Tips for a Healthy Liver

The liver is the largest internal organ and performs hundreds of different body functions, including fighting infections, detoxifying all the chemicals, and manufacturing protein and minerals. It is a powerhouse of all organs and a storehouse of bodily functions. The liver holds approximately 10% of the blood in your body and it is the only organ to regenerate or regrow by itself. So if someone donates half of their liver to the person who needs a transplant, his/her liver will return to its normal shape and size in almost 2 weeks. Want to know more about the liver and its functions, visit the below link

https://www.livertransplant.org/liver-and-its-functions.html

A healthy liver is equal to a healthy and happy you. It becomes extremely important to keep your body and its internal organs healthy, which helps keep all the diseases at bay. The liver is one of the organs which most often gets ignored or is looked upon. People are unaware of the benefits of keeping a liver healthy. Moreover, our health should always be our first priority, especially the liver that handles the body's all-important functions. Before looking at tips to keep your liver healthy, let's look at the benefits it provide to your overall health and wellbeing.

  • It supplies you with energy that makes it easy for you to carry out the daily tasks. One of the important functions of the liver is to balance sugar in the bloodstream. It helps in maintaining the normal glucose level in the blood. When a meal is being processed, the liver removes sugar from your food and converts and stores them in the form of glycogen. Hence, Glycogen releases quick energy.
  • Liver plays a major role in balancing your hormones.
  • It removes harmful toxins. The blood gets filter or passed through the liver. It removes or separates all the toxins that may otherwise harm your body.
  • It facilitates a positive mood and a sharper mind.
  • Liver helps in processing the food and its necessary nutrients. The food you eat is broken down into pieces by the digestive system and all the derived nutrients enter your bloodstream and pass through the liver. The liver then processes all the nutrients. This helps in ruling out all digestive issues like bloating, acidity, etc.
  • The liver is a blood-recycling or blood-purifying organ. Keeping your liver healthy will keep your skin healthy.

That's why a healthy liver constitutes to healthy you. Unhealthy liver calls for different liver-related diseases and other health issues. Fatty liver disease or hepatitis is an inflammatory liver condition that severely affects the liver and sometimes these liver diseases require a liver transplant. A liver transplant is a surgical procedure of removal of affected liver and replacing it with a healthy one.

You would certainly don't want this to happen to you? Then let's look at a few dos and don'ts you should follow to counter any disease. As it is rightly said that precaution is better than cure.

Here are few tips to keep your liver healthy. These tips are known to all but we fail to practice or follow.

Avoid Alcohol Abuse

Drinking too much alcohol, be it occasionally or a single time can take a toll on your health. The impact of drinking alcohol starts from the moment you take a sip of it. The liver is the organ that helps in removing toxins and filters out harmful substances such as alcohol, but long-term consumption of alcohol may hinder the process of the liver. It can lead to long-term alcoholic liver disease. It forms a scarring tissue on the liver called cirrhosis. Any liver disease is life-threatening as it can stop functioning its vital functions.

It is necessary to limit the intake or stop consuming alcoholic beverages to live long.

Reduce Extra Kilos

No one loves to be obese or overweight as it calls for various health conditions. One needs to maintain a proper body weight according to age and height.

If you are gaining weight suddenly, then it's an alarming sign of an underlying disease. Especially, liver disease becomes the reason behind gaining weight.

Avoid Outside Food & Water

Your diet has a direct impact on your liver. What you eat decides your overall health. Consuming outside food on a regular basis has an adverse effect on the digestive system as well as the heart. It increases the risk of stroke as junk food contains a lot of processed items and is rich in fats, carbohydrates, and sugar. Excess of calories may lead to obesity, taking a toll on your liver.

Try avoiding junk food or processed food items.

Foods You Must Eat

For your liver to function properly, you need to follow a proper diet or consume foods that are healthy for your body and liver. Below is a list of foods that you must include in your diet.

Coffee

Coffee is proven to be effective for keeping all liver-related diseases away. It is one of the best beverages to promote your liver health. Few studies have shown that drinking coffee helps in preventing the risk of liver conditions such as cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases. It has also proven to be effective in preventing liver cancer. Coffee helps in reducing any kind of inflammation and increases the production of antioxidants which helps keep the liver healthy.

So have a cup of brewing coffee every morning.

Tea

Drinking tea, especially green tea is considered beneficial for your liver health. Green tea contains antioxidants and helps in combatting chronic liver diseases.

In a study, it has been proven that drinking 2-3 cups of green tea per day lowers the risk of liver cancer in people.

Cruciferous vegetables

Cruciferous vegetables are a diverse group of vegetables that include broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, bok choy, wasabi, etc. These vegetables are rich in nutrients and a good source of fiber. Consuming these vegetables has been food to prohibit liver cancer because they have anti-inflammatory effects and helps in deactivating carcinogenic compounds. Include them in your diet and wait for the magic.

Nuts

Include nuts and seeds in your diet for a healthy liver. Nuts are higher in fats, vitamin E. It is beneficial for your overall health but especially for keeping your heart and liver healthy.

Olive oil

It's time to switch from your regular vegetable oil to olive oil. Olive oil is considered a healthy fat that will have a positive effect on your health.

Fat accumulation can lead to liver and heart disease and hence olive oil has proven to have less fat accumulation and easy blood flow.

Fatty fish

Another healthy fat is fatty fish which contains omega-3 fatty acids that help reduce inflammation in the liver. Adding more omega-3 fatty acids has proven beneficial to liver health.