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A month without alcohol restores the liver
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Experts continue to study how alcohol affects the human body. A new study was conducted at the Royal London Hospital, during which a group of volunteers abstained from drinking alcohol for a month. During this period, the participants' bodies underwent significant changes, which allowed scientists to assume that abstaining from drinking alcohol significantly affects a person's life and health.
As it turned out after the end of the experiment, the health of the subjects became significantly better, in particular, the cholesterol level normalized, the liver function improved, which after five weeks of “sober” life was restored and began to function normally.
This experiment proved that giving up alcohol for a month will reduce the level of fat in the liver, blood sugar, bad cholesterol, and also lose an average of 1.5 kg. The participants in the experiment noted that their general well-being became much better, their productivity increased, and their sleep became normal. At this stage, scientists cannot say how many “alcohol-free” months will be needed to fully restore the body and consolidate the effect for a long time. Earlier studies by narcologists have established that the harm caused to the body by alcohol is caused not so much by the amount drunk, but by the unevenness of consumption.
As doctors note, excessive alcohol consumption is a dangerous factor that has a destructive effect on the entire human body. Alcohol in large doses causes maximum harm to the cardiovascular system and the liver, which cannot withstand such a load. The most severe consequences that regular and frequent alcohol consumption leads to are cirrhosis of the liver, as well as significant fatty changes occurring in it. But alcohol in moderate doses improves brain function, reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, rheumatoid arthritis.
Infrequent consumption of red wine in small doses helps prevent the development of caries, Alzheimer's disease, and avoid obesity. Men who drink half a glass of wine daily live on average five years longer than those who do not drink at all, while scientists have found that wine lovers live about 2 years longer than beer lovers. Red wine also prevents the development of lung cancer in smokers, and reduces the risk of intestinal tumors.
But not only red wine helps to reduce the development of some diseases, light beer also has a positive effect on the body, protecting it from radiation, strengthening bones, preventing the development of osteoporosis. But alcohol consumption also has a negative side, since frequent alcohol consumption (in any form) contributes to the development of cancer. Doctors have found that people who drink a large glass of wine or 0.5 liters of beer every day, the risk of developing a malignant tumor of the intestine increases by 10%. And for those who like to drink several times a week, the risk of developing esophageal cancer increases by 83%, compared to teetotalers or people who drink occasionally. In addition, frequent and excessive alcohol consumption significantly worsens memory, even in young people.
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