ASDA Health Matters

Your liver is not indestructible. Your liver can take a lot of punishment and it can regenerate cells but if it gets severely scarred (cirrhosis) as a result of damage from alcohol, being overweight or another liver disease, it can't repair itself. Damage is permanent, and all the important jobs the liver does - like filtering the blood to remove toxins - will be hindered.

Although your liver can still function with just a small percentage of it working, this is when symptoms may appear and you may suddenly feel unwell.

Did you know:

• The liver is the biggest organ in the whole body (except the skin, which is ON the body, not IN it). In an adult, it is as big as a rugby ball.
• If your body was a country, the liver would take care of manufacturing, delivering food, getting rid of rubbish, and supplying all the energy.
• If the liver stops working, so do the rest of the organs in the body.

Around 10 million people in England drink too much, costing the NHS a whopping £2.7 billion a year. Alcohol misuse increases your risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke and high blood pressure, and it's linked with 22,000 premature deaths every year.

Perhaps most commonly associated with excessive drinking is liver disease. Drinking too much alcohol, or being very overweight, makes the liver fatty, which means that the cells get bloated and can't work as well. This causes swelling and inflammation and can lead to cirrhosis.

Cirrhosis can be caused by other things, such as viral diseases (hepatitis B and hepatitis C). Hepatitis means ‘inflammation of the liver' and around half of all liver problems are due to excessive alcohol. Four people every hour are admitted to hospital with alcoholic cirrhosis.

The risk of liver disease is up to 13 times higher in people who drink above guideline levels. The British Liver Trust suggests sticking to the guidelines and avoiding alcohol on at least two consecutive days a week to give your liver time to recover.

Measuring up

So, you want to cut down on alcohol but you're baffled by ABV, units and measures?

One unit is the amount of pure alcohol in a 25ml single measure of spirits, a third of a pint of beer or half a standard glass (175mls) of red wine. Seems simple enough, but the reality is more complicated. Bars often serve spirits in single measures of 35ml, a large glass of wine contains as much as one-third of a bottle, and many lagers, ales and ciders are stronger than ever before.

It's recommended that men should not regularly drink more than 3-4 units of alcohol per day - around one pint - and women not more than 2-3 units of alcohol per day - less than one large glass of wine.

ABV means the percentage alcohol by volume - you'll find this figure on the front of bottles and cans. The strength can vary enormously - red wine might be 10 or 11% or as much as 15 or 16%. Packaging now often shows the amount of units contained in a bottle of wine or can of beer, so it's worth checking labels if you're trying to cut down. You can also figure out how many units your drink contains using this calculation:

Amount in millilitres multiplied by ABV, divided by 1000.

For example:

250ml glass of wine multiplied by 13% ABV , divided by 1000 = 3.25 units
330ml bottle of lager multiplied by 5% ABV, divided by 1000 = 1.65 units

How many units are you drinking?

Bacardi Breezer 1.1 units per bottle
Wkd 1.4 units per bottle
Corona 1.5 units per bottle
Fosters 2.3 units per pint
Guinness 2.4 units per pint
Stella Artois 2.8 units per pint
Chilean Chardonnay 2.3 units per glass (175ml)
Australian Shiraz 2.4 units per glass (175ml)

Less is more

At this time of year, when the excesses of Christmas are just around the corner, it's worth planning ahead to keep your drinking at safe levels.

• Elderflower cordial is a grown-up soft drink - serve with crushed ice and a twist of lime.
• Instead of G&T, add a splash of Angostura bitters to tonic water and serve in a long glass over ice.
• Mix one part fresh apple or cranberry juice to one part sparkling water for a long, refreshing drink that's not too sweet.
• Leave out the vodka for a Virgin Mary instead of a Bloody Mary.
• Try a classic St Clements - half bitter lemon and half fresh orange juice.
• Dilute white wine with sparkling or soda water to make a spritzer.
• Check labels for ABV and choose lower alcohol versions - many beers and wines these days are stronger than you think.
• Drink sitting down - you'll drink more slowly if you put your glass down between sips.
• Alternate alcoholic drinks with a glass of water or other non-alcoholic drink, especially if it's going to be a long session.
• Ask for a small glass of wine instead of large.
• Try shandy instead of lager.
• Don't let your glass be topped up before it's empty.
• Try not to buy drinks in rounds -it's easy to drink more than you intend.
• Avoid salty snacks like crisps and nuts - they'll make you thirsty (but do eat a meal before you drink).

Myths about drinking

Binge drinking is only a problem among young people

While the media paints lurid pictures of booze-fuelled young people staggering around city centres on a Saturday night, the reality is less clear cut. A definitive measure of binge drinking hasn't been agreed but it's understood as drinking heavily or having enough alcohol to become drunk during one drinking session.
Going halves on a bottle of Aussie Shiraz every evening may not have you fighting in the streets, but you'll be far exceeding the recommended limits and may increase your risk of depression, high blood pressure, stroke and liver disease.

Mixing your drinks makes you more drunk

This goes for the ‘wine before beer' myth too: the fact is, alcohol makes you drunk - the more alcohol you drink, the more drunk you'll become. This myth has probably arisen because mixing your drinks tends to happen when you're drinking a lot anyway. Mixing your drinks can upset your stomach and make you sick, though, so it's not a good idea in any case.

A couple of glasses of red wine is good for you

If you're middle-aged, an older man or a post-menopausal woman, drinking around one unit each day may reduce the risk of heart disease. One unit is equivalent to half a standard glass - about 90mls - of red wine. A healthy balanced diet with lots of wholegrains, fruit and veg and oily fish plus plenty of exercise is more likely to help, and has lots of other health benefits too.

A few drinks will cheer you up

Small amounts of alcohol - the first drink, or two - can reduce tension and lower your inhibitions, but it can also exaggerate the emotions you have at the time, so if you're feeling sad or angry it can make you feel much worse. Alcohol runs down your brain's stores of the natural chemicals it uses to reduce anxiety and lift mood so the more you drink, the worse you'll feel.

For more infomation on alcohol why not listen to our 'alcohol podcast'?