Liver is the largest internal organ in the human body and is one of the most important too. Everything that we eat is processed by liver before it is distributed all throughout our body. Liver has a lot of functions, around 500 of them, to perform such as metabolism, digestion, removing toxins, storage of nutrients and more. Thus, keeping the liver healthy is very important. The blog enlists such things that can damage your liver that you may not know about:
Comfrey
Comfrey is a kind of shrub that is found in Asia and Europe. The leaves of this shrub are known to be filled with a kind of chemical that lessens the swelling and keeps the skin healthy. This shrub is also found in some pain relieving gels and ointments. However, it is also believed that comfrey also has certain substances that are harmful for liver. Any product that contains comfrey must not be used for over ten days or over 6 weeks in a year. Very small amount of cream should be applied where necessary and not ever on broken skin.
Sugar
We all know that excessive consumption of sugar is bad for health but not many know that it is bad for liver also. Fructose is a kind of sugar that is used by liver for the creation of fat. Excess of refined sugar high-fructose corn syrup becomes a reason of fat build-up, leading to liver disease. As per some studies the amount of damage that sugar can cause is no less than the harm alcohol can cause. And, this can happen even if you are not overweight. This is another reason that one should limit the consumption of food with added sugar such as candy, pastry and soda.
Herbal Supplements
Most of us think that as the tag of herbal supplements says they are ‘natural’, it does not mean they are safe. There is an herb named Kava Kava that is known to offer relief from the symptoms of menopause and offers you a relaxing feeling. But some studies have proved that it can lead to a number of problems such as stopping liver functioning, liver failure and leading to hepatitis. While its usage is restricted or banned in some countries but it is still accessible in the United States. Before consuming any kind of herb, one should consult his doctor about the safety of that herb.
MSG (Monosodium Glutamate)
Several packaged and prepared food items including diet drinks and chips have MSG for enhanced flavor. If you read the labels of food items they mention, yeast extract, soy extract or hydrolyzed vegetable protein. Nevertheless, some animal studies have shown that this chemical can lead to inflamed or fatty liver, causing liver cancer and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Further researches have to be done to see its effect on humans.
Obesity
Extra weight on one’s body cause fat to built-up in the liver cells, leading to NAFLD that in turn leads to swelling in liver. Slowly and gradually, a healthy tissue is replaced by hardened scar tissue, which is called cirrhosis. Middle-aged people, patients of diabetes and obese or overweight people are at risk of suffering from NAFLD. Exercise and balance diet is the key to stay from it
Unsterile Tattoos
Getting body piercing and tattoo done at a licensed, hygienic shop which sterilizes its equipment after using it for every customer, there are less chances of getting serious infections like Hepatitis C. But, there are some tattoo makers who do not have a problem in pushing their customer’s in problem as they do not clean their equipment properly. In infection such as Hepatitis C, when virus comes in contact with blood it releases to serious troubles including lifelong illness of liver. Before getting your body pierced or before getting yourself tattooed, make sure that your artist is well-renowned.
Excess of Vitamin A
Vitamin A can be found in milk and eggs as well as vegetables and fruits that are in yellow, red and orange color. This vitamin is also found in a number of supplements as it strengthens bones, boots immunity and improves vision. But a high dose of Vitamin A acts like toxic for one’s liver. For safety, limit your intake to 10,000 IU a day.
Soft Drinks
A study was done by scientists on a group of people who were suffering from NAFLD, considering if they had diabetes, their body weight and the fat amount in their blood. The study clearly marked around 80 percent of the people drank 2 or more soft drinks in one day, whether it was a regular soda drink or calorie-free drink. Thus, there is an ingredient apart from sugar that can lead to this problem. Though there is no sure-shot proof of this but as per some researches artificial sweeteners can be blamed.
Trans Fats
Trans fat is a man-made fat that is commonly found in backed foods and packaged foods as partially hydrogenated vegetable oil or vegetable shortening. Excess consumption of diet with Trans fats does not only lead to weight gain but is also leads severe liver disease including more of tissue scarring. Another study showed that a mice that consumed diet with high Trans, suffered from liver damage in as less as 4 months.
Antidepressants
There are some such antidepressants which can harm the liver of that person that consumes them, even if they are consumed for a few days only. In certain cases, the damage is deadly too. Any person consuming a number of other medicines or old age people are at high risk of liver damage as certain harm might already been done. Be sure to visit your doctor if any symptom of liver illness comes up.
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