Understanding Liver Health and Diseases

Understanding Liver Health and Diseases
Date posted:  08-04-2025

Have you ever thought how much you rely on your liver, quietly working in the background to keep you healthy? Understanding liver health is crucial to maintaining a balanced and healthy lifestyle. Liver conditions left untreated can severely impact overall health.

Prioritizing liver function is essential for preventing disease and maintaining well-being. Many liver conditions progress silently, often without noticeable symptoms, until they are advanced. Knowing how to care for your liver is key to a healthy life.

What is liver?

The liver is a large vital organ, and the liver position in the body? is on the upper right side of your abdomen.

What are the functions of the liver?

  • Detoxification: Filtering harmful substances like toxins, alcohol, and waste from your blood.

  • Metabolism: Food nutrients processed into energy.

  • Storage: The liver stores vitamins, minerals, and energy (glycogen) for the body's needs.

  • Bile Production: The bile juice of the liver helps digest fats and vitamin absorption.

  • Production of albumin and clotting factors: It produces important proteins like albumin (protein produced by liver which regulates plasma oncotic pressure) and clotting factors (helps blood clot thereby stopping bleeding and promote healing of wound).

What is Hepatology?

Hepatology is a branch of medicine that focuses on studying, diagnosing, treating, and managing liver diseases. Hepatologists are liver specialists trained to handle conditions related to the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.

What are the risk factors for liver disease?

  • Unhealthy Diet: Consuming too much fat, sugar, and processed food can lead to fat buildup in your liver.
  • Excessive Alcohol Consumption: Drinking too much alcohol harms your liver.
  • Obesity: Being overweight can damage your liver over time.
  • Viral Infections: Viruses can cause long-term damage, increasing the risk of liver diseases.eg: Hepatitis B infection.
  • Genetic Factors: Inheriting genes affect how your liver processes iron or copper.
  • Medications and Toxins: Drugs and exposure to harmful chemicals can damage your liver.

What are the Liver Damage Symptoms?

  • Early Symptoms

  • Fatigue: Feeling unusually tired or weak.

  • Nausea: Feeling sick to your stomach or vomiting.

  • Unexplained Weight Loss: Losing weight without trying.

  • Later Symptoms

  • Jaundice: Yellowing of the skin and eyes.

  • Abdominal Pain: Pain in the upper right side of the stomach.

  • Swelling: Swelling in the abdomen or legs.

  • Distension of abdomen due to accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity.

What are the Major Diagnosis and Screening methods?

  • Blood Tests, including Liver Function Tests (LFTs) and other Biomarkers

  • Imaging, including Ultrasounds, CT Scans, and MRIs

  • Liver Biopsy

  • Non-invasive methods like FibroScan

What are the common liver diseases?

  • Hepatitis: The inflammation of liver. It can be due to viral infections like Hepatitis A and E which are spread through contaminated food or water and Hepatitis B, C and D which are spread through contact with infected body fluids.

  • Fatty Liver Disease:

  • Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD): Fat accumulation in the liver even without alcohol use.

  • Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (AFLD): Fat accumulation in the liver by excessive alcohol consumption.

  • Cirrhosis:

  • Alcoholic Cirrhosis: Caused through long-term alcohol use.

  • Cirrhosis from Chronic Viral Hepatitis: Resultant of ongoing hepatitis B or C infections.

  • Cirrhosis from Autoimmune Diseases: Results when the immune system attacks liver cells.

  • Liver Cancer:

  • Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Cancer formed in the liver.

  • Metastatic Liver Cancer: Cancer that spreads from other affected organs to the liver.

  • Liver Fibrosis: Early liver damage that causes scarring. May progress to cirrhosis.

  • Wilson’s Disease: A genetic disorder causing copper accumulation in the liver, causing damage.

  • Hemochromatosis: A genetic condition where excess iron accumulates in the liver, causing damage.

How to keep your liver healthy?

  • Healthy Diet: Include more liver-friendly foods in your diet. Drink liver detox drinks like green tea and lemon water often. Foods rich in antioxidants and fiber are liver-healthy foods?.

  • Regular Exercise: Exercise for liver health is important. Regular exercise reduces the risk of fatty liver disease.

  • Limit Alcohol Intake: The impact of alcohol on the liver has a serious effect in causing chronic liver disease?. Drink alcohol in moderation or avoid it altogether.

  • Vaccination: Get vaccinated against Hepatitis B.

  • Avoiding Toxins: Be cautious and follow proper dosage instructions when consuming medications.

Comprehensive approaches for Liver Diseases

  • Lifestyle Changes

  • Medications

  • Surgical Interventions including Liver Transplantation

What is the Role of Liver Health in Overall Wellness?

Poor liver function can lead to a weakened immune system, digestive problems, and other health issues. Those with a history of alcohol use, obesity, or viral infections are high-risk individuals. Therefore, routine check-ups are essential.

Regular monitoring can help catch liver problems early. It allows for timely treatment. Thus, it prevents further complications that can impact overall health.

Liver Health: Myth Busters

Q. Can a liver detox diet completely remove toxins from your body?

No, your liver naturally removes toxins. A healthy diet can support liver function. There is no special diet that can fully "detox" your body.

Q. Is liver disease only a problem for people who drink alcohol?

No, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) develops due to obesity, diabetes, and poor diet.

Q. Can you always feel it if something is wrong with your liver?

No, Many liver diseases progress silently without noticeable symptoms until advanced stages.

Why Choose Believers Hospital, Thiruvalla?

  • Believers Hospital, Thiruvalla, has the best hepatologists under our Gastrointestinal & Hepatobiliary Surgery department. Our Believers Regional Institute of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Transplantation is the best choice for diagnosing and treating liver diseases. Our specialties include:

  • Hepatology Services: Specialize in liver diseases like hepatitis, cirrhosis, fatty liver disease, liver cancer, and liver transplantation.

  • Advanced Diagnostics: Our advanced diagnostic tools provide accurate diagnosis. We use endoscopy, ultrasound, CT scans, MRI, liver function tests, and FibroScan for screening.

  • Integrated Treatment Plans: We offer individualized treatment plans. It includes medication management, lifestyle counseling, and surgical interventions.

  • Collaborative Care Approach: Ensure comprehensive wellness through collaboration between gastroenterologists, hepatologists, transplant surgeons, nutritionists, and other specialists.

  • Preventive Care and Screening: Offers screening programs for early detection of liver diseases, gastrointestinal cancers, and other conditions.






 

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