Study: cannabis protects the liver from the effects of alcohol and fatty acids

The liver is one of the most important and sensitive organs in the human body—and also the largest—and our tendency to consume alcohol and junk food significantly increases the risk of diseases that can affect it.

Liver Diseases

Various liver disorders seriously impair the health of the human body. The most well-known are fibrosis, cirrhosis, steatosis, and cancer. These diseases are often associated with a excessive alcohol consumption, particularly in the case of alcoholic steatosis. Cirrhosis alone accounts for 8,000 deaths per year in France—more than traffic accidents—and about half of all cases of liver disease are caused by alcohol abuse.

Add to that the NAFLD (Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease), also known as «fatty liver disease.» As its name suggests, this disease is not caused by alcohol but by excessive fat intake, which accumulates in the liver and leads to liver conditions ranging from steatohepatitis to cirrhosis.

Cannabis and the Liver

France is the leading country in Europe for cannabis use, with 40.9% of adults over the age of 15 having used cannabis at least once, while the European average is 24.8%. As for alcohol, France ranks among the Top 3 one of the countries with the highest alcohol consumption, at 11.8 liters per person per year.

In addition to alcohol poisoning, traffic accidents, and other well-known problems, alcohol can lead to liver disease. A study However, the study showed that the risk of developing liver disease is significantly lower among alcoholics who use cannabis than among those who do not. Furthermore, this risk decreases even further when the individual is «dependent» on cannabis, meaning that the reduction in risk is proportional to the amount of cannabis consumed.

But cannabis may not just be good for the livers of alcoholics, as this study shows study published in late 2017, which points to an inverse association between cannabis use and fatty liver disease. The scientists studied more than 22,000 participants, in whom they diagnosed NAFLD based on whether or not they used cannabis. The results led them to conclude that «active cannabis use provides a protective effect against NAFLD independent of other known metabolic risk factors.».