LHI Articles
5 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About Your Liver
L-I-V-E-R… The spelling alone should give away how important this organ is, but many people have yet to realize that you cannot live without your liver.
Here are some quick facts to help you reacquaint yourself with that precious, hard-working internal power plant, –your liver.
1. Your multitasking liver
Your liver performs hundreds of complex life sustaining functions, without you even knowing it. It metabolizes everything you eat, drink, breathe, and absorb through your skin. Liver cells secrete bile to help you absorb fats and vitamins, and aide in digestion so that you have the energy needed for day to day activities. Your liver also breaks down harmful chemicals and excretes them in the bile. Essentially, your liver is the engine that keeps your body going.
2. How much is too much?
The liver can only handle so much. The liver can process a diet of moderation with limited alcohol consumption, however overloading it with excess fatty foods or alcohol can damage liver cells. Continued assault can impact the liver’s ability to provide energy, process food and medications properly, and maintain hundreds of life sustaining body functions. Cirrhosis (liver cell death) can ultimately cause system failure.
3. The liver is a non-complaining organ
You know that friend that always has your back, and hardly ever complains? That’s your liver. It carries out over 500 functions day in and day out and doesn’t make a peep. It’s a low maintenance organ we take for granted. That’s why, it’s crucial to keep tabs on your liver health with regular screenings, because you won’t know that something’s wrong until the damage is far advanced.
4. Most liver diseases are preventable
A lot of people leave their liver health up to chance. Why do that, when there are easy ways to prevent liver problems? Just educate yourself and practice healthy behaviors. Understand that your liver is your life preserver and treat it as such. Don’t wait until you’re jaundiced, with weak limbs and no appetite to start treating your liver better. Don’t be in denial and keep assaulting it. It’s up to you. Start developing good habits today.
5. It’s easy to keep the liver healthy
Your liver is low maintenance. As long as you take care of it, it will take care of you. Avoid excess fatty foods and sugary drinks, cut back on the booze, do some regular light exercise, and practice safe sex. None of these are big changes, but they can make a big difference. Your liver will thank you for it.
Share these facts with the people you love and keep the conversation going.
Mirror Mirror On The Wall.
Your Body's Early Warning System
You probably have seen that picture of the ugly, painful rash on the woman’s face on TV, a warning sign that the chicken pox virus is attacking her body. Or maybe you have seen the person with yellow eyes related to hepatitis viruses causing serious liver damage. Both of these are visible signs that trouble is going on inside their bodies.
Another warning sign often ignored (that is visible in your mirror) is a bulging belly and derriere. Your mirror is setting off an alarm that your liver is struggling to process all those tempting, delicious, fatty foods you enjoy eating – good and bad. Overwhelmed by excess fats you ingest, liver cells are under attack. Liver cells are your lifeline, converting the food you eat into hundreds of life sustaining body functions. Excess fats infiltrate liver cells (the liver’s mini computer chips) that keep you alive and functioning 24/7, causing them to die. Dead liver cells are called cirrhosis. . . .the same devastating condition caused by drinking too much alcohol or taking drugs along with alcohol.
Tragically, your expanding waistline may be the ONLY warning sign of a serious liver problem. Unfortunately, the liver is a non-complaining organ with no built in warning system. It usually causes no pain until the damage is far advanced.
Fatty liver disease is claiming the lives of seriously overweight children as well as adults. If your mirror could talk, it would plead with you to ask you to check your liver functions, to alert you of trouble before it is too late.
Don’t be 1 of 10 Americans with fatty liver disease. Take control! Will power is FREE and essential to preventing liver damage. Eating healthy is your life preserver . . . NOT JUST A SUGGESTION! Take a good look in the mirror and act today. Get tested, eat healthy, limit alcohol to one drink a day, and make exercise a daily routine.
Your liver is depending on you.