Alcoholic Liver Disease: Introduction

What is Alcoholic Liver Disease? As the name implies, alcoholic liver disease is liver injury attributed to alcohol abuse. The majority of Americans manage to drink alcohol without serious consequences. Research suggests, however, that liver disease may begin to develop after a "threshold" dose of alcohol has been consumed—generally assumed to be four drinks a day (four 12 ounces beers, four glasses of wine, or four ounces of hard liquor) for men, and one half that quantity for women. Nearly everyone who consumes this amount or more will have some evidence of liver injury, although less than 50% will develop serious liver disease.