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Thursday, December 11, 2014

'Most people who die from liver disease AREN'T alcoholics - they just drink nearly every day'

Experts warn we need a 3-day break each week so the body can recover

Hello my name is Mike, and I'm the sort of guy who could die from liver disease.

I'm not an alcoholic: the seldom-seen-anymore friend fishing on Facebook to be congratulated on his dry anniversary.

I'm not the divorcé at your work who lurches back from lunch with a mouthful of Smints, and gets called into the boss's office the morning after the Christmas party.

Nor the guy on your bus this morning with an open can of electric soup, chemical BO and no particular place to go (why do these folks never have a lie-in?).

No, I'm none of those people.

But I am the sort of guy who could die from liver disease. And possibly so are you.

The reason? I just love a drink. I don't self-medicate or blot out, I drink to enhance life. I scoff at talk like 'I don't like the taste' or 'It's empty calories'.

I love that thirst-shattering beer at the end of the working day, the flavoursome explosion of a glass of red with a meal, the bite of a fine dark rum sipped while contemplating a knotty problem.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not that long ago it was widely believed that the liver could not regenerate.A friend of mine drank himself to death and died at age 45.An autopsy revealed that his liver was perfect, so go figure.The jury may still be out in regard to whether brain cells regenerate,but it wouldn't surprise me ,given the fact that the rest of the body heals itself.

Anonymous said...

Brain cells don't regenerate, but it can create new, alternative connections. It's called (neuro)plasticity. That's why they encourage exercising your brain as you get older to fight off senility.
Google Paul Bach-y-Rita and neuroplasticity and you'll find a guy who could "see" with his tongue.

Anonymous said...

I'll drink to that!