The largest internal organ in the human body is the liver. It is especially vulnerable to the negative effects of alcohol and is more likely to experience them. However, if you quit drinking, your liver can regenerate.
How Alcohol Affects Liver
Detoxification is one of the hundreds of physiological functions that depend on the liver, particularly following alcohol intake. Prolonged and excessive alcohol use can damage not only the liver but also the brain and heart.
Ashwin Dhanda, an associate professor of hepatology at the University of Plymouth, clarified that consuming too much alcohol is linked to a number of illnesses, including fatty liver degeneration, which is the accumulation of fat in the liver, and cirrhosis of the liver, which is the formation of scars. Certain conditions might not manifest symptoms until much later in the course of the damage.
First of all, drinking alcohol causes liver fat. The liver becomes inflamed due to this fat. The liver tries to heal itself in reaction by producing scar tissue. If this keeps happening uncontrollably, the liver may develop cirrhosis, or an entire network of scars separated by tiny patches of healthy liver.
When the liver fails in the later stages of cirrhosis, patients may have jaundice, edema from fluid retention, drowsiness, and confusion. This can be fatal and is a serious matter.
Liver obesity will be seen in the majority of people who consistently consume more alcohol than the advised limit of 14 units per week (roughly six pints of regular-strength beer (4% strength) or roughly six medium (175 ml) glasses of wine (14% strength). Extended and heavy alcohol use raises the possibility of liver cirrhosis and scarring.
Is the liver able to heal?
After two to three weeks of alcohol abstinence, the liver in people with liver obesity can begin to heal, appear, and function like new.
Even after seven days without alcohol, there is a discernible decrease in liver fat, inflammation, and scars in those with mild scarring or inflammation of the liver. It takes several months to recover and return to normal after giving up alcohol.
It is less likely for alcoholics with severe scars or liver failure to die of their liver failure if they refrain from drinking for a few years.
Additionally, giving up alcohol has a positive impact on blood pressure, brain function, and sleep.
Long-term alcohol withdrawal also lowers the risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease, as well as some cancers, such as pancreatic, colon, and liver cancer.
The liver is remarkably resilient in the face of injury. However, if there has already been a great deal of scarring, it cannot regenerate like new.
If you just have liver obesity and you stop drinking, your liver can quickly get back to normal. Avoiding alcohol can help people who have had liver scarring (cirrhosis) recover and perform better, but it won't undo all the damage already done.
Have two or three alcohol-free days a week and drink in moderation if you want to take good care of your liver. In this manner, maintaining your health won't require you to rely on the miracle of liver self-renewal.
