How much of a beating can a liver take?

TheMagic1an said:
If you have to ask then it's better not to drink at all. Your going to damage your liver to some degree if you binge drink every weekend, especially if your younger. That's why i choose not to touch the stuff. Anyone that can drink 8 beers one after another is just mad in my opinion, i rather drink 8 bottles of water.
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It's one of those "wooo look at how much I drink" threads. Utterly pointless and only ever make the OP look irresponsible.

No wonder there are drink problems in Britain with attitudes like this.
 
The liver is a remarkable organ. If you chop it in half it grows back! Like a giant earthworm inside your body eww!
 
i should be dead by now but im not try i have about 2 nights a week sober and add years on to that :P

normal night for me is a 3 litre bottle of cheapo cider followed by a few cans....
 
What you should know is the liver has amazing recuperative abilities. It can repair itself constantly. However, once the liver gets damaged beyond a certain point, that's it - irreparably screwed.

From that point your life will be changed, as you'd have to watch everything you drank (probably no alcohol at all) and your life may well be shortened.
 
well bearing in mind students do 4 years of 5 night a week drinking then you should be fine

you gotta remember that the liver was designed with students and russians/irish in mind
 
TheMagic1an said:
If you have to ask then it's better not to drink at all. Your going to damage your liver to some degree if you binge drink every weekend, especially if your younger. That's why i choose not to touch the stuff. Anyone that can drink 8 beers one after another is just mad in my opinion, i rather drink 8 bottles of water.
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Which probably isn't ideal for the body either, excess in almost anything isn't good for you. I'd also thought that if you drank very large quantities of water you risked flushing out vital salts etc, in rare and extreme cases leading to hypotranemia although perhaps someone wants to correct me if my understanding is wrong.
 
You can stress your liver for years and it can lead to cancer/liver transplant etc.

If your worried have a blood test and look at the gamma GT reading.

I should add that it isn't just alcohol that stresses it - caffeine & certain foods
 
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My father has managed to be trolleyed every day since i've been alive, and probably a good deal before that. So, at least 30 years.

He is however a total git, so it's probably not your liver you shoudl be worrying about.
 
I know someone who's got a rather shortened life expectancy thanks to liver disease, and he didn't even drink alcohol :/

I would suggest not getting hammered on a regular basis ;)
 
Correct.

The Liver is the only organ in the body that can reproduce the cells needed to grow back although I think it might not count if you cut half your liver out. I remember a doctor telling me it’s around 30% or less.

Because there are very little nerves in your Liver, it is near impossible to physically feel any pain if you damage your Liver beyond repair. Hence many people having irreparable damage.

Always best to just look after it in the 1st place ;)
 
Scuzi said:
My alcoholic uncle has drank between 1 and 3 litres of vodka a day, every day, for the past 20 odd years and he's still alive - just. He's quite yellow and is probably going to die soon.

But if he's still alive then the liver can take a hell of a beating.
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It really depends on the individual. My best friend's brother drank about a 750ml of vodka almost every day for about 10 years...and he's 32 with a liver transplant.

It is surprisingly resilient though, I'm pretty sure when people donate 1/2 their liver...it ends up growing back to around 90% it's original size.

However, the more you drink the more at risk you are for all sorts of nasty cancers (stomach cancer, one of the most common), mouth/throat cancer.....all that nice stuff
 
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As was stated,

I know 2 people who have bad livers (and reduced life expectancy)

One managed to damage his liver at 9 (by getting Hepatitis) - The other damaged his by taken an overdose of prescribed and over-the counter drugs (as well as too much soft drinks the Doctor stated) Neither drink (as they were advised not too)


It depends entirely on the individual. Some people can down a bottle of spirits a day with no effect - as proved by 3 of my relatives. Some people can only manage a beer a week (and even that does some damage) - as can be seen here :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_flush_reaction

It all depends on how your body breaks the Alcohol down and what chemicals it creates when it does it - One of the reasons you can drink your usual drink and not get as drunk after many weeks is because your liver has 'more' of the necessary enzymes to break down your chosen tipple more easily. Try a new drink or mix a new spirit with a coks/sprite - and your will most likely get more drunk - as your liver doesn't know how to break it down quickly.

Some driks - like red wine have upwards of 30 unique chemicals in them - so imagine how your liver deals with that.....
 
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divosuk said:
Some driks - like red wine have upwards of 30 unique chemicals in them - so imagine how your liver deals with that.....
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When drunk in moderation, Red Wine does contain many compounds that are actually a benefit to the Liver. They break down the fat's that build up around the Liver, contain many Antioxidants for the stomach/bowel and has been proven to also break down the fat's that build up in Artery's from smoking.
 
As seen in The Simpsons, just ensure you have enough offspring in later life to cater for all your organ needs. Oh wait that only works with kidneys. Better go see a doctor then.
 
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