There is no healthy amount of alcohol, as doctors and nutritionists often claim. Or put another way: the only healthy amount of alcohol consumption is zero. In Europe, in fact, 287,000 people die every year from liver diseases.
But hepatologists have agreed that it is unrealistic to make the recommendation not to drink a drop of alcohol, and have established how many days must be without drinking so that the liver can regenerate.
They have determined it at the International Liver Congress, which brought together some of the world’s leading experts on the subject last week in London. There they established that at least three consecutive days without alcohol are needed each week to take care of this organ, so important for the functioning of the organism. This recommendation must be accompanied by moderation and a healthy diet during the rest of the days.
The liver is an essential organ for the proper functioning of the body, since one of its functions is the elimination of substances that can be harmful. “It is a large, complex, and multifunctional organ, which is involved in digestion, secretes bile, stores nutrients, eliminates toxins, and synthesizes enzymes, proteins, and glucose,” Eva Rodríguez, dietitian nutritionist at the HM Delfos Hospital, explained to La Vanguardia.
Liver diseases also have a peculiarity that differentiates them from others: they prey on young and middle-aged people, especially among the most vulnerable population.
Aleksander Krag, deputy secretary general of the European Association for the Study of the Liver, calls for a decided reduction in alcohol consumption, promotion and higher prices. “It’s not that we tell people they can’t drink anything. There are some very good rules to follow, like going three days without drinking each week, never having more than five units of alcohol in a row, and no more than 10 per week,” Krag explains.
Krag qualifies that these amounts, from the point of view of liver disease, may be tolerable, since the liver is an organ with a high regenerative capacity, but this does not mean that they are recommended. “You shouldn’t drink a glass of wine thinking it’s healthy, but because you like it.”
Read the original RAC1 article here.
