“Does non-alcoholic beer harm your liver?” – This is one of the most commonly requested non-alcoholic beer queries. That is not surprising, given that many people are interested in non-alcoholic beers because they think they are better than alcoholic beers.
Excessive booze consumption is harmful to your liver. That is without a shadow of a question. We cannot, however, a state with the same confidence – or any conviction – that non-alcoholic beers harm your liver. The only thing we can say with certainty about non-alcoholic brews and liver health is that you should consult your doctor before consuming them if you have or are at risk of having liver problems.
This piece will examine some of the essential problems surrounding non-alcoholic beer and liver health.
Table of Contents
The Effects of Alcohol on the Liver
If you’ve been pondering the commotion about alcohol and the liver, let me fill you in.
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The liver is one of the body’s most important and complicated systems. It serves hundreds of purposes, the most important of which is cleansing. The elimination of toxic compounds from the body is referred to as detoxification.
Alcohol Is A Poison
Many beverages, foods, and medications you consume contain toxic compounds harmful to your body. If left neglected, these toxic compounds will circulate in high quantities in the circulation, resulting in adverse health conditions. The liver must avoid this.
One of the toxic chemicals we noted is alcohol. A typical dose of alcohol, such as a 12-ounce beer, takes the liver one hour to metabolize using dehydrogenase enzymes. The liver is almost entirely involved with alcohol metabolism, handling 90-98% of the alcohol in the body.
We’re about to throw in some pharmacokinetics, so attempt to stay up! We guarantee that everything will make sense in the end.
What Is Too Much Alcohol For Your Liver?
Alcohol is broken down in a zero-order process. In layman’s words, this implies that an equal quantity of booze is excreted over time. In other words, the liver’s digestion of alcohol is not affected by the amount of alcohol consumed.
Because the liver can only handle one normal drink, or about 14 grams of alcohol, in an hour, taking anything more puts strain on the liver and raises blood alcohol levels. Over time, excessive consumption takes its toll on the liver, resulting in alcohol-related liver illness. (ARLD).
Cirrhosis is the ultimate and most severe state of ARLD, in which the liver cannot regenerate its cells and becomes irreversibly scarred. According to the American Liver Foundation, cirrhosis affects up to 20% of frequent users.
Which Is Better For Your Liver: Alcoholic Or Non-Alcoholic Beer?
Now that we’ve set the foundation for growing ARLD, let’s decide whether the alcoholic or non-alcoholic beer is healthier for the liver.
While the latter makes more sense, you should know that liver problems are only caused by random or excessive alcohol consumption. So it doesn’t matter what kind of beer you drink; if you consume too much of it, you run the chance of getting liver problems.
However, because non-alcoholic beer includes significantly less alcohol than alcoholic beer, you will need to consume more to reach the “excessive” level. Let’s make it even simpler.
In an hour, the liver can handle approximately 14 grams of alcohol. In an hour, that’s one 5 percent ABV 12-ounce drink. As a result, anything more than that within an hour will be considered extreme.
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Furthermore, the CDC classifies excessive drinking as heavy or binge drinking. Heavy consumption is defined as 8 or more beverages per week for women and 15 or more drinks per week for males. Binge drinking is having four or more drinks for a lady and five or more drinks on one occasion for a male.
Non-alcoholic beverages are not allowed to contain more than 0.5% alcohol by law, but tests indicate that they may contain more. That is approximately 1 gram of booze. The inference is that you must consume more than 10 non-alcoholic drinks in an hour to be considered excessive. For many, this is improbable, if not unattainable. According to this reasoning, non-alcoholic brews are healthier for the liver.
To summarize, how you consume is the most important factor. You can acquire liver problems if you consume too many non-alcoholic or alcoholic beverages.
Non-Alcoholic Beer and Liver Disease
We hope we did a good job describing the connection between non-alcoholic beers and having liver conditions. But what if the individual already has a hepatic disease?
We mentioned in the previous part that alcoholic brews harm the liver if consumed excessively. There is no “if” here. You should not drink booze if you have a liver problem.
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Stopping drinking for two weeks can restore the liver to normal function in the early stage of alcohol-related fatty liver disease. To have a healthy liver in the next step, alcohol hepatitis, you must cease imbibing forever. If a person continues to drink in the ultimate stage, cirrhosis, their odds of surviving for at least five years are cut in half.
When you have liver disease, drinking is an absolute no-no. However, there are differing opinions on whether it is acceptable to consume non-alcoholic lager. Let’s learn more about them.
A Successful Study on Non-Alcoholic Beer and Cirrhosis
This first research suggests that individuals with cirrhosis should consume non-alcoholic beer. They aren’t just claiming that non-alcoholic beer is safe; they think that consuming non-alcoholic beer can assist cirrhosis patients.
The 43-person research looked at how food, exercise, and non-alcoholic lager affected nutritional intake, endothelial function, and quality of life. They then compared the findings to individuals who only did nutrition and exercise.
The findings revealed that all three measured metrics improved in the nonalcoholic beer group but only two in the nonalcoholic beer group.
However, this is far from clear evidence that nonalcoholic beer benefits cirrhotic patients. This research is insufficient to make any conclusions. Patients must still consult with their physicians before consuming nonalcoholic beverages.
Nonalcoholic beer may raise blood ethanol levels in people with liver disease.
This research looked at a 33-year-old male who had been identified with liver failure and had a 14-year history of alcohol addiction, consuming six 12-ounce beers per day. His doctor recommended he stop drinking all alcohol after his diagnosis, but he was permitted to continue drinking nonalcoholic beer.
He had consumed nine 12-ounce cans of nonalcoholic beer between the night and the morning of the hospital visit on which the research is based. His ethanol content in the blood hit 57mg/dl. This demonstrates that even nonalcoholic beer can substantially increase blood levels.
And, because cirrhotic patients already have damaged livers and decreased dehydrogenase enzyme activity, processing the alcohol will be difficult. The research then found that in alcoholic cirrhosis, all types of alcohol should be avoided entirely.
Conclusion
Both alcoholic and nonalcoholic beer can harm the liver if drunk in overabundance. It is much more challenging to hit the “excessive” level with nonalcoholic beers.
The few studies on the impact of nonalcoholic beer on individuals with cirrhosis are contradictory. While one believes that drinking nonalcoholic beer is beneficial, the other vehemently dislike it.
In such cases, we are inclined to favor the more cautious strategy of abstinence. It is not, however, our choice. If you have or are at risk of liver disease, consult your doctor before drinking nonalcoholic lager.
Catherine Previti is a seasoned wine enthusiast with over 8 years of experience in wine tasting and beverage curation. Holding a degree in Viticulture and Enology, she shares expert insights on Vedrinks.com, helping readers navigate the world of wine with confidence. Connect with Catherine on Instagram.
