GOT a bit of a hangover this morning?
After all the indulgence of the festive season, over-enthusiastic partygoers will today be contemplating giving up alcohol during January in a bid to repair the damage caused by excessive drinking. But health experts say that going on a New Year detox to cleanse the liver is "medically futile".
Undertaking a month-long ban can gives a false sense of security about reverting back to excessive drinking habits, the British Liver Trust says.
The charity is urging people to take a more long-term approach towards keeping their liver in good health by resolving to take a few days off from drinking every week throughout the year.
Andrew Langford, chief executive of the British Liver Trust, said: "People think they're virtuous with their health by embarking on a liver detox each January.
"A one-hit, one-month attempt to achieve liver health is not the way to approach it. You're better off making a resolution to take a few days off alcohol a week throughout the entire year."
He added: "If you are abstinent only in January and then abusing your liver for the next 11 months, it is a complete waste of time."
Regularly drinking more than the recommended amount over a long period can damage the liver. Over the past three decades, Scotland has seen a 450% rise in liver cirrhosis mortality, while liver cancer deaths have more than doubled.
The British Liver Trust is launching its first-ever national awareness campaign in the UK during January to encourage people to think about the health of their liver. It will include a roadshow with a "pop-up" liver clinic visiting cities across the UK, including Glasgow on January 16, where people will be offered advice and a simple scan to check the health of their liver.
Langford said the charity was also hoping to undertake work in schools across the UK to educate children about the issue.
"People are getting younger and younger when they start drinking," he said. "It is really looking at primary schools and early secondary school to say your liver is a very important organ and these are the ways you can look after it.
"In the same way as tobacco and smoking is, we hope that liver health and alcohol issues will also be part of children's education."
Dr Mark Wright, consultant hepatologist at Southampton General Hospital, said: "Detoxing for just a month in January is futile. It makes about as much sense as maxing out your credit cards and overdraft all year, then thinking you can fix it by just eating toast in January. The figures don't stack up."
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