The LIVER, one of the 5 major organs in the body is the organ that plays the most vital role to keep us HEALTHY and ALIVE! Sadly, the liver is also the organ that isALWAYS NEGLECTEDmainly due to unawareness of its importance or plain ignorance!
This dark reddish brown organ is located on the right hand side of the body under the ribs. It is the largest gland and solid organ in the body, weighing some 1.8 kg in a man and 1.3 kg in women. It holds approximately 13 per cent (about one pint or 0.57 litres) of the total blood supply at any given moment. The liver is divided into two main lobes, which are further subdivided into approximately 100,000 lobules. The liver is made up of an estimated 300 million cells that are responsible for filtering all the toxic stuff out of your system that could downgrade your liver’s ability to keep you healthy.
The liver is for life as we have only one liver and though it is unique in its ability to regenerate itself, it can only survive limited damage. Just like the rest of the body, the liver needs looking after with nutritional support and protection.
Remember - A badly scarred liver is irreversible and can lead to liver cancer resulting in DEATH within 12 months!
LIVER FUNCTIONS
WHAT DOES THE LIVER DO?
The liver is an extremely complex chemical factory in the body that keeps us alive by cleaning the body of toxins and maintaining internal systems health.
The liver affects nearly every physiological process of the body and performs more than 500 functions to regulate, synthesize, store, secrete, transform and break down many different substances in the body.
Because of its heavy workload, the liver can become overburdened, causing it to malfunction, which can lead to serious health complications.
Some of the liver’s prime functions are:-
- breaking down food and converting it into energy.
- controlling, production and excretion of cholesterol.
- detoxifying potentially harmful toxins from the body.
- fighting bacterial and viral infections.
- keeping the body healthy and keeping us alive.
- maintaining and regulating body metabolism.
- neutralizing tissue damaging “free radicals” such as drugs and alcohol.
- producing and proteins for body building and tissue repair.
- producing bile for digestion of fats.
- producing blood colt proteins.
- removing damaged red blood cells and foreign substances.
- storing glucose and regulating blood glucose.
- storing iron, vitamins (A,B,D,E and K) and essential minerals.
WHAT ARE TOXINS?
Toxins are poison substances that can cause serious harm to our health if they are accumulated and not excreted from the body.
In today’s modern living environment, we are exposed to toxins everyday, from the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, the cosmetics, perfumes, shampoos and shower gels we use on our body, washing detergents, the chemicals we use at home and whatever you can think of. This has increased everyone’s risk in developing Liver Disease which when prolonged will lead to serious and potentially deadly health problems.
HOW TOXINS AFFECTS THE LIVER?
When toxins are not excreted from our body, they accumulate and over a period of time, damage our liver, poison our body resulting in the rise of many health problems, some which are potentially life threatening.
We depend on our liver which, to a large extent determines the health of our entire body to clear these toxins. Unfortunately, in today’s world, our liver’s capability to clean out all these toxins is now completely overloaded and incapable to perform its functions effectively, resulting in downgrading health, diseases and early deaths.
HOW IMPORTANT IS A HEALTHY LIVER?
A healthy liver is extremely important to keep us alive as almost every health problems that arises is linked to the liver’s ability to perform its functions effectively.
Despite its ability to regenerate itself when damaged, there is always a limit to how much it can do. Any prolonged disruptions to the liver’s daily functions can lead to serious health consequences and put your life in danger.
WHAT CAN GO WRONG WITH THE LIVER?
Your liver is very resilient in the face of liver problems. It can remain functional after losing most of its cells to disease and regenerate in a few weeks - even after much of it has been removed during surgery.
But your liver isn't indestructible as it can fall ‘sick’ too. Prolonged accumulation of toxins in the body, obesity, high triglycerides, diabetes, excessive alcohol consumption over many years, infections, coupled with unhealthy lifestyle and eating habits are the main leading causes of liver disease. Too much alcohol and fats can make a normal liver swell, causing a condition called fatty liver. If the liver becomes inflamed, it can lead to cirrhosis, which causes irreversible liver damage.
Because of extensive scarring, a cirrhotic liver shrinks to a fraction of its normal size leading to deadly consequences. It is utmost crucial to note that because the liver have NO majorpain nerves, early stages of LIVER DAMAGEoften go UNNOTICED until too late, leading to LIVER CIRRHOSIS, LIVER CANCER, LIVER FAILURE and DEATH!
Disclaimer: The information provided is for educational and communication purpose only, for use in the maintenance and promotion of good health and should not be construed as personal medical advice or presented with the intention of diagnosing any disease or condition or prescribing any treatment. Bio Healthcare Enterprise shall hold No responsibility or liability on any untoward effects or incidents which may arise as a result of any misinterpretation of this information.
