Dry January often raises big questions: how much alcohol is actually safe, and do you need to stop drinking altogether to protect your health? In this episode, world-leading alcohol expert Professor David Nutt explains why alcohol ranks as one of the most harmful drugs to society, how even “normal” drinking can affect your health, and what the science really says about cutting back without giving it up completely.
David, a neuropsychopharmacologist and former UK government drug adviser, explains why alcohol was ranked the most harmful drug overall in a landmark comparison of 20 drugs, how harm rises sharply as drinking increases, and unpacks common beliefs like red wine being “good for you”. The conversation also covers the social benefits of alcohol and why the goal isn’t necessarily to stop drinking, but to drink with awareness.
If you drink at all - whether it’s a glass most nights or more on weekends - this episode helps you understand where the real risks begin, and how to make alcohol work for you, not against you. And for listeners using dry January as a reset, David shares practical, science-based advice on how to cut down safely and sustainably.
If you’re pausing and reflecting this dry January, what might change when you start drinking again? And which habits are worth leaving behind for good?
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Timecodes
00:00 Intro
01:45 Humans have been drinking for 40,000 years - here’s why
07:20 Why your first drink feels good - and the next ones don’t
11:45 You don’t need addiction to be harmed
12:45 Alcohol ranked worst out of 20 drugs
13:10 Why alcohol beats heroin on total harm
14:05 Alcohol is toxic — in the same way disinfectant is
15:00 The ‘pickling’ process happening inside your body
15:30 How alcohol quietly damages your arteries
17:30 The fastest way to lower blood pressure
18:25 Will your cholesterol drop if you stop drinking?
19:35 The red wine myth people still believe
20:45 Is any amount of alcohol actually ‘worth it’?
22:10 When alcohol may still make sense socially
23:05 What a ‘unit’ actually looks like
24:25 Why harm rises much faster than you expect
24:55 A bottle a day can cost you years of life
25:30 Why alcohol helps you fall asleep - then wrecks it
27:45 What a hangover really is (it’s not dehydration)
31:20 Does alcohol actually shrink your brain?
32:25 The long-term brain study people ignore
39:30 When stopping suddenly can be dangerous
41:05 The single rule that stops most people overdrinking
📚Books by our ZOE Scientists
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Mentioned in today's episode
Drug harms in the UK: a multicriteria decision analysis, The Lancet (2010).
Obesity trajectories and risk of dementia: 28 years of follow-up in the Whitehall II Study, The Alzheimer's Association (2018)
Feasibility of detection and intervention for alcohol-related liver disease in the community: the Alcohol and Liver Disease Detection study (ALDDeS), British Journal of General Practice (2013)
Drink?: The New Science of Alcohol and Your Health by Professor David Nutt (2020)
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Episode transcripts are available here.