isn’t really aware of the scientific evidence that might run counter to their beliefs.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Anheuser Busch Pulls Out Of Federal Drinking Moderation Study

    Anheuser Busch Pulls Out Of Federal Drinking Moderation Study

    The alcohol company was set to contribute $15.4 million over a 10-year period for the study.

    One major backer of a $100 million federal study related to alcohol consumption has pulled out due to surrounding controversy. 

    According to the New York Times, Anheuser-Busch InBev, a Belgian-Brazilian brewing company, was to be one of five alcohol companies financially backing the study, which plans to examine the health benefits of consuming one daily drink. 

    But on Friday, June 8, Anheuser-Busch InBev announced it would be withdrawing funding due to controversy around the study and the sponsorship. The company stated that the controversy would “undermine the study’s credibility,” according to the Times.

    The announcement came via a letter to Dr. Maria C. Freire, who serves as the president and executive director of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health.

    According to the Times, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health is “a nongovernmental entity that is authorized to raise money from the private sector for NIH (National Institutes of Health) initiatives and manages the institutes’ public-private partnerships.”

    In May, the NIH discontinued enrollment for the study due to reports that officials and scientists from the NIH met with alcohol companies to seek out funding and gave the impression that the study outcome would support moderate drinking habits. 

    Nearly 25% of the funding for the study had been contributed by Anheuser-Busch InBev, the Times reports. Of the $66 million in funding, the company was contributing $15.4 million in payments over a 10-year period, beginning three years ago.  

    Andrés Peñate, global vice president for regulatory and public policy for Anheuser-Busch InBev, stated in the letter that the company had initially decided to fund the study “because we believed it would yield valuable, science-based insights into the health effects of moderate drinking.”

    He continued, “We had no role in the design or execution of this research; stringent firewalls were put in place with the Foundation for National Institutes of Health to safeguard the objectivity and independence of the science.”

    The letter concluded, “Unfortunately, recent questions raised around the study could undermine its lasting credibility, which is why we have decided to end our funding.”

    The study is expected to examine the potential effects of moderate drinking such as reducing risk of heart disease, diabetes and cognitive impairment. It is seeking out participation from 7,800 men and women with a high risk of heart disease.

    During the study, half the group will be asked to not drink alcohol and the other half will be asked to have a single drink every day of the week. Participants would be followed for an average of six years. 

    View the original article at thefix.com