In keeping with Greek mythology, Zeus punished Prometheus for giving hearth to people. He chained Prometheus up and set an eagle to feast on his liver. Every night time, the liver grew again and every day, the eagle returned for his feast. In actuality, can a liver actually develop again?
The liver is the most important inner organ within the human physique. It’s wanted for a whole bunch of bodily processes, together with breaking down toxins reminiscent of alcohol. As it’s the first organ to “see” alcohol that has been drunk, it’s not shocking that it’s the most inclined to alcohol’s results. Nonetheless, different organs, together with the mind and coronary heart, may also be broken by long-term heavy alcohol use.
As a liver specialist, I meet individuals with alcohol-related liver illness each day. It’s a spectrum of illness starting from laying down of fats within the liver (fatty liver) to scar formation (cirrhosis) and it normally doesn’t trigger any signs till the very late levels of harm.
At first, alcohol makes the liver fatty. This fats causes the liver to turn into infected. In response, it tries to heal itself, producing scar tissue. If this carries on unchecked, the entire liver can turn into a mesh of scars with small islands of “good” liver in between – cirrhosis.
Within the late levels of cirrhosis, when the liver fails, individuals can flip yellow (jaundice), swell with fluid and turn into sleepy and confused. That is severe and might be deadly.
Most individuals who recurrently drink greater than the really useful restrict of 14 models of alcohol per week (about six pints of regular energy beer [4% ABV] or about six common [175ml] glasses of wine [14% ABV]) could have a fatty liver. Lengthy-term and heavy alcohol use will increase the danger of creating scarring and cirrhosis.
Excellent news
Happily, there may be excellent news. In individuals with fatty liver, after solely two to a few weeks of giving up alcohol, the liver can heal and appears and capabilities nearly as good as new.
In individuals with liver irritation or delicate scarring, even inside seven days of giving up alcohol, there are noticeable reductions in liver fats, irritation and scarring. Stopping alcohol use for a number of months lets the liver heal and return to regular.
In heavy drinkers with extra extreme scarring or liver failure, giving up alcohol for a number of years reduces their probability of worsening liver failure and dying. Nonetheless, individuals who drink closely might be bodily depending on alcohol and stopping out of the blue may cause alcohol withdrawal.
In its delicate type, it causes shaking and sweating. But when extreme, it may cause hallucinations, matches and even dying. Going “chilly turkey” is by no means really useful for heavy drinkers, who ought to search medical recommendation about the best way to safely hand over alcohol.
Different advantages
Giving up consuming additionally has constructive results on sleep, mind operate and blood strain.
Avoiding alcohol for lengthy intervals additionally reduces the danger of a number of kinds of most cancers (together with liver, pancreas and colon) and the danger of coronary heart illness and stroke.
Nonetheless, alcohol shouldn’t be the one reason for unwell well being. Giving it up has many well being advantages, however it’s not a panacea. It must be seen as a part of a wholesome life-style, together with a balanced food plan and common bodily train.
So, to reply the query posed by the parable of Prometheus, the liver has an incredible energy to restore itself after it has been broken. However it can’t develop again as new if it was already severely scarred.
In the event you cease consuming and solely have a fatty liver, it may possibly rapidly flip again to regular. In the event you had a scarred liver (cirrhosis) to begin with, stopping alcohol will enable some therapeutic and improved operate however can’t undo all of the harm that has already been performed.
If you wish to take care of your liver, drink moderately and have two to a few alcohol-free days every week. That manner, you received’t must depend on the liver’s magical self-healing energy to remain wholesome.
Ashwin Dhanda is Affiliate Professor of Hepatology, College of Plymouth.
This text was first revealed on The Dialog.
