By Gillian May: For Complete Post, Click Here…
I’m a former nurse and recovering alcoholic and I write about alcohol and our health. My goal is to educate people about the health risks of alcohol use because most of us don’t fully understand the effect that alcohol has on our bodies. I recently got a question asking whether our bodies can repair themselves once we quit drinking.
The short answer is yes, absolutely. However, to what extent this repair happens depends on how much we drank and for how long, and whether we have other health conditions. As I explain below, although many organs recover, our nervous system may be more sluggish.
Amount and frequency of alcohol use
The degree to which we can physically recover from alcohol abuse depends on how much we drank and for how long. For example, a younger alcoholic who drank heavily for five years may likely recover faster than an older alcoholic who drank for decades. Simply put, the more damage the body receives from alcohol over time, the less it can recover. But that’s not to say recovery doesn’t happen even for the older alcoholic.
I should say that age itself is not a predictor, rather it’s how long and heavy a person drank over the lifespan. Because even younger alcoholics can get into trouble with their health if they drink extreme amounts very frequently.
