If getting healthier is one of your New Year’s goals, you’re not alone. Every year millions of people resolve to prioritize wellness.
Dry January is a great way to start, and it can help you meet more than one health goal.
Cutting out alcohol, even for one month, supports weight loss plus delivers other unexpected benefits. Going dry can lift your mood, ramp up your metabolism, and improve your gut health… and that’s just the beginning.
Plus, you can take more proactive steps to take full advantage of this new year jumpstart and set yourself up for a lifetime of better health.
How Dry January Can Kick Off Weight Loss
Dry January is all about putting alcohol aside for a month and embracing total sobriety. Doing that comes with more health benefits than you might realize. And that includes jumpstarting your weight loss goals.
Alcohol can trigger weight gain.[1] So it makes sense that skipping it can help your efforts to lose weight.
There are a few ways that drinking alcohol can pack on pounds:
- It’s high in calories. A single 5-ounce glass of wine has 123 calories. A standard 12-ounce beer packs in 147 calories. A single shot of vodka, whiskey, or tequila adds on around 100 calories. And mixed drinks can run up to 500 or 600 calories (think pina colada or margarita). And how often does anyone drink just 5 ounces of wine… or a single 12-ounce beer… or 1 shot?
- It can make you eat more. Drinking alcohol can suppress leptin, the satiety hormone that tells you that you’re full. When your body doesn’t get that signal, it thinks you’re still hungry so you keep eating.[2] And research shows that alcohol may also increase your appetite, especially for high-fat savory foods.[3]
- It slows fat burning. When you consume alcohol, your body makes processing it priority one. It shuts down or slows other activities, including fat burning, so all the attention can go toward dealing with the alcohol. Any fat you eat during this time gets stored instead of burned… especially belly fat.[4]
Since alcohol can lead to weight gain, it makes sense that eliminating it can do the opposite.
And that’s just the start of what participating in Dry January can do for you.
Want to listen instead of read? CLICK HERE
Dry January Delivers Health Benefits
When you consume alcohol, your body has to work overtime to get rid of it. That’s because alcohol itself is a toxin (ethanol) and it breaks down into toxic metabolites like acetaldehyde.
It’s why drinking can make you feel dizzy, slow, anxious, and thirsty. Why you can end up with a horrible hangover the next day. And why it can take a toll on your overall health.
Giving your body a break for Dry January eliminates that toxic cycle. Even one alcohol-free month can deliver health benefits such as:
- Better mood. Alcohol affects your brain chemistry and can cause depression and anxiety.[5,6] Giving your brain a break from alcohol can help restore brighter, calmer moods.
- Increased metabolism. When you consume alcohol, your body immediately goes to work breaking it down. That puts your normal metabolic processes on hold, slowing down your metabolism, which can lead to more fat storage and weight gain.[7] Going alcohol-free keeps your normal metabolism working at full strength.
- Improved gut health. Alcohol and its metabolites can cause a condition called dysbiosis where the gut microbiome falls out of balance. In that state, pathogens outnumber beneficial probiotic bacteria and all sorts of health issues.[8] Removing alcohol from the equation gives your gut a chance to get back into health balance. In a healthy microbiome, a wide variety of beneficial probiotic bacteria greatly outnumber and dominate pathogens. Those probiotic bacteria support dozens of health benefits including promoting immune health and detoxification, digestive comfort, and balanced blood sugar.
You can support the positive effects of Dry January by showing your body some extra love… especially your gut microbiome.
How to Make the Most of Dry January
Since alcohol can cause dysbiosis and leaky gut, this time without it can give your gut a chance to recover. And you can support that effort in three important ways.
1. Spore probiotics help maintain gut balance.
Spore probiotics help adjust the bacteria balance in your gut microbiome. Unlike other probiotics you’ll see on the shelves, spore probiotics have protective shells that safeguard them in harsh environments.[9] They sail through hazards like body temperature and stomach acid that can kill off other probiotics. Once they land in the welcoming environment of the gut microbiome, the shell breaks down and the probiotic bacteria emerges alive, intact, and ready to work.
As soon as they arrive in the gut, spore probiotics, such as Bacillus subtilis HU58™, begin to release compounds that drive out pathogens. This clears space for a diverse population of beneficial bacteria, including native strains that had been sidelined by dysbiosis.[10] Now the gut microbiome can house a healthy balance of probiotic bacteria, supporting overall good health.
2. PREbiotics nourish probiotic bacteria.
Prebiotics are a special type of dietary fiber that nourish probiotic bacteria so they can grow and flourish. This type of fiber is fermentable, meaning the probiotic bacteria can break it down and transform it into healthful compounds like B vitamins and SCFAs.[11,12] Examples of prebiotic fiber include oligosaccharides, such as fructooligosaccharides and galactooligosaccharides.
3. Immunoglobulins help your body process toxins.
Serum-derived bovine immunoglobulins support your body’s own supply of immune system soldiers.[13] These extra immunoglobulins (also called antibodies) support your body’s ability to manage toxins, including alcohol and its toxic metabolites.[14] Immunoglobulins identify, bind to, and neutralize these toxins so they can be safely eliminated.
With this backup on hand, your body can more easily handle the toxins you come in contact with every day. And during Dry January, without the extra burden of alcohol, serum-derived bovine immunoglobulins aid your body’s detox power so you can start the year with a clean slate.
You’re already doing yourself a favor by embracing Dry January. You can take it even further by giving your body the extra support it needs to maintain wellness year-round.
Just Thrive Core Health Products
Take Dry January to the Next Level with Just Thrive
Participating in Dry January gives you the perfect starting point to meet your new year’s goals. You can take those goals to the next level by supporting your gut and your body’s natural detox functions with Just Thrive.
Just Thrive Probiotic & Antioxidant helps keep your gut microbiome in healthy balance with a clinically studied combination of four proven spore probiotics:
- Bacillus indicus HU36™
- Bacillus subtilis HU58™
- Bacillus coagulans (SC-208)
- Bacillus clausii (SC-109)
Just Thrive PREbiotic supplies three clinically studied prebiotics known for selectively supporting only beneficial probiotic bacteria. Just Thrive PREbiotic contains:
- Galactooligosaccharides (GOS)
- Fructooligosaccharides (FOS)
- Xylooligosaccharides (XOS)
Daily Gut Detox supports immune health and your body’s detoxing abilities by providing a daily supply of serum-derived bovine immunoglobulins.
>> Start the new year with a head-start on wellness with Just Thrive Probiotic & Antioxidant, Just Thrive PREbiotic, and Daily Gut Detox.
Feeling unsure about trying this trio of supportive Just Thrive products? We can help with that.
EVERY Just Thrive purchase is covered by our Bottom of the Bottle, 100% money back guarantee.
So you can try the Probiotic, PREbiotic, and Daily Gut Detox to see if they work for you… and we're confident they will.
But if for any reason you don’t feel a difference, simply ask for a full product refund. Any time. Even if it’s been 3 months or 3 years. Even if the bottle is empty! You’ll get your money back any time, no matter what.
>> Try Just Thrive Probiotic, PREbiotic, and Daily Gut Detox 100% RISK FREE today, and save 30% on your first month’s subscription with code SUB30.
Sources
- Ramos-Vera C, et al. Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages Associated With Physical Health Status in Adults: Secondary Analysis of the Health Information National Trends Survey Data. J Prim Care Community Health. 2022 Jan-Dec;13:21501319211066205.
- Röjdmark S, Calissendorff J, Brismar K. Alcohol ingestion decreases both diurnal and nocturnal secretion of leptin in healthy individuals. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2001 Nov;55(5):639-47. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2265.2001.01401.x. PMID: 11894976.
- Schrieks IC, Stafleu A, Griffioen-Roose S, de Graaf C, Witkamp RF, Boerrigter-Rijneveld R, Hendriks HF. Moderate alcohol consumption stimulates food intake and food reward of savoury foods. Appetite. 2015 Jun;89:77-83. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2015.01.021. Epub 2015 Jan 28. PMID: 25636235.
- Traversy G, Chaput JP. Alcohol Consumption and Obesity: An Update. Curr Obes Rep. 2015 Mar;4(1):122-30. doi: 10.1007/s13679-014-0129-4. PMID: 25741455; PMCID: PMC4338356.
- Kim, Y., Kim, J., Oh, J.W. et al. Association between drinking behaviors, sleep duration, and depressive symptoms. Sci Rep 14, 5992 (2024).
- Anker JJ, Kushner MG. Co-Occurring Alcohol Use Disorder and Anxiety: Bridging Psychiatric, Psychological, and Neurobiological Perspectives. Alcohol Res. 2019 Dec 30;40(1):arcr.v40.1.03. doi: 10.35946/arcr.v40.1.03. PMID: 31886106; PMCID: PMC6927748.
- Traversy G, Chaput JP. Alcohol Consumption and Obesity: An Update. Curr Obes Rep. 2015 Mar;4(1):122-30. doi: 10.1007/s13679-014-0129-4. PMID: 25741455; PMCID: PMC4338356.
- Chen G, Shi F, Yin W, Guo Y, Liu A, Shuai J, Sun J. Gut microbiota dysbiosis: The potential mechanisms by which alcohol disrupts gut and brain functions. Front Microbiol. 2022 Jul 29;13:916765. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.916765. PMID: 35966709; PMCID: PMC9372561.
- Fajardo-Cavazos P, Nicholson WL. Shelf Life and Simulated Gastrointestinal Tract Survival of Selected Commercial Probiotics During a Simulated Round-Trip Journey to Mars. Front Microbiol. 2021 Oct 7;12:748950. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.748950. PMID: 34690999; PMCID: PMC8529248.
- Marzorati M, Van den Abbeele P, Bubeck S, Bayne T, Krishnan K, Young A. Treatment with a spore-based probiotic containing five strains of Bacillus induced changes in the metabolic activity and community composition of the gut microbiota in a SHIME® model of the human gastrointestinal system. Food Res Int. 2021 Nov;149:110676. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2021.110676. Epub 2021 Aug 30. PMID: 34600678.
- Pujari R, Banerjee G. Impact of prebiotics on immune response: from the bench to the clinic. Immunol Cell Biol. 2021 Mar;99(3):255-273.
- Carlson JL, Erickson JM, Lloyd BB, Slavin JL. Health Effects and Sources of Prebiotic Dietary Fiber. Curr Dev Nutr. 2018 Jan 29;2(3):nzy005.
- Petschow BW, Burnett B, Shaw AL, Weaver EM, Klein GL. Serum-derived bovine immunoglobulin/protein isolate: postulated mechanism of action for management of enteropathy. Clin Exp Gastroenterol. 2014 May 24;7:181-90. doi: 10.2147/CEG.S62823. PMID: 24904221; PMCID: PMC4041178.
- Ulfman LH, Leusen JHW, Savelkoul HFJ, Warner JO, van Neerven RJJ. Effects of Bovine Immunoglobulins on Immune Function, Allergy, and Infection. Front Nutr. 2018 Jun 22;5:52. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2018.00052. PMID: 29988421; PMCID: PMC6024018.
