 Hi, I'm Dr. Olyth Selvan, Consulant Heptologist and Chairman Division of Liver Transplantation, Manipal Hospital's Bangalore. When you take alcohol, alcohol has to be metabolized by the liver to convert it into non-toxic substances which are harmful to the body. So when the liver takes up the load of converting alcohol into non-toxic substances, the liver itself gets damaged in the process and if this happens continuously over a period of time, there is bound to be liver damage.