if you have cirrhosis I'd think twice about topping anything off with a tall cool one, unless it's ice tea. That's just me. I was born paranoid.
What is the hot skinny on this? If one has cirrhosis, achieves SVR, is it or is it not safe to drink alcohol as if your liver were pristine?
Wow, thanks for all of your responses! I will still remain cautious.
I made a mistake in my initial post...my test was 16 weeks post treatment, not 12.
Ah all the 'driniking' conversations made me think of Rocker. I hope he's ok he's never left for this long before.
Anyway drink the wine and cook the food - then at least you won't worry about percentages ;)
(Just kidding I do not advocate drinking alcohol until positively SVR (then get that magnum out and get going ;)
Even if the burn-off is not complete the amount of alcohol left after a few ounces added is inconsequential. Maybe the amount in a non-alcoholic beer.
Paranoid, perhaps but it's your decision. Taste is what the alcoholic beverages add to food. Alcohol boils at a lower temperature than water - 86 degrees centigrade vs.100 degrees C. for water. The longer you have it simmering away, the more alcohol will disappear.
I love the richness wine adds to certain sauces and I haven't cleared the virus but quite sure by indulging in foods cooked with wine I am not endangering my liver.
Trinity
Uh oh be careful............."food tastes SO darn good right now after tx" oh boy lots of us can tell you where that will lead, fast.
Be careful it's not the alcohol that will get you - it's those taste buds...they got me bad (but it was so enjoyable to taste food again!)
Dont sweat the little things you have already done the hard part now enjoy the success. :D
Your friends are correct. At 12 weeks post and still undetected you'll be washing down the Beef Burgundy with a tall cold one pretty soon.
I always thought the alcohol was burned off in cooking foods, but out of curiosity, I had to Google it.
Here's a table that is interesting:
Alcohol Burn-off Chart
The following chart data comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture with information on how much alcohol remains in your food with specific cooking methods. Keep in mind that this is the percentage of alcohol remaining of the original addition.
Alcohol Burn-off Chart
Preparation Method
Percent Retained
alcohol added to boiling liquid & removed from heat
85%
alcohol flamed
75%
no heat, stored overnight
70%
baked, 25 minutes, alcohol not stirred into mixture
45%
Baked/simmered dishes with alcohol stirred into mixture:
15 minutes cooking time
40%
30 minutes cooking time
35%
1 hour cooking time
25%
1.5 hours cooking time
20%
2 hours cooking time
10%
2.5 hours cooking time
5%
http://bsciresourcecenter.com/proddetail.php?prod=ArtJanEnews
This was surprising to me since I like to use wine/beer/liqueur when cooking. I dunno, for me it's still such a small amount, I'm not going to stress over it. Food tastes SO darn good right now after tx!
I'd have to say yes. I understand, but the alcohol is burned off during cooking. Enjoy and Good for you.