Regularly drinking alcohol has a lot of negative consequences on the overall health of an individual. High blood pressure, liver cirrhosis, irregular heartbeats, and cancer are linked to the long-term effects of alcohol consumption.
The most important thing that everyone should consider is that most people with alcohol addiction are more likely to experience problems with their health.
Exceeding the guidelines for alcohol consumption significantly increases the risk of your developing alcohol dependence and strokes.
Millions of people in the US struggle with alcohol dependence, abuse, alcohol addiction, or alcohol use or alcohol use disorder. According to research, only a few people with a diagnosed alcohol use disorder get the help they need, which means millions of people every tear struggle with acute and chronic health issues. Short term and long-term effects come from excessive consumption of alcohol regularly.
Our liver plays a crucial role in keeping our body functioning. It is believed that the organ is vital because it performs more than 500 functions including processing everything you eat and drink. It transforms nutrients from the food we eat into essential blood components. The liver helps in the storage of essential vitamins and minerals and production of key proteins and enzymes that works to maintain hormonal balance in the body. Also, it assists our immune system in fighting infections and removing microorganism from the blood. The liver also helps in the bile production which is essential for digesting fats in your diet.
In the US, around 1 in 3 people have fat in their liver and body. Having non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (having excess fat stored in the liver) may lead to life-threatening conditions, including liver failure and liver cancer. Therefore, you need to keep the liver healthy and functioning because without it there is no life.
Tips for a Healthy Liver
How to keep the liver healthy? There is nothing tricky about keeping your liver healthy. It’s all about following healthy lifestyle habits. Taking care of the liver is more about what you are eating or doing to nourish the liver. Here are 5 ways to look after your liver:
- Follow a balanced diet- Eat mindfully daily by highlighting the foods that will keep your liver healthy. A reduction in carbohydrates and total calories can improve the fat stored in the liver. The idea is to skip high fat and high sugar meal because high levels of fats in the blood may give rise to fatty liver disease. For a healthy liver eat fiber-rich foods such as fruits, vegetables, cereals, bread, rice, and whole grain. For fats, you can go with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as nuts seeds, vegetable oil, and fish.
- Have an active lifestyle- Regular physical activity is a key to the healthy body including a healthy liver. Exercising regularly helps your body to burn triglycerides for fuel, which assists in reducing liver fat. An exercise program including brisk walking or cycling and weight training may improve your liver function.
- Stay Hydrated- Toxins that affect your liver and kidneys build up when you are dehydrated. Dehydration may have a direct impact on the ability of the liver to detoxify the body properly. So, to take care of the body, you need to remain hydrated. Hydration is essential, so drink at least eight glasses of water a day.
Also Read: 5 Steps to Clean the Liver
- Limit Alcohol Consumption- Excess alcohol can damage or even destroy your liver cells. Over time liver damage may lead to the building of fat in your liver which causes swelling or scarring of the liver, also called as liver cirrhosis. Speak to your doctor and discuss what amount is right for you.
- Avoid Toxins – Environmental toxins are the most harmful when it comes to affecting the liver health. Other things that may affect the health of the liver include a poor diet, infectious organisms, and alcohol. Exposure to a harmful chemical in the environment including benzene, disinfectant, heavy metals, cigarette smoke, and pesticides can backlog the liver as it attempts to deactivate the effects of these poisonous molecules. Infectious organisms like hepatitis viruses are most dangerous and a major cause of liver inflammation. Any sort of chronic infection can damage liver cells. Therefore, it is vital to get liver protection to limit your direct contact with these harmful chemicals.
