The liver plays a vital role in metabolizing food, combating infection, regulating blood flow, and removing toxic substances, including alcohol, from the body.
Prolonged exposure to alcohol damages the liver in three stages. During the first stage, the breaking down of ethanol slows the digestion of fats, causing them to build up in the liver. This is called steatohepatitis, or fatty liver. In time, chronic inflammation of the liver, or hepatitis, sets in.
While alcohol can cause hepatitis directly, it also appears to lower the body’s resistance to hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses. If unchecked, inflammation causes cells to burst and die. Compounding this damage, alcohol seems to trigger the natural system of programmed cell death called apoptosis.
The final stage is cirrhosis. The vicious cycle of continuous inflammation and cell destruction causes irreversible scarring. Eventually, the liver becomes lumpy, instead of remaining spongy. Finally, scar tissue prevents blood from flowing normally, leading to liver failure and death.
Alcohol’s effect on the liver has another insidious side effect—the liver is less capable of playing its defensive role in counteracting the effect of cancer-forming agents.
In addition to favoring the development of cancer of the liver, alcohol greatly increases the risk of cancer of the mouth, the pharynx, the larynx, and the esophagus.
What is more, alcohol makes the mucous membranes in the mouth more easily penetrated by cancerous substances in tobacco, elevating the risk for smokers. Women who drink daily are at greater risk of breast cancer.
According to one study, the risk for those who drank three or more alcoholic beverages per day was 69 percent higher than that of nondrinkers.
The list of health risks mentioned above is by no means exhaustive. In 2004 an article in Nature magazine pointed out that “even small amounts of alcohol increase the risk of injury and boost the chances of developing about 60 diseases.” In view of this, what constitutes safe drinking?
Today millions of people worldwide safely enjoy having an occasional drink. The key to good health is moderation. But just what is moderation? Most people would consider their personal consumption to be moderate, perhaps reasoning that as long as they do not get drunk or are not alcohol dependent, there is no problem. Nevertheless, in Europe 1 man out of 4 has an alcohol consumption rate that is considered hazardous.
Various sources define moderate drinking as 0.70 ounce [20 g] of pure alcohol per day, or two standard drinks for men, and 0.35 ounce [10 g], or one drink, for women. French and British health authorities suggest “sensible limits” of three drinks per day for men and two for women.
The U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism further recommends that “people aged 65 and older limit their consumption of alcohol to one drink per day.” However, we all react differently to alcohol. In some cases, even these lower limits may be too high.
For example, “moderate amounts of alcohol can be harmful to people with mood and anxiety disorders,” notes the 10th Special Report to the U.S. Congress on Alcohol and Health. Age, medical history, and physique are factors to be taken into consideration.
So healthy friends, if you can control what you take in through your mouth, chances are you LIVER, can serve you longer and give you more confidence to achieve a whole lot more in your life time!
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