Note: This article is based on my personal experience and research. I am not a doctor or a dietitian, and this content is for informational purposes only. Always consult with your healthcare provider before making any changes to your diet or lifestyle.
“I can stop eating bread, I can stop eating sweets, but don’t take my wine away!” This seems to be the thing that many people who are being diagnosed with a fatty liver say or think.
I understand where this is coming from – cutting wine from your diet can feel like losing an old friend. But when you’ve got fatty liver disease, it’s exactly this relationship you need to reconsider.
So, let’s begin with the harsh truth:
No, you shouldn’t drink wine or any type of alcohol if you’ve been diagnosed with fatty liver disease. Even moderate drinking poses significant risks to your liver, especially when it’s already fighting an uphill battle to get healthy again.
It’s not pleasant and many won’t like it, but it’s the simple truth. Alcohol is bad for your health. Period.
Why you should not drink wine if you have a fatty liver disease
You might ask: Isn’t it just excess alcohol that harms your body, and a glass of wine now and then won’t do any extra damage? In the end, studies and voices are praising the beneficial effects wine has over one’s health…
According to these studies, consuming red wine in moderation has been proven to have beneficial effects on one’s health, especially the cardiovascular system, as you can find in the article that I have linked to above. But there’s a catch…
Moderate wine consumption might provide some health benefits (but also risks!) to healthy individuals. It does not apply to those suffering from various liver-related problems (and probably others), no matter what your fatty liver’s stage or grade.
On the contrary, NAFLD affects the liver, which is the same organ that is hit the worst by alcohol consumption. Even small amounts can do a lot of damage now when the liver is not in top shape.
The conclusion is clear: alcohol is indeed bad for your liver (and your overall state of health)!
How does alcohol – including wine – harm our liver?
There are two main things it does: first, it brings extra stress to the liver, damaging its cells and leading to inflammation and scarring, accelerating liver damage.
Your liver has one main job: breaking down toxins to keep your blood clean. Alcohol, unfortunately, is high on the toxin list. When your liver is already compromised, alcohol makes it work overtime, speeding up the progression from simple fatty liver to more severe conditions.
Also. alcohol harms your intestinal lining, allowing harmful gut bacteria and toxins to leak into your bloodstream. These inevitably end up at the liver’s doorstep, fueling inflammation and furthering liver damage.
To put it simply: your liver, already weakened by NAFLD, can’t handle even small amounts of alcohol without substantial risk.
The Alternative You Didn’t Know You Needed: Alcohol-Free Wine
For a healthy person, drinking a glass of wine every now and then might have more benefits than it does harm. But for those with a fatty liver, as well as those who want to limit alcohol consumption, there’s some good news: you can switch to alcohol free wine.
While it’s true that alcohol-free wines don’t replicate the exact taste and feel of the traditional drink, they’ve come a long way.
Non-alcoholic wines today undergo careful de-alcoholization, retaining much of the original wine’s flavors, antioxidants, and health benefits without damaging your liver. I can confirm that, based on personal experience: 10 years ago, these were terrible. Now, they’re passable at the very least!
Even better, studies show alcohol-free red wines contain higher concentrations of beneficial antioxidants like resveratrol, known to improve heart health, than their alcoholic counterparts!
Here are a few reliable and tasty brands you can try (affiliate links):
- Luminara Alcohol-Removed Red Blend
- Lussory Premium Merlot Alcohol Removed
- Oddbird Non Alcoholic Red Wine
- Thomson & Scott Noughty Sparkling Rosé
Try a few, find your favorite, and suddenly, living alcohol-free won’t seem like such a sacrifice.
Can’t You Balance the Risk and Reward?
Some people told me that even though they suffer from a fatty liver, they consider the beneficial effects the wine is claimed to have over general health more important than the harm it does. In other words, they consider it a risk vs reward kind of thing.
Unfortunately for those who love drinking a glass of wine and still need an excuse to do so after being diagnosed, the answer is still no. You can’t have it. You shouldn’t have it.
The question above sounds pretty silly if you read it out loud and I am sure you are aware – just by reading it – that you’d do nothing but find excuses to allow yourself that glass of wine.
Don’t do it!
Studies showing that moderate drinkers live longer than non-drinkers, which is a big argument for people who still want to consume alcohol, don’t highlight an important fact: most of the non-drinkers abstain because they’re already dealing with significant health issues, including liver diseases.
They’re not avoiding alcohol by choice – their health forced their hand.
So even though they might live a bit less than individuals who are as healthy as they can be and consume alcohol in moderation, they get to live a lot longer compared to those who continue drinking, ignoring their health problems.
If you have NAFLD, continued alcohol use, even in moderation, increases your odds of progressing toward severe liver damage and reduces your life expectancy significantly. I understand how tempting it can be to rationalize enjoying that glass of Merlot, but the risks far exceed any potential benefit.
In other words, as terrible as this sounds, the truth is that if you are sick, you should stop drinking alcohol forever. This will help you live longer, even if the actual prospects are lower than those of an otherwise healthy adult.
Yes, I know that you do have to give up on a lot of things after you’re diagnosed with fatty liver and the idea of not being allowed to drink any alcohol for the rest of your life is scary… but isn’t it scarier to risk it all and have a lot less time to enjoy life and your loved ones?
Life is not about what we drink and what we eat! Life is about experiences and about being close to our loved ones for as long as possible.
Make the right choices and enjoy the right things! There are so many other things that you can do in order to be happy and feel good.
My own story & experience
I was diagnosed with a fatty liver back in 2014, and I have reversed it since. But from the moment I was diagnosed until today, I never touched alcohol. And I never plan to ever drink again.
I took this decision after my doctor told me that I have to stop drinking, even though I had non-alcoholic fatty liver (aka NAFLD). She went as far as saying that I shouldn’t even smell it – that’s how bad it is.
Sure, it was a bit of an exaggeration, but one that really hit home.
Then I did my own research, which is exactly what I recommend you to do, and I read all the sides of the story. Both those who say it is OK, as well as those who say it’s not.
Read the studies, read the conclusions, do your own research and think for yourself. You will end up just like me, realizing that unfortunately, you are not allowed to have even a glass of wine if you have fatty liver. Not even beer.
It was tough for me – especially early on – but a lot easier than giving up sugar or fried foods, to be honest.
And the thing that I was worried about the most – the fact that if I stopped drinking would affect my social life, turned out to be unfounded.
I still have friends, I can still go out, I can still have fun. All without touching wine or any other type of alcohol. I know I am doing this for my own health and well being.
And if I was able to do it – and stick to it even after reversing my fatty liver – then you are able to do it too.
And if you still need help to get things in place and focus on the right things only, this program for reversing your fatty liver that I reviewed will probably change your life for the better. Check it out and stay healthy – or check out my book, From Fatty Liver to Healthy Liver, instead to see everything I did to reverse my condition.
Conclusion
As difficult as it might seem at first, you definitely have to stop drinking wine (and any sort of alcohol) if you suffer from fatty liver disease. I actually would go as far as recommending staying away from it even after you reverse your condition.
Your health is more important and there are other ways to entertain yourself – ways that don’t include drinking wine.
I was diagnosed with fatty liver in 2014 and successfully reversed it by mid-2015 using a natural diet and lifestyle changes. Since then, I’ve dedicated over a decade to researching this condition and helping others navigate their own recovery. I am the author of ‘From Fatty Liver to Healthy Liver’ and the founder of this community. My goal is to translate complex medical studies into practical, real-world advice that actually works, combined with my personal experience on the matter.