Less liver fat, cholesterol and weight – just some of the benefits that New Scientist staff enjoyed in a pioneering study into a month's alcohol abstinence

Mine’s an orange juice: New Scientist staff forswore alcohol for a month and reduced their liver fat by 15 per cent Dave Stock for New Scientist

“DRY January”, for many a welcome period of abstinence after the excesses of the holiday season, could be more than a rest for body and soul. New Scientist staff have generated the first evidence that giving up alcohol for a month might actually be good for you, at least in the short term.

Many people who drink alcohol choose to give up for short periods, but there is no scientific evidence that this has …