You can talk a lot about the liver and alcohol. All alcoholic drinks primarily destroy this particular organ.. They lead to serious serious illnesses which are often incurable. In this article, we looked at how alcohol affects the liver, what liver diseases can develop with excessive drinking.

Why does the liver suffer?

Getting into the gastric cavity, alcoholic beverages are quickly absorbed into the blood. From there, they go directly to the liver. This organ is where alcohol is metabolized.. Thanks to enzymes produced by the liver, alcohol is neutralized.

Gradually, the capacity of the liver decreases, in simple terms, it "wears out". Irreversible processes begin to take place in it. Cells, hepatocytes, are destroyed and replaced by adipose tissue.

Scientists do not know the exact amount of alcohol required to damage the liver, it is believed that it is individual for each person. According to studies, it has been established that daily alcohol consumption, even in minimal doses, can lead to liver failure.

What liver diseases can develop

Systemic alcohol abuse can lead to a large number hepatic diseases, both acute and chronic. Most of them are poorly treated.

Women are more prone to alcoholic toxic liver damage. Also, representatives of the weaker sex are more likely to become addicted to alcohol, they drink too much faster.

Below are liver pathologies that can be triggered by alcohol.

Fatty liver disease

This disease is not acute. For several years, it may show absolutely no symptoms and clinical signs. Due to the constant intake of alcoholic beverages, liver cells begin to gradually be replaced by adipose tissue. This liver damage is more prone to people who have excess weight or those who are obese.

Stories from our readers

Vladimir
61 years old

Symptoms:

• feeling of discomfort and heaviness in the right hypochondrium;
• frequent nausea and vomiting;
• tarnishing of the skin;
• loosening of the stool, the development of dysbacteriosis;
• increased flatulence;
• deterioration of vision, a drop in its sharpness.

A person may ignore the above symptoms for years, referring to "bad ecology and weather." With continued drinking, this disease can progress to liver failure and cirrhosis.

Alcoholic hepatitis can be acute or chronic.. Doctors compare it with viral hepatitis, since it causes no less serious liver damage. It begins to develop slowly and gradually, a person may not pay attention to it for 5-10 years, and the emerging symptoms can be attributed to some other problems. The characteristic signs of this disease are listed below:

• Gradual and unexplained weight loss. At the same time, a person’s appetite disappears, working capacity decreases, great weakness, prostration.
• Heartburn and belching sour taste, which increases after drinking alcohol, or eating fried or fatty foods.
• Frequent or persistent nausea may develop episodes of vomiting. A person periodically worries about pain in the stomach.
• Aching, intermittent pain in the right hypochondrium.
• Ictericity (yellowing) of the sclera, mucous membranes. When the disease progresses to acute stage the whole skin turns yellow, unbearable skin itching may appear.
• On palpation, an increase in the size of the liver is determined, it protrudes from under the costal arch.

cirrhosis

Cirrhosis is the most unfavorable liver disease, which is incurable.. At first, it proceeds without pronounced clinical picture, its symptoms resemble those of alcoholic hepatitis. With the progression of liver damage, the following signs begin to appear:

• heaviness in the right hypochondrium;
• the appearance of vascular "asterisks" in the upper body;
• pain in the statutes;
• skin itching;
• tendency to bleeding gums, fragility of blood vessels;
• ascites

Most often, patients with cirrhosis die due to the development of bleeding from the dilated veins of the esophagus.

In cirrhosis of the liver, acute liver failure . Against its background, encephalopathy can develop, hepatic coma. All these states have poor prognosis.

Alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver can lead to the development of liver cancer. Only early detection these pathologies and stopping a person from drinking alcohol can protect him from liver cancer.

What to do if symptoms of liver disease appear

With the development of the slightest suspicion of liver pathology, a person must immediately stop drinking alcohol, if necessary, this can be done with the help of narcologists, anonymous support groups. Then you need to, without delay, consult a doctor. It can be a therapist or a hepatologist.

To identify hepatic pathology, you will have to undergo a detailed examination. With its help, the doctor will be able to make a diagnosis, identify the degree of damage to the liver tissue and prescribe the appropriate individual treatment.

Examination for suspected liver damage includes the following laboratory and instrumental techniques:

• Biochemical blood test for bilirubin, ALT, AST, protein fractions and alkaline phosphatase. These markers show functional state liver and the presence of an inflammatory process in it.
• Ultrasound examination of the liver allows you to assess its size, homogeneity of the structure.
• A coagulogram is a blood test that detects abnormalities in blood clotting.
• General detailed analysis of urine. Thanks to him, you can see the presence of an inflammatory process, the presence of anemia.
• Elastometry of the liver on the Fibroscan device allows you to accurately determine the state of this organ, to diagnose cirrhosis.
• Blood tests for viral hepatitis are necessary to exclude these diseases. Since the clinical pictures of alcoholic and viral hepatitis are practically the same, laboratory identification of the cause of the pathological process is necessary.

note that sick, infected viral hepatitis are more prone to alcoholic liver damage. Given viral disease It is strictly forbidden to drink alcohol, even in small quantities.

Systemic alcohol consumption adversely affects the condition of the liver. The defeat of this organ can proceed slowly and asymptomatically for long period time. When the first signs of hepatic pathology appear, you should stop drinking alcohol and seek medical advice. medical care. The doctor will conduct an examination, prescribe the necessary examinations, after which treatment will begin. But if the patient continues to drink alcohol, the therapy will be ineffective, the liver disease will progress.

Alcohol is one of the main and most dangerous enemies of man. Ethyl alcohol ruthlessly destroys the functioning and healthy state of all, without exception. internal organs and body systems. And the liver becomes the first to take on the “alcoholic” blow. It suffers especially in case of prolonged and regular consumption of alcoholic beverages.

In this case, the defeat of the hepatic organ always occurs and the main danger lies in the fact that the destruction of the liver at first passes without visible external manifestations, and its long-term defeat becomes an irreversible process. How exactly does alcohol affect the human liver, and what consequences should be feared?

Alcohol abuse completely destroys the liver, which threatens human life.

This large unpaired organ is vital for the life of the body. It is located below the diaphragm. The liver belongs to the digestive organs. The main task of this digestive gland is the production of bile, which becomes a natural barrier to poisonous and toxic metabolites.

The liver is active and key player circulation, digestion and metabolic processes. The health of this organ depends on normal functioning these systems, without which human life becomes impossible.

The liver performs essential functions in the body

The liver is responsible for many tasks. Its functions include things to do, how:

1. Creation of cholesterol (useful) and its esters.
2. Storage of some vital vitamins.
3. Supplying the body with the necessary glucose, which the hepatic organ synthesizes from various energy sources.
4. The liver also works as a warehouse large stock blood. She throws these reserves into the vascular bed when necessary.
5. Synthesis of the necessary enzymes, bile acids, hormones and bilirubin. These substances take an important part in the work of the digestive tract.
6. Neutralization and cupping of various malicious connections. With the help of the liver, they are broken down into harmless components and excreted from the body. naturally. The liver expels from the body the remains of metabolic products and microorganisms, toxins, excess vitamins and hormones.

And it is the liver that first begins the fight against the abundance of toxic and poisonous decay products of ethanol. In this organ, about 95% of ethyl alcohol is split. But when there is too much alcohol, the liver does not do its job - its capabilities are limited.

"Safe" ethanol

The harm of alcohol on the liver can be minimized under certain conditions. Namely:

• moderate (considered safe) consumption of alcoholic beverages;
• the absence of liver pathologies and disorders when consuming alcohol.

But even in this case, you should know that even a small dose of alcohol significantly increases the load on the liver, causing significant harm to it. Therefore, if you drink alcohol from time to time, then only being in a completely healthy condition and take alcohol in permitted quantities.

Based on numerous studies, experts have concluded that alcohol consumption in the amount of 1 g of alcohol per 1 kg of a given person's weight is considered safe for human health.

To save the liver and prevent the appearance of alcohol addiction, doctors recommend using alcoholic drinks in the following quantity (daily rate):

Women up to 10 g of pure ethanol:

• wine: up to 150 ml;
• beer: up to 330 ml;
• strong alcohol: up to 30 ml.

Men up to 20 g of pure ethanol:

• wine: up to 250 ml;
• beer: up to 500 ml;
• strong alcohol: up to 50 ml.

But a daily intake of 2 bottles of beer, 150 g of vodka or 500 ml of wine becomes threatening to the liver. But there is another opinion of leading psychiatrists. medical luminaries we are sure that a person’s health will not suffer, and alcoholism will not threaten him if every week you adhere to at least 5 days of complete sobriety.

About 90% of alcohol is broken down in the liver

By the way, in addition to the destructive effects of alcohol, the liver can also suffer from certain foods. flour products, oily and fried dishes- this food should be avoided if the goal is to save your native liver. But the greatest harm she brings ethyl alcohol.

How does the hepatic organ suffer?

To understand what happens to the liver when drinking alcohol, it is necessary to take into account that it is this organ that is the first to fight for the purity of the body. As soon as ethanol is in the stomach, it is rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream and, together with the bloodstream, enters the liver. In response, it begins to actively produce certain enzymes - alcohol dehydrogenase.

This compound works on the breakdown of ethyl alcohol, its neutralization and removal from the body. But, if this work of the liver has to be done too often, it wears out. That is, irreversible processes begin to occur in the body. Hepatocides (liver cells) are massively destroyed and replaced by fibrous (adipose) tissue.

It is impossible to say exactly how much you need to drink to give a countdown to the beginning of an irreversible process. This number is not known and has not been established by scientists. The fatal dose is individual for each individual. One thing is known - regular consumption of alcohol, even in small quantities, sooner or later will lead to the onset of the development of various hepatic pathologies.

What pathologies will you have to face

The systematic consumption of alcohol always leads to a malfunction of the liver and the development of its various diseases. By the way, the vast majority of them are incurable or difficult to treat..

Women are especially at risk. The fair sex is the most sensitive to toxic liver damage. And alcoholism develops in women much faster than in men due to their natural characteristics.

So, what effects of alcohol on the liver are the most dangerous? What kind of diseases come to the body along with alcohol? Doctors note that most often the drinker develops several types of pathologies.

Fatty liver hepatosis

This disease is especially dangerous for its long latent course. Human long time does not understand that he already has a problem. The disease is based on the gradual replacement of healthy liver cells with adipose tissue. It is noticed that to fatty hepatosis drinkers tend to have overweight or obese patients.

What does the liver look like with fatty liver?

Unfortunately, the symptoms of the disease appear already when the pathology has long and firmly nestled in human body. On even and watching, feeling unpleasant symptoms, the patient may not pay attention to them for a long time, attributing everything to " chronic fatigue or bad weather. These symptoms become:

• increased flatulence;
• development of dysbacteriosis;
• heaviness in the liver;
• nausea, rare vomiting;
• blanching and dullness of the skin;
• indigestion (frequent diarrhea);
• weakening of vision, a decrease in its quality and sharpness;
• the appearance of some discomfort in the right hypochondrium.

Fatty hepatosis, if it is not detected in time and not treated, gradually develops into severe degree and gives rise to a deadly disease. This is cirrhosis of the liver, which is one of the most common hepatic pathologies caused by alcohol.

Cirrhosis of the liver

This is the heaviest and dangerous disease, which threatens the lover of alcoholic beverages. Cirrhosis also proceeds without a pronounced clinical picture. Many of its symptoms are similar to alcoholic hepatitis(her one common ailment).

Cirrhosis of the liver is an incurable disease, the main culprit of which is alcohol.

According to statistics, the manifestation of cirrhosis of the liver is most often observed by the age of 40. Women are affected twice as often as men.

This progressive disease, which in very frequent cases ends lethal outcome, manifests itself as follows:

• skin itching;
• bleeding gums;
• joint pain;
• increased fragility of blood vessels;
• heaviness in the right hypochondrium;
• ascites (accumulation of fluid in abdominal cavity);
• the appearance of numerous vascular "stars", especially in the upper body.

The lethal outcome more often occurs owing to long heavy internal bleedings. They develop due to the expansion of the veins of the esophagus. Liver cirrhosis rarely resolves as an individual disease. Often, a number of other pathologies are noted against the background of pathology. In particular:

1. encephalopathy.
2. Hepatic coma.

These ailments also have an extremely unfavorable prognosis. Cirrhosis and alcoholic hepatitis are often responsible for the development oncological processes liver. Only if it's early timely detection and a complete cessation of alcohol consumption, you can avoid cancer and prolong life.

Alcoholic hepatitis

This pathology can occur in acute and chronic form. Doctors often compare this disease with viral hepatitis, in which the liver also suffers greatly. The disease develops over a long period of time (sometimes this period reaches 10-15 years). Therefore, the drinker often does not pay attention to alarm bells and writes off the symptoms for other ailments.

Alcoholic hepatitis is another disease caused by alcohol.

TO characteristics diseases include the following manifestations:

• loss of appetite;
• decline in working capacity;
• systematic decrease in body weight;
• severe weakness and complete loss of strength;
• constant nausea, occasionally vomiting;
• aching soreness of the right hypochondrium;
• yellowing of mucous tissues and eye membranes;
• a noticeable increase in the liver (this is noticeable on palpation);
• the appearance of increased heartburn with a sour taste (it intensifies after eating).

If there is even a slight suspicion of liver problems, you should immediately stop drinking alcohol and seek the advice of a doctor. You will have to undergo a detailed examination to establish a diagnosis and closely engage in the restoration of health.

How to reduce the effect of alcohol on the liver

To minimize the harmful effects of ethanol on the body, and especially on the liver organ, the level of alcohol consumed should be strictly controlled. And, if there is a certain solemn event with the same intoxicant, arm yourself with the following rules:

1. Shouldn't mix different types alcohol of different strength.
2. You should not drink alcohol with carbonated drinks. This will increase the intoxication and make it harder.
3. Do not keep alcohol for a long time in oral cavity- after all, ethanol is successfully absorbed through the oral mucosa, and it is rich in blood vessels.
4. Good to have a snack. Meat, meat-flour and hot fish dishes become ideal snacks for alcohol. As cold appetizers, you should pay attention to jelly, jellied veal, salted lard, ham and appetizing hodgepodge.

You should also know the list of products that become excellent helpers in removing alcohol from the body. These products well stop the accumulation of toxic toxins and slow down their harmful effects:

• green tea, which can help restore liver function;
• garlic, which kills harmful microflora and helps the hepatic organ to work;
• tomato either orange juice, these drinks relieve stomach pain and relieve the feeling of nausea;
• lemon, which has large reserves of vitamin C, it perfectly dissolves ethanol and removes its metabolites from the body;
• parsley and cabbage, which is famous for high level antioxidants, which also successfully work to eliminate toxins.

To accelerate the withdrawal of toxic alcohol metabolites, the amount of water consumed should be increased. A normal water balance helps a lot with the dehydration problem that alcohol brings with it. Do not forget about the harm that brings with it a passion for alcoholic beverages.. Therefore, it is so important to control the dose of alcohol you drink and to carry out preventive measures for your own health in a timely manner.

The liver is one of the most important organs of the human body after the brain and heart. The liver performs many functions, supporting the vital activity of the whole organism. Many people know that overuse alcohol leads to the development of liver diseases, but the lack of understanding among people of why and how this happens and what exactly is expressed pernicious influence alcohol on the liver, is the cause of neglect of one's own health. Full awareness of negative impact alcohol on the liver may help to reconsider your views on drinking and be more attentive to your health.

The liver is the guardian of the body

The main function of the large gland, located in the human abdominal cavity - the liver - is the neutralization toxic substances. The liver cleanses the blood harmful substances, more than 720 liters of blood passes through the filter per day.

This body is called the most important "chemical laboratory" in human body. It is the liver that is responsible for the production of enzymes that are so important for normal digestion.

The “laboratory” consists of 100 billion hepatocytes (without auxiliary cells), which around the clock process some substances into others and synthesize vitamins.

A healthy liver provides the body with strong immunity.

In the liver, under the influence of an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase, ethanol is decomposed into water and carbon, which are absolutely harmless to the body.

Finally, the liver has a unique ability to heal itself. But cell renewal occurs when favorable conditions and before a certain moment. In people who often abuse alcohol, the degree of damage to the organ is so great that its complete recovery becomes almost impossible.

Alcohol and liver disease

The first "obstacle" on the way of ethanol to the brain, heart, pancreas, kidneys and other vital organs is the liver. It serves as a filter that absorbs alcohol and its decay products, so hepatocytes (liver cells) are the first to be hit.

Alcohol abuse - even for a few days - can contribute to the formation of adipose tissue in the liver. This medical condition is called hepatic steatosis or fatty degeneration liver. Steatosis is considered the most early stage liver disease associated with frequent alcohol consumption. This is the most common liver disorder caused by alcohol. With an excess of adipose tissue, the functioning of the liver becomes more complicated, which makes the organ vulnerable to the development of such dangerous diseases. inflammatory processes such as alcoholic hepatitis.

How much alcohol exactly you need to drink to provoke liver damage, scientists do not know, this amount is individual for each person. However, studies show that even minimal doses of alcohol with daily use lead to the development of liver failure.

In most cases, alcoholic hepatitis develops asymptomatically, without any obvious signs. However, the disease can be accompanied by fever, nausea, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, and even confusion. If the severity of alcoholic hepatitis increases, the liver increases in size and jaundice, a tendency to bleed, and impaired hemocoagulation (blood clotting) occur.

According to research results, the fairer sex is more susceptible to toxic alcoholic liver damage. In addition, women are more likely to become addicted to alcohol and drink too much faster.

Heavy drinking causes another serious liver disease - fibrosis. The essence of the disease is the accumulation of scar tissue in the organ. The effect of alcohol on the liver leads to a change in it chemical substances needed to destroy and remove this scar tissue. This negatively affects the functions of the body.

If a person continues to abuse alcohol during liver fibrosis, excess scar tissue accumulates over time, which leads to the development of cirrhosis of the liver - a slow and irreversible destruction of the organ. Cirrhosis prevents the implementation of such critical important functions glands like removal from the blood toxic substances, infection control and nutrient absorption.

A liver weakened by cirrhosis stops working normally, the likelihood of various complications increases: jaundice, insulin resistance, diabetes Type 2 and even liver cancer.

This is the scenario for those who do not know or do not fully understand how alcohol affects the liver, and are often addicted to alcoholic beverages.

chances of recovery

Individual propensity of a person to develop alcohol disease liver disease depends on many risk factors, including: heredity and gender, availability of alcoholic beverages, social drinking habits, and even nutrition. According to statistics, about one in five people who abuse alcohol suffers from alcoholic hepatitis, while one in four is expected to have cirrhosis of the liver.

The effect of alcohol on the liver is due to the time factor: the shorter the period of drinking, the greater the likelihood full recovery. In the fight against alcoholic hepatitis, the main thing is to eliminate the cause of the disease. This means giving up all alcohol completely.

Lifestyle changes can help treat alcoholic liver disease. One of the main measures is abstinence from alcohol. Avoiding alcohol will prevent further damage to the organ. smoking, being overweight and poor nutrition are also factors contributing to the development of alcoholic liver disease. In order to constantly control your condition, it is very important to refuse bad habits and improve your diet. If a disease, such as cirrhosis, becomes launched form, the only treatment and life-saving option is a liver transplant.

Thanks

The liver is an organ that converts up to ninety-eight percent of ethanol to the state of acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde is the strongest poison. After that, this substance is processed to the state acetic acid, the next stage is its transformation into carbon dioxide and water. In addition, there are other organs that can break down alcohol, but in much smaller volumes.

During processing, ethyl alcohol and its derivatives have a very detrimental effect on the state of liver cells, gradually causing them complete destruction. A scar appears in the focus of destruction, which is no longer able to perform any actions. Under the influence of alcohol in this body, the amount of vitamin A is reduced, and the ability to metabolize other components is also reduced.

Over time, under the influence of alcohol, the liver becomes smaller, blood vessels shrink, blood pressure rises in these areas. It exceeds the norm by three to four times. In especially severe cases, the walls of blood vessels can burst, a person dies from internal bleeding. The World Health Organization published the results of studies according to which twelve months after such bleeding, up to eighty percent of patients die.

Cirrhosis, which is caused by excessive drinking, is the most complex and completely incurable disease. According to the same World Organization health care, such liver diseases are one of the most common causes of death in developed countries.

Read more:

• Hepatitis C - characteristics of the virus, how the viral infection is transmitted, the mechanism of development of liver disease, symptoms and signs of acute and chronic hepatitis C, diagnosis (what tests to take)
• Pain in the liver - causes, nature, diagnosis, treatment
• Ultrasound of the liver - what does it show? Indications, preparation, norm (indicators, sizes), interpretation of results, price. Ultrasound of the liver for an adult and a child
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the liver - conventional, with contrast, which shows side effects and contraindications, preparation and conduct, norms, interpretation of results, price. When is it better to do an ultrasound or CT scan?

Dangerous Myth: Weak alcohol - a weak effect on the liver? You can often hear the opinion that weak alcoholic drinks (for example, beer and cocktails), due to the low degree of alcohol, harm the liver less than fortified ones (vodka or cognac). However, many of us will be interested to learn about the fallacy of such a view.

You can often hear the opinion that weak alcoholic drinks (for example, beer and cocktails), due to the low degree of alcohol, harm the liver less than fortified ones (vodka or cognac). However, many of us will be interested to learn about the fallacy of such a view.

In fact, it turns out that the effect of low-alcohol drinks on our body is equivalent to the effect of strong ones. Moreover, the main factor of such equivalence is not quality, but quantity. After all, you see, drinking a glass of beer, and even in the heat, is much easier than a glass of vodka. However, 200 milliliters of foamy drink is equivalent to 50 milliliters of vodka!

Being deceived by the weakness of beer and alcoholic cocktails, many of us are happy not only to drink these drinks, but to "refresh" them on a summer day instead of water. It is very easy to calculate the harm - a glass of vodka is approximately equal to three bottles of 5% beer or two cans of a 9% cocktail! Surprisingly, many people think that drinking a glass of “little white” is harmful when, for some reason, a couple of cans of a cocktail are not.

The main enemy of the liver

According to the Federal Service state statistics beer is consumed by more than half of our compatriots, and the drink itself occupies a leading position in the list of “worst drinks for the liver”. Why is such a combination possible?

The reason lies in the popularity of the drink, or rather, in its not quite correct perception. Many of us, as mentioned above, consider beer to be a refreshing, frivolous drink that is good to quench our thirst, and drink - an average of 2-3 bottles a day. However, beer harms the liver not only because of the ethyl alcohol in its composition - it dehydrates the body, as it causes a strong diuretic effect.

Along with beer, canned drinks are fighting for the right to top the list of the most dangerous drinks. alcoholic cocktails. They are gaining popularity among young people due to their sweet taste, and therefore many regard them as strong lemonade. But one jar of such a “harmless” sweet drink is not inferior in ethanol content to 100 grams of vodka and also contains dangerous flavors and sugars, which further damages the liver.

Unexpectedly for many of us, champagne also stands next to the above drinks due to gas bubbles that speed up the absorption of alcohol into the blood. Like beer and cocktails, it is perceived as a "light" drink that is not afraid to drink more. And where the volume is greater, there is a greater total percentage of ethyl alcohol! In addition, champagne contains sugar - and this is an additional and completely undesirable load for the liver.

So, we found out that safe at first glance is not strong alcoholic products is not so harmless. However, it certainly does not follow from this that it is better to drink strong alcohol! Everything needs a measure!

How to fix your liver

By its nature, any alcohol, regardless of the strength, causes significant harm to the liver and the whole body as a whole. Moreover, its use without restrictions can cause serious, untreatable diseases (for example,). Find out about the launch pathological processes it is often very, very difficult, since alcohol damage often progresses asymptomatically. Therefore, you should not start yourself - it is better to get ahead of the dangerous consequences!

Fortunately, it is quite easy to put the liver in order, as this organ can recover quickly. In this regard, it is necessary to preventive measures that can stop the development of inflammation and the appearance of complications. Indispensable assistants in this matter are ( special preparations promoting liver regeneration. Cm.: ).

Whether you drink alcohol or not, you need to take care of the liver in any case, since its health is affected by many various factors, including malnutrition and stress. It is important not only to healthy lifestyle life and soberly assess their capabilities at the table, but also support their liver with hepatoprotectors. Taking care of the body should become a habitual and favorite thing for everyone, so that small joys in the form of a glass of wine do not cause great harm!