Can You Drink Beer if You Have a Fatty Liver? Here’s What You Need to Know

Is beer one of the many things you have to give up if you have a fatty liver disease? This is what we’re going to talk about today and let me start with a spoiler alert: I don’t have good news for beer lovers!

The Quick Answer

If you don’t care about all the details, here’s the quick answer to the question in the title:

No, you shouldn’t drink beer – or any type of alcohol – if you’ve been diagnosed with a fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Even small amounts can harm your liver or at least make it harder to reverse the condition.

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Drinking beer with fatty liver disease

“Just a small bottle of beer. Can I drink that? Am I allowed to drink at least a glass of beer now and then if I have a fatty liver? It can’t do much damage now, can it?”

These are the questions that most people start asking after they start dieting to reverse NAFLD. Because the truth is that you don’t have to be an alcoholic to miss drinking a glass of cold beer during a hot summer’s day (I know, I’ve been there).

But, just like it is the case of drinking wine after being diagnosed, your favorite brew gets on the list you’re no longer allowed to have. I would go as far as saying “never again” – not even after reversing fatty liver!

Why? I’m glad you asked!

Alcohol harms your body & liver

I mentioned this in my previous article talking about giving up alcohol to heal your liver, but this is the summary in terms of the harm it causes to your liver:

1. Cell Damage and Scarring: Alcohol damages liver cells, leading to inflammation and scarring, which can progress to more serious conditions like cirrhosis.
2. Gut Health Impact: It disrupts the gut barrier, allowing harmful bacteria to reach the liver and cause further damage.

For healthy people, even though also risky, drinking beer in moderation might not be as bad. But for those who already have liver-related problems, even tiny amounts can be dangerous.

We do have options, like non-alcoholic beer (I will go in-depth below) or non-alcoholic wine. These could also make the transition to an alcohol-free life easier.

So, just to make things clear: as long as there’s alcohol in it, you are not allowed to have it.

You are not allowed to “eat” a cupcake if it has been soaked in whiskey and you can’t eat your cereals with beer instead of milk (saw it as a joke in the hilarious Netflix series The Ranch).

Alcohol is not food. Beer is alcohol. You are not allowed to have it.

Could a glass of beer really do that much damage?

Nobody can say exactly how much damage drinking a single glass of beer does to your liver. There are multiple factors coming into play here, including genetics, so each person reacts differently.

Due to the low alcohol content of most beer, chances are that the damage won’t be that big.

But there are, again, two things to consider here and long-term damage is a prospect if you’re suffering from a fatty liver and still drink alcohol:

First, it’s tempting to think that a single glass of beer won’t make a difference. But habits can creep up quickly. What starts as a glass a month might become a glass a week, a glass a day, then “just one more glass”.

This can quickly spiral out of control and it’s too much of a risk!

Plus, chances are that, if you can live for 29 days without drinking any beer, you can easily add another day per month. The same goes for the weekly stuff: if you can avoid drinking for 6 days straight, you can do it for 7 too!

It’s not like you have a schedule and you must drink it no matter what. Stay away from beer, stay away from all types of alcohol!

2. We don’t know how much damage even a glass of beer does to your liver.

It could be close to nothing, but it could be a lot. Depending on the stage of your fatty liver, its effects could be even greater… which brings us to the most important question of them all:

Are you willing to risk it?

This is a question that I heard during my initial research, after being diagnosed with a fatty liver. Somebody asked if they were still allowed to drink a beer on weekends when they met with friends and this is what another person answered:

Are you willing to risk it all on a single glass of beer? It’s your life that is at stake here. Maybe the effects won’t be immediate. Maybe things won’t get worse as soon as you finish drinking your beer.

But what if, 10 years from now, the damage done by it kills you? Are you ready to risk your life for a glass of beer?

That was some really strong stuff and it made me think about priorities and things that truly matter in life.

That’s one of the things that kept me motivated – because usually, all the medical proof doesn’t have as much of an impact on us, unfortunately. But always thinking about that question above keeps me on track.

I haven’t had a single sip of alcohol since being diagnosed in 2014 and I am not planning to ever drink again, even though I was diagnosed with a non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

It wasn’t easy. But here I am, years later, after having managed to reverse my fatty liver, feeling great and healthy, and still avoiding beer – or any type of alcohol.

It can be done, trust me, and your life – be it social life or not – won’t feel much of a difference.

Non-Alcoholic Beer: A Safer Alternative?

My first hepatologist told me not to drink any beer – not even alcohol-free. My doctor also told me that I wouldn’t be able to reverse my fatty liver, which I did.

I eventually found that drinking non-alcoholic beer in moderation didn’t harm my liver. In the end, it’s your choice to make and you should use your judgment to decide whether drinking it is a good idea or not.

I do drink non-alcoholic beer once in a blue moon, but I only started having it AFTER reversing my fatty liver disease. And I also have this rule in place, just to avoid making it a habit:

Never 2 bottles a day. Never daily.

While non-alcoholic beer won’t harm you through its alcohol content (since it has none), it still has plenty of carbs and calories – two potential enemies of your diet.

This is why you need to practice moderation and only consider it a guilty pleasure you allow yourself to have every now and then.

We also have studies showing that drinking beer moderately does good to your kidneys, so I am using that as an excuse as well – but only for the 0% alcohol type.

IMPORTANT: Make sure that your non-alcoholic beer actually has 0% alcohol. Some beers are labeled as non-alcoholic or alcohol-free, but they still show something like “up to 0.5% alcohol” while some are “low alcohol” beverages, going up to 2%.

To wrap things up, giving up on alcohol – even something seemingly harmless like beer – is difficult, but essential if you want to reverse your fatty liver disease.

I know from personal experience that it won’t be easy – but I can also tell you that you get used to this. I’ve been alcohol-free since 2014, so it’s doable!