Detoxing in January is futile

Wednesday, 04 January 2012 12:38

Written by Editor

Giving up alcohol or going on a detox for one month is pointless, especially after the excesses of the festive season, the British Liver Trust has said. Its chief executive, Andrew Langford, said that people tend to believe the hype about rejuvenating their liver by detoxing in January: "People think they're virtuous with their health by embarking on a liver detox each January with the belief that they are cleansing their liver of excess following the festive break but a one-hit, one-month attempt to achieve long-term liver health is not the way to approach it.” He said they would be better off making a resolution to take a few days off alcohol a week throughout the entire year than  abstaining for January only. The thinking behind this approach is that total alcohol intake per person is kept down and the liver is given time to recover each week. Providing the liver has no lasting damage, it can repair itself very quickly, taking as little as 24 hours to go back to normal.

The Trust is launching a campaign called “Love your liver” to encourage people to maintain a healthy liver. As part of the campaign, it also advises eating well and exercising regularly. On its website, it says if you are overweight you increase your risk of liver disease by three times if you drink alcohol too. It also advises cutting down on daily food indulgences and not overloading your body on sugary drinks to help to optimise liver function.