According to Dr. Ameet Mandot (Director of Liver Department at Gleneagles Hospital, Parel, India), liver damage often begins quietly, making it easy for patients to ignore early warning signs. Initial symptoms are often unclear, including persistent fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, discomfort in the abdomen and unexplained weight loss.
When the injury is more severe, the body will show obvious manifestations such as jaundice or yellow eyes, swollen abdomen (ascites), easily bruised or bleeding and severe physical weakness. Dr. Mandot emphasized that if you regularly drink alcohol and have digestive problems for unknown reasons, liver function checks are mandatory.
Although doctors always recommend completely avoiding alcohol, if you choose to drink it, moderation is a very important factor.
Dr. Mandot said that the maximum limit to minimize risk is one glass per day for both men and women. A standard glass is equivalent to 30ml of strong alcohol (whisky, vodka, rum), 100ml of wine or 250ml of beer. Exceeding this limit will increase pressure on the liver, leading to fatty liver, hepatitis and permanent cirrhosis.
Notably, the concept of social drinking or only drinking on weekends as harmless is completely wrong. Even drinking irregularly can cause liver damage, especially in people who drink alcohol drunk at once or have pre-existing risk factors such as obesity. Each time they consume alcohol, the liver has to work hard to handle it; repeated exposure leads to inflammation and scar formation.
Liver damage does not necessarily take many years to appear. Only after a few weeks of drinking alcohol regularly or drinking too much, the liver may begin to become fatty. If not stopped, alcoholic hepatitis will occur within a few months to years and eventually lead to irreversible cirrhosis.
The group at highest risk includes diabetic patients, obese people, people with hepatitis B, C or family history of liver disease.
To protect the liver, Dr. Mandot advises everyone to avoid or quit alcohol; Maintain a balanced diet with plenty of fruits, green vegetables and whole grains; Exercise regularly and maintain a reasonable weight; Drink enough water and have regular liver function checks.
