Drinking has these harmful effects on the liver? Do you still dare to drink?

Recently, the Second Department of Hepatology of Shenzhen Third People's Hospital admitted a patient with acute liver failure. The patient drank several glasses of foreign wine at a lunch party during the Spring Festival, and drank a pound of white wine in the evening. Since then, he has had a poor appetite, yellow urine and drowsiness. After checking his liver function, his transaminase level was dozens of times higher than the normal value, and he was diagnosed with acute liver failure.

Everyone knows that drinking alcohol damages the liver. What is acute liver failure? How does alcohol damage the liver? To what extent can the liver be damaged? When you have what symptoms, it indicates that there is a problem with the liver. How to prevent alcoholic liver disease? Do you know these?

What is acute liver failure? Acute liver failure (ALF) is a rare severe hepatocellular injury syndrome characterized by sudden onset of severe hepatocellular dysfunction (jaundice, coagulopathy and encephalopathy) in patients with no previous liver disease. The disease can rapidly progress to coma, leading to death from cerebral edema and multiple organ failure.

Alcohol can damage liver cells in a variety of ways. 1. Acetaldehyde, a metabolite of alcohol, is a highly reactive molecule that can combine with proteins to form acetaldehyde-protein complexes, which can directly damage liver cells or induce immune responses.

2. Alcohol consumes a lot of oxygen in liver cells, causing liver cell hypoxia.

3. During alcohol metabolism, a large amount of coenzymes are consumed, leading to normal metabolic disorders and inducing the formation of hyperlipidemia and fatty liver.

4. Ethanol produces reactive oxygen species in the ethanol oxidation pathway of hepatocyte microsomes, leading to liver damage.

5. Long-term and heavy drinking can lead to liver vasospasm, blood flow disorder, and aggravate hypoxia!

How much alcohol will damage the liver and to what extent? Currently, repeated large-scale drinking in a short period of time can cause alcoholic hepatitis. Drinking an average of 80g of ethanol (about 3 liang of 50-proof liquor) per day for more than 10 years can develop into alcoholic cirrhosis. As the drinking time increases, liver damage generally progresses from alcoholic fatty liver to alcoholic hepatitis, liver fibrosis to alcoholic cirrhosis, and even liver cancer (for people with hepatitis B, alcohol can promote the occurrence of liver cancer).

What are the symptoms of alcohol-induced liver damage?

Alcoholic fatty liver is often asymptomatic or mild, with symptoms of fatigue, loss of appetite, dull pain or discomfort in the right upper abdomen. When it develops into alcoholic hepatitis, symptoms such as general discomfort, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and pain in the liver area may appear. There may be low fever, jaundice, and hepatomegaly with tenderness. In severe cases, acute liver failure may occur. When it comes to cirrhosis, the symptoms are more obvious, and may be accompanied by ascites, malnutrition, etc.

How to prevent alcoholic liver disease? First of all, we should try to reduce the damage of alcohol to the liver. If we cannot refuse to drink, we should try to reduce the amount of alcohol we drink. Before drinking, we should eat some food and drink while eating instead of drinking alone. This can appropriately reduce the stimulation of alcohol to the liver and give the liver a buffering process, so as not to exceed the tolerance capacity all at once and cause acute liver poisoning.

Secondly, in order to reduce the burden on the liver, it is best to follow the principle of eating small and frequent meals. Do not eat too much at one time, but also pay attention to controlling the total amount. Do not exceed the calorie intake by eating more food than usual due to eating small and frequent meals.

In addition, you should eat less fried, roasted, and deep-fried foods, and control your intake of foods with high fat content, whether it is fatty meat or processed food. The total daily energy intake should be reduced by 500 to 1,000 kcal. In order to reduce the burden on the liver and protect it, eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, high-quality protein, milk, eggs, soy products, etc.

Finally, it is recommended that you ensure that you do medium to high intensity exercise at least four times a week, especially aerobic exercise, such as jogging, cycling, etc. The cumulative exercise time per week should be at least 150 minutes, which can also effectively alleviate the fatty lesions of the liver.

It is an indisputable fact that drinking alcohol damages the liver. The degree of liver damage is proportional to the amount and duration of drinking. Quitting drinking in time is beneficial to liver recovery! Please check yourself, touch your liver, and then look at the bottle of wine in your hand. It is up to you to decide.