How Alcohol Affects the Liver: Signs, Damage and Recovery

Many people use alcohol to relax at the end of the day or bond with others during social occasions. But drinking too much alcohol can have a negative impact on your liver health. Exploring how alcohol affects the liver helps you know when to take action to promote better recovery.

How Does Alcohol Affect the Liver?

Your liver is designed to break down alcohol and filter out toxins before they enter your body’s bloodstream. Too much alcohol can create toxic byproducts that cause damage to your liver cells and cause an abnormal amount of fat to build up around the organ.

In most cases, the effects of alcohol on the liver develop slowly. Paying attention to the changes that occur with excess alcohol consumption can ensure that you take steps to prevent it from getting worse.

Alcohol-related liver disease is a term that you’ll hear people use to describe several different levels of damage to the organ. Liver damage from alcohol can range from mild to severe, depending on how much you drink and for how many years. Your body’s overall health and general metabolism also play a role in how quickly alcohol liver disease develops.

There are three stages to liver injury caused by alcohol that range from completely reversible to life-threatening.. 

Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

This is the earliest stage of liver injury. At this point, triglycerides begin to increase and get deposited into liver cells. Most people don’t notice any major symptoms. But, routine blood tests could show issues.

At this stage, you’ll need to begin making lifestyle changes, such as decreasing alcohol consumption to ensure that the problems can still be reversed with no lasting health issues.

Alcoholic Hepatitis

As your liver becomes inflamed and swollen, white blood cells begin to attack healthy liver tissue. Alcoholic hepatitis can also come on suddenly, such as right after a major drinking binge.

Nausea, fever, jaundice and abdominal pain are just a few of the symptoms you might experience. With lifestyle changes and medical intervention, you can still partially reverse the disease.

Cirrhosis

This is the most advanced stage of liver disease, and the most deadly. When you have cirrhosis, scar tissue has replaced some of the healthy parts of your liver. Since the liver cannot filter toxins effectively, you can experience signs of toxic buildup in your brain and fluid accumulation in your abdomen.

What Are the Signs of Liver Damage From Alcohol?

Many people experience skin problems related to liver disease. You might notice a splotchy rash from the toxins that build up in your body. Some people also experience nausea, abdominal swelling and yellowed skin.

If you want to reverse the liver damage you’re experiencing, the first step is to stop drinking alcohol. You may also need to work with your physician to identify treatments that aid in promoting better liver health. Natural supplements also work well for easing liver ailments, since herbal remedies can help your body clear toxins.

On top of monitoring your diet and alcohol intake, you can also use special elixirs to provide your body with extra fuel to aid in your recovery. Look for an elixir that contains turmeric, peppermint and ginseng, along with other herbs that reduce inflammation in your liver.

Fortunately, the liver is capable of self-healing in most stages of liver disease. Finding ways to curb your drinking and using liver support supplements can help you get back on track to feel – and be your best.