Glass Shape and Liver Function – The New Study

 liverExcessive alcohol consumption has been strongly linked to poor natural health, mainly due to its role in the development of liver cirrhosis and other medical conditions.  In addition, alcoholism may impact an individual’s capacity to operative a motor vehicle, resulting in accidents and possibly death.  Most health tips thus include the avoidance of excessive drinking of alcoholic beverages to maintain good natural health and liver function.

Health Tips for Optimal Liver Function

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Health tips and programs often explain that in order to achieve good natural health, it is important to avoid excessive alcohol consumption because this activity may affect the liver.  This organ is responsible in removing toxins that enter the body and thus excessive amounts of alcohol may overwork the liver and result in poor natural health.  The liver also serves as the site for storage of glycogen, which is a form of carbohydrate that acts as energy resource of the body.  An individual struggling with obesity may thus have a fatty liver, due to the excessive amount of stored carbohydrates that were not burned on a regular basis.  Controlling the amount of sugar and fat consumed on a regular basis is thus included in most health tips that promote good natural health.  Health tips would often promote the consumption of fruits and vegetables, which are rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals, all of which are helpful for our natural health and definitely not harmful to the liver.

Most health tips for promoting good natural health would state that it is best to avoid excessive alcohol drinking.  However, it may also be helpful to understand that alcohol addiction is also a psychological condition in which the drinker craves for alcohol, despite his or her knowledge that it harms the liver.  It may thus be easy to promote health tips that include minimal alcohol drinking, yet to the alcohol drinker, this act may be quite challenging.

RELATED READING: Avoid the 7 Danger Signs of a Toxic Liver

According to a recent report published in the journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) One, alcohol consumption may not simply involve a craving for alcohol, but also a response to the shape of the glass used during this particular activity.  The report showed that the rate of alcohol drinking appeared to change when the drink was poured into a glass with a particular shape.  The research study was conducted using approximately 159 alcohol drinkers, who were randomly assigned to two groups based on the shape of the glass used for drinking.  One group was given an alcoholic drink placed in a straight-sided glass, whereas the other group was given drinks contained in curvy glasses.

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The results of the study showed that the group drinking from straight-sided glasses was drinking at a 60% slower rate as compared to those using curvy glasses.  Interestingly, this discrepancy was only observed when the drinks were served with a full glass and not when served with a half-full glass.  Upon interviewing the study participants, it was observed that the subjects using curvy glasses misjudged the amount of alcohol they consumed, thus resulting in a faster rate of drinking.  This interesting observation may also be included in the health tips for good natural health and maintaining liver function.

Good Natural Liver Health

The observations presented in this study may be worth reviewing because this may also help in the design of health tips that may promote good natural health.  Alcohol consumption has been linked to liver disease and thus it may be used as part of general health tips, mainly as warning on the type of drinking glass used by alcohol drinkers and to prevent damage to natural health.  It may also be worthwhile for bars and restaurants to be aware of the effect of glass shape on the amount and rate of alcohol that their customers may consume.  The findings of this recent report may be quite interesting and at the same time bizarre, allowing us to better understand external signals that may trigger an increase in alcohol consumption and may be possibly included as one of the health tips for the consuming public.

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