Detox Will Not Help a Fatty Liver

April 21st, 2022 by Dr S Smithson Leave a reply »

Taking a regular daily or weekly break from alcohol or bad foods is preferable to a short, sharp detox for a fatty liver.
This is especially important to minimise fatty liver growth and to start a long-term process to restore liver health.

Setting New Year resolutions of giving up alcohol or going on a detox for one month is pointless, especially after the excesses of the festive season.
Instead, drinkers should make a decision to stay off alcohol for a few days every week throughout the whole year.

Detox Will Not Help a Fatty Liver

Experts agree that a short period of complete abstinence will not improve fatty liver health.
A longer-term attitude to alcohol and diet is more desirable, the charity said.

Andrew Langford, chief executive of the British Liver Trust, said that people tend to believe the newspaper hype about rejuvenating their liver by detoxing in January. People think they’re virtuous with their health by embarking on a liver detox each January with the belief that they are cleansing their liver of excess following the festive break.

“Detoxing can lead to a false sense of security and feeds the idea that you can abuse your liver as much as you like.” Says Dr Mark Wright of Southampton General Hospital

“A one-hit, one-month attempt to achieve long-term liver health is not the way to approach it. You’re better off making a resolution to take a few days off alcohol a week throughout the entire year than remaining abstinent for January only.”

The thinking behind this approach is that the total alcohol intake per person is kept down and the liver is given time to recover each week.
Providing the liver has no lasting damage, it can repair itself very quickly, taking as little as 24 hours to go back to normal.

Detoxing also creates its own problems.
“Detoxing for just a month in January is medically futile. It can lead to a false sense of security and feeds the idea that you can abuse your liver as much as you like and then sort everything else with a quick fix. It makes about as much sense as maxing out your credit cards and overdraft all year, then thinking you can fix it by just eating toast in January. The figures just don’t stack up,” said Dr Wright.

If you are overweight you increase your risk of liver disease by three times if you drink alcohol too.

The British Liver Trust is launching a campaign to encourage people to maintain a healthy liver. As part of the campaign, it is advises eating well and exercising regularly.

But alcohol isn’t the main source of a fatty liver, it just amplifies the bad effects of an unhealthy diet. Cutting down on your daily food indulgences and not overloading on sugary drinks will all help to optimise your liver function. The Ezra Protocol explained here details the steps required to manage an effective and easily implemented dietary change plan that will allow you to see benefits and a reversal of fatty liver.

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