CARING FOR YOUR LIVER
"The Medical Reporter,"
January 1995
Most people know that the liver acts as a filter and can be badly damaged by
too much drinking of alcohol. Other than that, they have little knowledge of
the complexities and importance of the many thousands of vital functions it
performs 24 hours each day.
The liver, the largest organ in your body, plays a vital role in regulating
life processes. Its primary functions are to refine and detoxify everything
you eat, breathe, and absorb through your skin.
It is the body's internal chemical power plant, converting nutrients in the
food you eat into muscles, energy, hormones, clotting factors and immune factors.
It stores certain vitamins, minerals and sugars, regulates fat stores and controls
the production and excretion of cholesterol. The bile, produced by liver cells,
helps you to digest your food and absorb important nutrients. It neutralizes
and destroys poisonous substances and metabolizes alcohol. Before you were born,
it served as the main organ of blood formation. It helps you resist infection
and removes bacteria from the blood stream, helping you to stay healthy. Storing
iron is another important task it performs.
In essence, your liver serves as your engine, pantry, refinery, food processor,
garbage disposal and "guardian angel."
One of the most remarkable accomplishments of this miraculous organ is its ability
to regenerate. Three quarters of the liver can be removed and it will grow back
in the same shape and form within a few weeks. However, overworking your liver
can cause liver cells, the employees in your power plant, to become permanently
damaged or scarred. This is called cirrhosis. Alcohol, drugs and even some prescribed
and over-the-counter drugs such as acetaminophen, as well as viruses, environmental
pollutants and some metabolic disorders can cause liver cell damage.
Your liver is your silent partner, your internal chemical power plant, and a
non-complaining organ. Unfortunately, it doesn't usually let you know it is
in trouble until the damage is far advanced. It needs your help to keep it healthy.
Recently, the media have reported that drinking wine each day is good for your
heart. However, liver specialists suggest that more than two drinks a day for
men and one drink a day for women may even be too much for some people. Medicine
should never be taken with alcoholic beverages. Remember...they are all made
up of chemicals and could be potentially hazardous to your precious liver cells.
Fumes from paint thinners, bug sprays, and other aerosol sprays are picked up
by the tiny blood vessels in your lungs and carried to your liver where they
are detoxified and discharged in your bile.
The amount and concentration of those chemicals should be controlled to prevent
liver damage. Make certain you have good ventilation, use a mask, cover your
skin and wash off any chemicals you get on your skin with soap and water as
soon as possible.
A vaccine for hepatitis A, a common viral liver infection, has recently been
approved by the FDA. If you eat raw shellfish frequently you may want to discuss
being vaccinated with your physician. If you work in a health care facility
or day-care center you are at risk. Children who attend day-care centers are
also at risk. Food handlers, travelers to developing countries and young people
living in dorms or in close contact with others should consider being vaccinated.
There is a risk of contracting hepatitis A through anal contact. Good hygiene,
washing hands after using the toilet and good common sense are essential.
Hepatitis B can cause severe liver damage and even death. It can be prevented
by safe and effective vaccines. Currently, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
recommend that all newborns, infants and sexually active adolescents be vaccinated.
If you have more than one sex partner within a six-month period, you should
consider vaccination. Of course, everyone who handles blood or blood products
in their daily activities should be vaccinated.
Hepatitis C (HCV) poses a more difficult problem. There is no vaccine available,
so precautionary measures are very important. HCV is transmitted through blood
and possibly other body fluids. Sharing razor blades, nail files, scissors,
clippers, or toothbrushes with an infected person can result in the transmission
of HCV. However, the mode of transmission is uncertain in about 40% of cases.
Much more needs to be known about this virus.
Hepatitis D (HDV) can be prevented by having the hepatitis B vaccine and avoiding
contact with carriers of HBV.
Caring for your liver means eating a good healthy diet, exercising and getting
plenty of fresh air, and avoid things that can cause liver damage.
Your liver can't tell you when it is struggling with all of the toxins and pollutants
you ingest, breathe, or absorb through your skin., The only sign you may have
of trouble is fatigue, indicating your power plant is gradually shutting down.
Your liver has to depend on you to take care of it...so it can take care of
you. (Source: Hepatitis Foundation International)
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