London – You might think that knocking back a drink six days out of seven doesn’t sound like the most virtuous of health plans.
But according to research, laying off alcohol for just one day a week could significantly reduce your risk of liver damage.
Scientists have previously claimed that people who drink large amounts are the most likely to develop alcoholic cirrhosis.
But now a study of 55 197 people has shown that drinking patterns can also influence your risk of developing the disease.
Volunteers were quizzed on their lifestyle, eating habits and waist circumference as part of the test. They were also asked to report their average alcohol intake in their twenties, thirties, forties and fifties.
Experts found that 342 of the study’s participants were diagnosed with cirrhosis.
They used the information to calculate ‘hazard ratios’ for liver disease in relation to drinking frequency, lifetime alcohol intake and beverage type.
The results, published in the Journal of Hepatology, showed that daily drinking appears to be a risk factor along with the total amount of alcohol consumed.
It found that drinking every day was far more dangerous for our health than consuming alcohol on five or six days a week. The study also showed recent alcohol consumption – rather than lifetime drinking habits – is a stronger predictor of alcoholic cirrhosis.
And it found that wine is linked to a lower risk of the disease compared with beer and spirits. Researcher Dr Gro Askgaard, from Copenhagen University Hospital, said: ‘For the first time, our study points to a risk difference between drinking daily and drinking five or six days a week.
‘We can speculate that the reason may be that daily alcohol exposure inhibits liver regeneration and worsens liver damage.’
Daily Mail