Diet and Exercise May Protect the Liver From Alcohol Damage

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New research suggests that following a healthy diet and staying physically active can lower the risk of dying from liver disease — even among people who drink alcohol heavily or binge drink.

Alcohol is well known to damage the liver over time. Drinking too much raises the chances of serious problems, including cirrhosis, liver failure and even death. But this study shows that lifestyle choices like diet and exercise may help reduce some of that risk.

“A significant knowledge gap exists regarding the interplay of dietary patterns and physical activity with alcohol-attributable liver-specific mortality. It is not well understood whether healthy diets or increased physical activity levels explain differences in liver-specific mortality risks between lifetime abstainers and light to moderate alcohol consumers,” said lead investigator Naga Chalasani, M.D., of the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at Indiana University School of Medicine.

“More importantly, it remains unclear whether a healthy diet and physical activity can lower liver-specific mortality in individuals engaging in high-risk alcohol consumption, such as heavy or binge drinking.”

The Study at a Glance

Researchers analyzed data from more than 60,000 U.S. adults who participated in the long-running National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Participants were followed for an average of 12 years, and their health records were linked to national death certificate data to track outcomes.

People were grouped based on drinking habits:

• Nondrinkers: Never or former drinkers
• Current drinkers: People who reported drinking in the past year

The study also considered diet quality (measured by the Healthy Eating Index) and physical activity levels (meeting or exceeding federal guidelines for exercise).

Key Findings

• Alcohol raises liver risks: Both daily alcohol use and binge drinking were linked with a higher chance of dying from liver disease. Even light drinking was associated with some increased risk.
• Diet and exercise make a difference: People who ate healthier diets and were physically active had significantly lower risks of liver-related death, regardless of how much they drank.
• Benefits seen across all drinking patterns: Healthy habits helped non-heavy drinkers, heavy drinkers and even binge drinkers.
• Women gained more protection than men: Women who followed healthy diets and exercised regularly showed greater liver survival benefits compared with men.

Numbers That Stand Out

• Binge drinkers had over twice the risk of liver-related death compared with non-binge drinkers.
• Healthy eating was linked to as much as an 86% lower risk of liver-related death among heavy drinkers.
• Regular physical activity reduced the risk of liver-related death by 36% in heavy drinkers and 69% in binge drinkers.
• Together, diet and exercise offered strong protection, even for those drinking at risky levels.

Liver disease is often called a “silent killer” because damage can build up for years without obvious symptoms. By the time problems appear, they can be serious or even life-threatening.

This study highlights that while alcohol use is a major risk factor, lifestyle choices still matter. Eating a nutritious diet and being active may give your liver a better chance to stay healthy, even if you drink alcohol.

“The uniqueness of our study lies in its ability to simultaneously assess the moderating effects of two important lifestyle behaviors on liver mortality risk across different levels and patterns of alcohol consumption in a representative U.S. population, offering a more nuanced and complete view of the risks of drinking,” said Chalasani.