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Alcohol consumption can be a controversial topic. There is much evidence that some types of alcohol, in limited quantities can have some positive health benefits. However, alcohol can be very detrimental to your health if consumed in quantity over a long period of time. The liver is the organ most commonly damaged by excessive drinking, although the esophagus and nervous system can also be damaged in severe cases.

Liver damage due to alcohol consumption follows a spectrum of severity. The more you drink, the more severe the damage becomes. As the problems progress, they also become harder to reverse as well.

Alcohol is the most common cause of irreversible liver disease, with alcoholic cirrhosis being one of the leading causes of death in America. Every year over 25,000 people die from liver cirrhosis in America.

Early damage to the liver from alcohol is known as fatty liver or hepatic steatosis. This forms after short term drinking of about eight to ten drinks per day. When ethanol is metabolized by your liver it produces a chemical known as NADH , which is used in fat synthesis. The fat then accumulates in the liver cells, causing the liver to enlarge. People with this problem usually have no symptoms and this condition is totally reversible if the person simply stops drinking.

Alcoholic hepatitis is another problem related to excessive drinking. It often follows episodes of binge drinking. Women seem to be more at risk of this problem, possibly because they have lower levels of alcohol dehydrogenase , which is the enzyme used to breakdown ethanol. People who suffer from this will complain of upper abdominal pain, weight loss, lack of appetite and a general feeling of tiredness. Alcoholic hepatitis can be very dangerous with up to 10% of patients dying despite treatment. If the person is able to stop drinking and survives the acute episode, much of this damage can reverse itself. However, repeated episodes of alcoholic hepatitis can lead to cirrhosis.

Cirrhosis is the liver's response to repeated injury. The liver becomes filled with tough fibrous bands and the cells clump together to form nodules. Eventually the fibrosis and nodules cause the liver to shrink and become hard. Blood flow through the liver becomes disrupted, elevating the pressure in a part of the circulation known as the portal system. This elevation in blood pressure can cause secondary damage in the form of esophageal varicies , hemorrhoids, and distended veins around the umbilicus. The spleen

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