The liver is responsible for many functions in the body. It filters toxins from the blood, aids in digestion, regulates blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and helps fight infection and disease. Whenever you drink alcohol, the liver filters it, causing some of its cells to die. The liver can make new cells, but long-term alcohol consumption can impair its ability to regenerate. This can lead to serious and permanent damage to your liver. If the liver becomes damaged, it won't be able to break down fats, leading to alcoholic fatty liver disease, the earliest stage of alcohol-related liver disease (ARLD). A person with fatty liver disease may experience symptoms such as poor appetite, sudden weight loss, abdominal pain, weakness, exhaustion, and confusion.
Cutting back on alcohol can cause fatty liver to diminish, and just six weeks of abstaining from alcohol can make it completely disappear. However, if you continue to drink alcohol -- even if you're healthy -- it can lead to liver inflammation, which can ultimately cause cirrhosis or scarring of the liver.
In the study, researchers from Longyan University and the University of Science and Technology of China carried out a metabolomic analysis to examine the effects of alcohol consumption and curcumin on the liver of mice. Curcumin has been known to possess powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. However, its effect on fat metabolism in the liver has not yet been fully understood.
In conducting the study, the team treated mice with ethanol to induce alcoholic fatty liver disease. As a result, fat stores in the liver increased, which then led to alcoholic fatty liver disease. However, upon curcumin treatment, changes in liver fat metabolism brought about by ethanol were suppressed. These results suggest that curcumin has the ability to improve alcohol-induced fatty liver by suppressing fatty acid biosynthesis.
With these findings, the researchers concluded that curcumin has protective effects against alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Preventing and treating fatty liver disease
Making healthy lifestyle changes can help prevent or reverse some of the damage caused by having a fatty liver. In addition to abstaining alcohol, a person with a fatty liver should do the following:
- Safely lose weight, which means losing one to two pounds per week
- Reduce triglyceride levels through diet
- Controlling blood sugar levels
- Adhering to a balanced, healthy diet
- Exercising more
Studies have also shown that taking supplements can help protect against fatty liver disease. A 2005 study has suggested that taking vitamin E and C supplements, both of which are antioxidants, can help reduce enzymes that are typically elevated in people with fatty liver disease. Some studies also suggest taking herbal medicines like milk thistle and licorice root. Milk thistle has been used as a traditional remedy to enhance the production of enzymes that help the liver eliminate toxins, while licorice root blocks liver damage from alcohol consumption. (Related: Miracle molecule from licorice root nullifies liver damage from alcohol and Tylenol... stunning scientific research has been systematically suppressed by Big Pharma and the FDA.)
Read more stories on natural ways to keep the liver healthy by going to LiverDamage.news.
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