How to Care for Your Liver

Liver performs a wide variety of functions and we refer it to as the chemical factory of our body. Keeping liver in great health condition is important. We can do this by eating the right kind of food that naturally cleanse, nourishes the liver and keep it detoxified at all times.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Healthy foods
• Quit smoking and alcoholic beverage
• Avoid using pesticide and chemical/paint sprays
• Stay away for greasy and precessed foods
• Water
• Premium grade vitamin supplement

1. You have to have a healthy life style, healthy food, moderate exercises and avoiding unclean conditions to avoid jaundice or viral hepatitis.

2. Hepatitis B and C viruses live in all body fluids, including blood and seminal fluids. These viruses can cause extensive liver damage and often life threatening. Exercise common sense when being physically intimate with another person, particularly with a stranger.
   
   Warning: Hepatitis C can be acquired via blood through contaminated needles used for drug injections, tattooing and body piercing.

3. Eat minimally processed foods and preferably fresh. Consume more green vegetables that comes in rich colors like broccoli, avocado, tomatoes, carrots, and all kinds of berries. Colorful produce contain naturally occurring antioxidants that can help to protect our liver cells against disease and chemical injury.
   
   Consume plenty of foods containing magnesium, iron, folate, selenium, flavonoids, sulphate and B-vitamins (12, 6, 3 and 2).
   
   Take a premium grade multivitamin pill daily. Also, a supplement cod liver oil or fish oil can be extremely effective at decreasing liver inflammation because of the omega-3 fatty acid naturally present in the oil.

4. Avoid foods that are high in sugar, unhealthy fats and food additives. Some examples are sausage/ham/bacon (mechanically processed meat), deep fried fast food, grilled food, french fries, donuts and soda.

5. Wash meat, fruits, vegetables from chemicals of all types before eating or cooking.
   
   Stay away and prevent the use of chemical, paint and pesticide; insecticide sprays. These chemical sprays can directly damage your liver cells. Many pesticides can easily enter your blood stream via your skin.

6. Protecting yourself against liver damage starts with avoidance of eating greasy and processed foods, unsanitary environment, minimizing medical drugs usage, consuming alcohol and smoking.
   
   Not every person who use medical drugs, drinks alcohol, and smoke frequently over many years ends up with irreversible liver damage. Lifestyle and genetics altering can help prevent liver damage despite a history of 'bad' habits. But you must be aware that any amount of these substances can put unnecessary stress onto your liver.
   
   Visit links in the Resources section for more liver caring tips.

Tips & Warnings

• Complete avoidance of smoking and alcohol is mandatory for a healthy liver.
• Liver structure and function change gradually with age. Liver function becomes less and this may be cause of increased liver disease in elderly.

Resources

• Medical Information on Liver Illness
• Liver Disease Prevention
• Guide to Taking Care of Your Liver
• Vital Principles for a Healthy Liver
• How to Prevent the Fatty Liver Syndrome
• Good Foods for Your Liver

[sonni57]

on 4/5/2009 Nicely detailed article on how to care for your liver.