Dr. Sarah Wakeman

You would still be able to live and they would get a second chance at life from that part of your liver. So it's this really cool organ that can regenerate. But it can only regenerate up to a point. So once you get to a level where you have a lot of scar tissue in your liver, we call that cirrhosis, you sort of reach a point of no return where at that point the liver can't heal itself.

You would still be able to live and they would get a second chance at life from that part of your liver. So it's this really cool organ that can regenerate. But it can only regenerate up to a point. So once you get to a level where you have a lot of scar tissue in your liver, we call that cirrhosis, you sort of reach a point of no return where at that point the liver can't heal itself.

So I sort of think of it like, to use a baking analogy, if you're making muffins or a cake, You're going along, you're mixing all your ingredients and you realize before you put things in the oven, like, oh, I forgot the eggs. You can still add the eggs in and like whisk it all together and it's going to be okay.

So I sort of think of it like, to use a baking analogy, if you're making muffins or a cake, You're going along, you're mixing all your ingredients and you realize before you put things in the oven, like, oh, I forgot the eggs. You can still add the eggs in and like whisk it all together and it's going to be okay.

If the muffins are baking in the oven and you forgot the eggs, you can't like pour the eggs on top and make the batter the same. And the liver is sort of like that, that up to a certain degree, you can actually completely repair the effects of things like alcohol or obesity, other things. But once you pass that point into scar tissue, the liver can't regenerate anymore.

If the muffins are baking in the oven and you forgot the eggs, you can't like pour the eggs on top and make the batter the same. And the liver is sort of like that, that up to a certain degree, you can actually completely repair the effects of things like alcohol or obesity, other things. But once you pass that point into scar tissue, the liver can't regenerate anymore.

And so when you think about that graph or just the rising rates of liver disease, the main drivers of liver disease are obesity and two is alcohol. And so those are the leading causes of liver transplant. And the thing that is so sad is, I mean, I see this all the time working in the hospital is, first of all, we're seeing younger and younger people coming in and liver failure.

And so when you think about that graph or just the rising rates of liver disease, the main drivers of liver disease are obesity and two is alcohol. And so those are the leading causes of liver transplant. And the thing that is so sad is, I mean, I see this all the time working in the hospital is, first of all, we're seeing younger and younger people coming in and liver failure.

So people in their 20s coming in and fulminant liver failure from alcohol and then dying in the hospital. And the terrible thing is that they often didn't even know that this was causing a problem in their health. And by the time they get to the hospital, they're so sick, it's too late. And yet all of that could have been prevented or even repaired if it was caught sooner.

So people in their 20s coming in and fulminant liver failure from alcohol and then dying in the hospital. And the terrible thing is that they often didn't even know that this was causing a problem in their health. And by the time they get to the hospital, they're so sick, it's too late. And yet all of that could have been prevented or even repaired if it was caught sooner.

And so that's where I think this education of understanding, like, what really are the health harms of alcohol? And that we have normalized binge drinking on many occasions, especially in young people, as being totally normal. And yet there are very serious health consequences.

And so that's where I think this education of understanding, like, what really are the health harms of alcohol? And that we have normalized binge drinking on many occasions, especially in young people, as being totally normal. And yet there are very serious health consequences.

Yeah. I mean, so first, every person is different. One blowout weekend, you probably would be fine. Anyone would probably be fine. The challenge is one blowout weekend then leads to like multiple blowout weekends. And then over time, that can actually accelerate the damage to your liver.

Yeah. I mean, so first, every person is different. One blowout weekend, you probably would be fine. Anyone would probably be fine. The challenge is one blowout weekend then leads to like multiple blowout weekends. And then over time, that can actually accelerate the damage to your liver.

as long as you haven't gotten to that scarring phase. So once you get too far down that path, even if you were to stop drinking, your liver won't recover. The hard thing is that we don't totally understand who and why that happens so young too. So this is an active area investigation because there are people who've been drinking for 60 years and their livers don't show signs of scarring.

as long as you haven't gotten to that scarring phase. So once you get too far down that path, even if you were to stop drinking, your liver won't recover. The hard thing is that we don't totally understand who and why that happens so young too. So this is an active area investigation because there are people who've been drinking for 60 years and their livers don't show signs of scarring.

And then we're seeing these young people at 25 who come in and die in the hospital. And so there are individual factors that you don't have any way of knowing that are gonna impact your risk of developing liver inflammation and scar tissue. And so the safest way to prevent that is to not drink in these really high ways that we know are going to lead to harm.

And then we're seeing these young people at 25 who come in and die in the hospital. And so there are individual factors that you don't have any way of knowing that are gonna impact your risk of developing liver inflammation and scar tissue. And so the safest way to prevent that is to not drink in these really high ways that we know are going to lead to harm.

The other way is to get medical care because often we do detect these things through blood tests and we can do ultrasounds. And when we see those early phases, so what happens first is you actually get fat deposition in your liver. That's the first step. And then we see inflammation and fatty liver.

The other way is to get medical care because often we do detect these things through blood tests and we can do ultrasounds. And when we see those early phases, so what happens first is you actually get fat deposition in your liver. That's the first step. And then we see inflammation and fatty liver.