Alcohol: The Silent Enemy

Last Update: 2 August, 2026 | 21:44

Volume 25 of the Secrets of a Healthy Liver series sets out what alcohol does to the liver, the heart, and mental health, alongside its social costs — and, for readers who want to stop, the routes to cessation and support.

Secrets of a Healthy Liver — Volume 25

Alcohol is among the oldest substances people consume, and among the most costly. Prof. Seyed-Moayed Alavian sets out what it does to the liver, the heart, and mental health, what it costs families and societies — and, for anyone who wants to stop, what the routes out actually look like.

Author

Prof. Seyed-Moayed Alavian

Publisher

Brieflands

Publication date

October 10, 2025

Print length

137 pages

Language

English

Format

Kindle edition

Series

Secrets of a Healthy Liver, Volume 25

Audience

Anyone affected by alcohol, families, students, and clinicians

Get the book

Published by Brieflands and available worldwide as a Kindle edition on Amazon. For institutional orders, bulk copies, or translation rights, contact the publisher directly.

Buy on Amazon →Contact the publisher

About this book

Alcohol is one of the oldest substances known to humanity, and for many it appears to offer enjoyment, escape, or relaxation. The book's argument is that the effect runs the other way: alcohol works quietly, over time, on the body, the mind, and a person's social world.

Research has not established any level of consumption that carries health benefits, and harm begins at modest intakes: damage to liver cells, increased cardiovascular and cancer risk, and worsening of depression and anxiety. The social consequences compound the individual ones — road deaths, domestic violence, family breakdown, and substantial economic cost.

Written to inform, to prevent, and to support cessation, the book answers the practical questions in plain, evidence-based language: what alcohol is, what it does in the short and long term, how it affects families, how people stop, and what healthier alternatives exist.

Its audience is deliberately broad — not only people currently struggling with alcohol, but families, students, physicians, and anyone who cares about their own health and their community's.

What the book covers

Effects on the liver

How alcohol damages liver cells, and the progression from fatty change to serious disease.

Wider physical harm

Cardiovascular risk and the cancers associated with alcohol consumption.

Mental health

The relationship between drinking and depression, anxiety, and sleep.

Family and society

Accidents, domestic violence, family breakdown, and the economic burden on communities.

Stopping

Practical routes to cessation, and what support makes them more likely to succeed.

Healthier alternatives

What can take the place alcohol occupies socially and personally.

Important. If you drink heavily or daily, do not stop abruptly without medical advice: alcohol withdrawal can cause seizures and delirium tremens and is potentially life-threatening, so it should be managed with a clinician who can supervise it safely. This book is education and support, not individual medical treatment. If alcohol is affecting your health or your relationships, a doctor or a local support service can help, and asking is not a failure — treatment for alcohol dependence works.