• Take a break from alcohol and take part in Dry January.
• A period of abstinence from drinking is good for your health.
• Why not treat yourself to a guilt-free round of the latest research about alcohol?
• Capitalise on the health benefits from a month of sobriety.
• Considering January diet and exercise resolutions? We’ve got you covered.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people take part in Dry January. For #DryJanuary, people abstain from alcohol for one month – reaping multiple benefits along the way, including improved physical, mental, and financial well-being. Alcohol consumption – especially in excess – can negatively affect your fitness, your health, and your pocket.

We’re supporting sobriety with our round of alcohol-free research designed to wet your whistle for fascinating scientific content and help you with your New Year goals and resolutions. Find out about the tangled web of co-morbidity associated with alcohol addiction, the best ways to exercise, and how you can protect your heart health with diet.

The complex web of addiction, disease, and mental health

Investigations into the relationship between substance abuse and infection, until recently, have focused primarily on socio-economic factors. Dr Jennifer Loftis of VA Portland Health Care System (VAPORHCS) and Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) has gone a step further, uncovering the tangled web of co-morbidity associated with chronic infection, inflammation, and substance use. This opens new avenues of treatment for those suffering from disease and/or recovering from addiction.

Therapeutic cocktails – the drink that protects against liver disease

Drinking too much alcohol can damage your heart and liver health, which is one reason to participate in Dry January this year. Having a break from alcohol gives your liver a chance to heal. It’s an amazing organ and the only one in the body that has this ability to regenerate. One researcher is looking at using therapeutic cocktails to shake up the treatment of alcohol-related liver disease. Find out how Dr Sam W French, a distinguished pathologist from UCLA at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, is investigating how liver disease in alcoholic patients can be prevented by targeting the proteins and genes that can cause the disease.

Step aerobics and strength training: The perfect combination?

Which type of exercise is best? While the answer is highly subjective, it is helpful for trainers, coaches, and their clients to compare different forms of exercise. One way to do this is to look at energy expenditure. Professor Kjell Hausken of the University of Stavanger, Norway, studied a particular exercise class that included both aerobic and weightlifting exercises. The resulting insights into energy expenditure allowed Professor Hausken to develop a framework for evaluating different exercise classes.

How altering our diet could help our hearts age healthily

A calorie-restricted diet has long been presented as a method of increasing longevity and reducing the effects of ageing on cells. Yet, restricting calories has proven a difficult lifestyle for many people. Simon Sedej, Associate Professor at the Medical University of Graz, undertook an exciting study programme to understand how compounds that mimic the effects of  could protect the heart from disease and might even extend your lifespan.