Alcohol damages the liver, can the liver recover after quitting alcohol? Besides quitting drinking, what else should I pay attention to?

The liver is the first to be hurt by drinking alcohol, but alcohol is a temptation that many people cannot resist, especially for men.

How does alcohol damage the liver step by step? After quitting drinking, can liver function recover as before? Is it enough to just quit drinking, is there anything else to watch out for?

After alcohol enters the body and reaches the liver, it will convert ethanol into acetaldehyde through the action of ethanol and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, and then into carbon dioxide and water. Although it seems very simple, in the process, alcohol will directly cause damage to liver cells. People who drink for a long time will have a greatly increased risk of developing alcoholic liver.

When liver cells are damaged, liver function will decline, and the function of the liver to secrete bile and metabolize fat will also decline. Long-term drinking will increase the risk of fatty liver.

People with liver disease are often more prone to diabetes, because the liver can store glycogen, and liver function is impaired, resulting in abnormal blood sugar regulation and metabolism.

Whether the liver can recover after quitting drinking depends on the severity of the damage. If the damage is not serious, such as fatty liver or alcoholic liver, if the liver function is slightly damaged, the liver will return to normal. It is possible.

After 3 days of abstinence from alcohol, the liver will begin to repair without the damage of alcohol, but this is also the most difficult time for a person, so you must grit your teeth and insist on not drinking.

After 1 month of quitting drinking, you will find that your blood pressure begins to drop, indicating that the repair of liver function has taken effect. Gradually, the blood lipid and blood sugar levels in the body will become normal, and the liver’s metabolism of lipids will gradually return to normal. .

After 1 year of abstinence from alcohol, the detoxification function of the liver has been greatly repaired, the metabolic capacity has been enhanced, and the risk of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer will be greatly reduced.

However, if you drink for many years and have developed to the stage of alcoholic liver cirrhosis, it may be difficult for your liver to recover even if you stop drinking, because the liver function has been severely damaged at this time, and the liver cells may have been degenerated and necrotic. Hard to turn the tide. However, it is always good to quit drinking, and if you continue to drink, the damage to the liver will only get worse.

In order to restore the liver to health, in addition to quitting alcohol, the following things are best done:

Pay attention to nutritional supplements. You can often eat foods with high protein, low fat and high vitamins, such as eggs, milk, fresh vegetables and fruits, and whole grains, which can promote the recovery of liver function and help the liver to remove toxins.

It also needs to be treated by taking some drugs. Generally speaking, most patients will be recommended to take some liver-protecting drugs and anti-fibrosis drugs. However, each patient's situation is different, and the specific drugs should be based on their actual situation. to decide.

Adherence to moderate exercise is also essential, which can enhance the body's defense ability, enhance the resistance of the liver, and is good for promoting the recovery of liver function. It is recommended that patients exercise more than 30 minutes a day, but not more than 1 hour, and the exercise intensity should not be too large.

A good state of mind and good mood is also of great help to the recovery of the liver. For patients with liver damage caused by drinking alcohol, don’t worry too much. Early detection, early diagnosis, and active treatment can generally reverse the disease, prevent further development of the disease, and prevent cancer.

All in all, the damage of alcohol to the liver is multifaceted, but as long as it is detected in time and treated actively, while quitting alcohol, pay attention to a healthy diet, rational drug use, and correct attitude, it can be reversed. Abstinence from alcohol, liver function is also difficult to restore.