肝臟專家表示,“一月戒酒”活動實則不利健康

Many of us will be seriously contemplating taking part in Dry January today, as we nurse sore heads from New Year's Eve celebrations. Going alcohol free for January is a popular way of starting the year after over-indulging over the festive period - more than four million people are planning to start today, according to a YouGov study from December.

新年前夜的狂歡令很多人醉酒頭痛，所以大家都在慎重思考是否要加入"一月戒酒"活動。據YouGov去年12月的研究報道，一月不飲酒是一種節假日過度放縱後開始新年的流行方式--400多萬人打算自今天起加入這一活動。

But apparently it's not a "fix-all solution" to having a healthier lifestyle when it comes to drinking, and we risk tricking ourselves into thinking we have a more restraint over our habits than we may in reality.

但顯然，在飲酒方面，這並非擁有健康生活方式的"通用方法"，我們甘願欺騙自己：我們對不良習慣的自制力比現實生活中所表現出來的自制力更佳。

Dr Mark Wright, a consultant in liver medicine at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, said the month-long break from booze runs the risk of being the perfect "decoy" as it "can make it seem like people have a grip on their drinking".

南安普頓大學醫院NHS基金會的肝臟醫學顧問馬克·賴特醫生說道，長達一月不飲酒看似美味"誘餌"，因爲這一活動"會讓人們覺得能控制飲酒"。

Instead, people should be wary of their consumption year-round, he said. Although there are physical benefits to giving your body a break, Dr Wright warns that the approach is not the best psychologically for problem drinkers - and it won't improve your health if you just go back to your usual habits again.

他說道，相反，人們應該留意全年的飲酒量。雖然暫時性的不喝酒能給身體帶來一些身體益處，但賴特醫生警告道，對於嗜酒者而言，這並不是最好的心理治療方法--此外，如果活動結束後再度飲酒，人們的健康狀況並不會得到改善。

He said: "Giving up alcohol for dry January as some sort of detox is like maxing out your credit cards all year and thinking you can solve your financial problems by living like a hermit for a month. It just isn't going to make things better if you then go back to your usual habits in February. The danger is that abstaining for a month can make it seem like people have a grip on their drinking, but, in fact, it can be the perfect decoy to justify drinking far too much in the festive season. It's not a fix-all solution. What people need to do is be aware of their consumption all year round, aiming to stick to 14 units per week with three to four dry days."

他說道："作爲某種排毒方式，一月戒酒就像是刷爆一整年的信用卡，還自以爲只要像隱士般生活一個月就可以解決經濟問題。但是，如果二月份你重染舊習，事情並不會向好的方向發展。戒酒一個月的危險之處在於：會使人們產生一種可以控制飲酒的感覺，但實際上，這是在節日期間縱酒的完美誘餌。這並不是通用的解決方法啊。人們還是應該注意全年的飲酒量，力圖將每週飲酒量控制在14單位以內，同時堅持每週3至4天不飲酒。"