Have you been trying hard to give up drinking, yet your best efforts have not yielded positive results because you keep going back to the bottles?

Good news: You can actually drink your way to becoming a teetotaler!

A little known treatment, based on the Sinclair Method, is being used by Dr. Josh Berkowitz of London’s Control Clinic to help people kick the bottles without stopping alcohol intake until they can quit.

It offers recovery while drinking in moderation.

The way it works is that patients take the pill one hour before their first drink to control cravings. This blocks alcohol’s endorphin release in the brain, making it less addictive. The treatment offers new hope to alcoholics who don’t want to completely abstain from drink.

The method has been available since the 1970s and it uses opioid-controlling drugs, combined with self-discipline and, paradoxically, alcohol, to give addicts renewed control.

It boasts a success rate of nearly 80 per cent. One selling point is that, in comparison to other approaches, it is more realistic.

Rather than relying on will-power alone, it uses a daily pill called Naltrexone to re-train the brain.

The drug, which is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, works by blocking the receptors that trigger the release of alcohol-related endorphins.

Over time, it’s capable of changing addictive behaviours for good and effectively stops the addiction in its tracks.

It offers a fresh alternative to the all-or-nothing approaches. In essence, users can still enjoy their favourite beer, wine and spirits, but in moderation.

“In some ways, alcohol can be evil in the wrong hands; but this treatment allows people to remain social and not to be fearful of public gatherings. That’s much more realistic than total abstinence. People want that option,” Berkowitz says.

The treatment requires a five-day period of clinic-based detoxification, where patients are built up nutritionally with multivitamin and amino acid drips.

“This initial preparation tries to repair some of the damage that chronic drinkers do to themselves.

“They’re often malnourished and isolated physically. They’re not eating properly, they’re relying on alcohol for their calories… So, the drip gets them into the best condition for the rest of the treatment. We also feed them properly,” Berkowitz adds.

Then, they’re introduced to Naltrexone alongside a small daily intake of alcohol.

“We actually advise the patient to drink every day for 10 days, taking the tablets as instructed.

“It doesn’t have to be much – even just a unit or two – but the patient’s mind and body can then understand the relationship between alcohol consumption and the effects of Naltrexone. After that, the patient need only take the tablet one hour before they plan to drink.

“The treatment reduces the endorphins to a very low level. It doesn’t work 100 per cent for everybody, but it’s very effective for the majority,” Berkowitz assures.

“It absolutely requires determination and input from the patient,” Berkowitz adds. “They must truly want to be well again. But the pill gives them the opportunity to restore themselves if they want to.”

Alcohol is a causal factor in more than 60 medical conditions, including mouth, throat, stomach, liver and breast cancers; high blood pressure, cirrhosis of the liver, and depression.

Critics of the treatment argue that there are all sorts of reasons people drink too much and that pharmacological interventions can never replace the personal support that can help people understand their drinking habits and turn their lives around.