In response to Greek mythology, Zeus punished Prometheus for giving fireplace 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 biggest inside organ within the human physique. It’s wanted for a whole bunch of bodily processes, together with breaking down toxins corresponding to alcohol. As it’s the first organ to “see” alcohol that has been drunk, it’s not stunning that it’s the most inclined to alcohol’s results. Nevertheless, 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 folks with alcohol-related liver illness daily. It’s a spectrum of illness starting from laying down of fats within the liver (fatty liver) to scar formation (cirrhosis) and it often doesn’t trigger any signs till the very late phases of harm.
At first, alcohol makes the liver fatty. This fats causes the liver to develop into infected. In response, it tries to heal itself, producing scar tissue. If this carries on unchecked, the entire liver can develop into a mesh of scars with small islands of “good” liver in between – cirrhosis.
Within the late phases of cirrhosis, when the liver fails, folks can flip yellow (jaundice), swell with fluid and develop into sleepy and confused. That is critical and may be deadly.
Most individuals who often drink greater than the beneficial 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]) can 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 folks with fatty liver, after solely two to 3 weeks of giving up alcohol, the liver can heal and appears and features nearly as good as new.
In folks 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 likelihood of worsening liver failure and loss of life. Nevertheless, individuals who drink closely may be bodily depending on alcohol and stopping all of a sudden could cause alcohol withdrawal.
In its delicate kind, it causes shaking and sweating. But when extreme, it could cause hallucinations, matches and even loss of life. Going “chilly turkey” is by no means beneficial for heavy drinkers, who ought to search medical recommendation about the best way to safely surrender alcohol.
Different advantages
Giving up ingesting additionally has constructive results on sleep, mind operate and blood strain.
Avoiding alcohol for lengthy intervals additionally reduces the danger of a number of varieties of most cancers (together with liver, pancreas and colon) and the danger of coronary heart illness and stroke.
Nevertheless, alcohol just isn’t the one reason behind in poor health well being. Giving it up has many well being advantages, however it’s not a panacea. It ought to be seen as a part of a wholesome way of life, together with a balanced weight loss program 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. Nevertheless it can not develop again as new if it was already severely scarred.
For those who cease ingesting and solely have a fatty liver, it may possibly rapidly flip again to regular. For those who had a scarred liver (cirrhosis) to begin with, stopping alcohol will permit some therapeutic and improved operate however can’t undo all of the harm that has already been executed.
If you wish to take care of your liver, drink sparsely and have two to 3 alcohol-free days every week. That approach, you gained’t should 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.