According to Greek mythology, Zeus punished Prometheus for giving fire to humanity. He ordered Prometheus to be chained to a rock and sent an eagle to feast on his liver. Each night, the liver would regenerate, and every day the eagle returned for its meal. So can this vital organ really regenerate?
The liver is the largest internal organ in the human body. It is essential for hundreds of processes, including breaking down toxins like alcohol. Since it is the first organ to encounter ingested alcohol, it’s no surprise that it is the most susceptible to its effects.
Dr. Ashwin Dhanda, a hepatologist at the University of Plymouth in the UK and a consultant on alcoholic liver disease, sees people every day with alcohol-related conditions. They range from fatty liver disease to the formation of scar tissue (cirrhosis). Typically, these conditions show no symptoms until the later stages of damage.
What Happens to a Heavy Drinker’s Liver
Alcohol causes the liver to become fatty. This fat leads to inflammation. In response, the liver attempts to heal itself by forming scar tissue. If this continues unchecked, the entire liver can turn into a network of scars with only small surviving islands of healthy tissue. This is what cirrhosis looks like.
In the later stages, when the liver begins to fail, a person may develop jaundice (yellowing of the skin), experience swelling from fluid retention, become lethargic and disoriented, and ultimately die.
Those who regularly drink more than the recommended limit develop fatty liver. (The officially accepted weekly alcohol limit in many countries is 14 units: that’s about six pints of average-strength beer or six 175-milliliter glasses of wine).
How Quitting Alcohol Affects Liver Health
Fortunately, there is good news. In people with fatty liver, just two to three weeks of abstaining from alcohol can allow the organ to fully regenerate and function like new, as reported by Science Alert.
Even within seven days of quitting alcohol, people with liver inflammation or minor scarring show a noticeable reduction in fat and scar tissue. Stopping alcohol consumption for several months can allow the liver to recover and return to normal.
For people with severe scarring or liver failure, staying abstinent for several years reduces the risk of further liver failure and death.
However, people who drink heavily and regularly should know that suddenly stopping alcohol can have unpleasant—even dangerous—consequences. People with mild dependence may experience tremors and sweating. In severe cases, withdrawal can cause hallucinations, seizures, and even death. Don’t stop drinking abruptly; consult a doctor for a safe detox plan, Dr. Dhanda says.
The Benefits of an Alcohol-Free Life
Dr. Dhanda says quitting alcohol improves sleep, cognitive function, and blood pressure.
If you stop drinking for an extended period, your risk of developing certain cancers (liver, pancreas, and colon) falls significantly. Your chance of cardiovascular disease and stroke also goes down.
Dr. Dhanda notes that alcohol is not the only cause of poor health. Quitting isn’t a cure-all. Staying alcohol-free should be part of a healthy lifestyle that includes a balanced diet and regular exercise.
So, in response to the myth about Prometheus: the liver does have an impressive ability to regenerate after damage. But it cannot fully recover if serious scarring is present.
Drink in moderation and schedule two to three alcohol-free days each week. “That way, you won’t have to rely on the magic of liver self-healing to stay healthy,” Dr. Dhanda says.
