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The Biggest Risk for Liver Damage is Not Alcohol
Health Alert 260
Dear Subscriber:
Most of my patients figure as long as they don't overuse alcoholic or drugs, their liver is safe.
Today, you'll read surprising new evidence that being overweight or obese actually puts you at a higher risk for liver damage than alcohol. Plus, you'll see the latest advice if you like to have a beer or glass of wine.
* Accelerated Liver Damage in the Obese and Overweight *
You've seen the movies - an alcoholic spends his last days in a drunken stupor and then dies a woman's arms. A terrible tragedy indeed.
Yet, new evidence suggests that contrary to the Hollywood dramas, alcohol contributes to only 6% of liver damage. The much higher risk factor for liver damage is obesity. It alone contributes to 52% of liver disease.
And when an overweight person drinks, the chances of liver damage are dramatically increased. Let's look at some real numbers so you can see exactly what the risks are if you are lugging around some extra pounds.
If you're overweight, you have a twofold increased risk. If you're obese (body mass index over 30), you're four times more likely to develop liver damage than a normal-weight individual.1
When you add alcohol to the mix, it gets even scarier if you're overweight. For example, a normal-weight individual who drinks two or more glasses of alcohol a day has a twofold risk of liver damage. While an obese person with the same drinking habits has a 5.9-fold increase - that's nearly six times the chance of liver disease. And overweight people drinking two or more glasses a day have a 3.4-fold increased risk.1
But surprisingly, normal-weight people who didn't drink at all had just as much risk of liver disease as normal-weight individuals who drank a couple of glasses of wine with their supper.1 So unless you drink to extremes, it really comes down to your weight.
* The Sure Way to Reduce Your Risk - Lose the Weight *
If you haven't started on a weight loss plan, get started today. It doesn't have to be difficult. My most important rule of healthy weight loss is to simply eating foods in their natural, unadulterated forms. That includes red meat, fish, poultry, dairy, eggs, most vegetables, most fruits and nuts.2
Avoid anything processed or refined. And start a heart healthy exercise program - like my PACE program which I've discussed in previous Health Alerts. You can start out easy with just a few walks around the block - just 10 minutes of variable intensity exercise each day.
And when you lose weight, not only will you reduce your risks of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, but now we know you'll reduce risk of liver disease as well.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears MD
Sources:
1. Obesity is the Cause of Most U.S. Liver Damage: Risk of Disease Fourfold Higher in Obese. Mitchel L. Zoler. Family Practice News. July 1, 2004.
2. Sears, A. The Doctor's Heart Cure Book. Dragon Door Publication: Minnesota. 2004.
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