Bad Habits That Are Harmful To Your Liver 

 

You know why it’s important to know what harms the liver? Because the organ is very important for the human organism? Located on the right side of the belly, its main function is to filter the blood with nutrients that come from the digestive tract, before passing it on to the rest of the body.

Their cells, called hepatocytes, are the ones who accept and filter that blood. They act as small screening centers, which determine which nutrients should be processed, which nutrients should be stored, which should be eliminated in the stool and which should be returned to the blood.

In addition, the organ breaks down or converts substances, extracts energy, makes toxins less dangerous to the body and removes these toxins from the bloodstream. The liver also stores vitamins and minerals like iron and copper and releases these nutrients if necessary to the body.

The liver also detoxifies chemicals, metabolizes medicines and alcohol, produces proteins important for blood clotting and provides bile, which is used in the digestion of fats.

As if it did not suffice, the organ also contributes to the immune system, stores excess blood aglucose in the form of glycogen and breaks down damaged old red blood cells.

That is, for anyone, it is extremely important to take good care of the health of their liver, so that it works well and is able to perform all these crucial tasks for the maintenance of the organism. So it is very worth knowing some things that are common in everyday life. However, they can cause liver problems. And that is exactly what you see in the following list.

 

(1) The Use Of Medications.

Have you ever heard that paracetamol is bad for the liver? Do you know that this concern is not unjustified? When it comes to preserving the health of the liver, it is important to be careful not only with the remedies used, but also with the dosage used and the duration of use of this medication. In other words, the recommendation is never to self-medicate, that is, to take medication on your own, without the guidance of a health professional.

Ideally, the use of a medication should always be guided by the doctor, who will know how to indicate not only the ideal remedy, but also determine what dosage and how long it should be used to treat the problem in question safely, that is, without posing risks to the liver and other areas of the body.

It is necessary to take special care with anti-inflammatory drugs, which for the time being do not need a prescription to be sold, because they are very strong for the liver. In the medium and long term, the indiscriminate use of these remedies can be quite dangerous.

When you think you need an anti-inflammatory, but you cannot see the doctor, ask the pharmacist for guidance on the dosage and duration of treatment before taking the medicine home and read the entire package insert before you start using it.

 

(2) Sugar

That excessive sugar consumption is associated with weight gain and the development of type 2 diabetes, you probably already know. But I knew that your excessive intake can also harm your liver?

The accumulation of abdominal fat that arises as a result of excessive sugar consumption can result in the development of fatty liver or hepatic steatosis.

When it comes to sugar, the reference is not only to the sweets themselves, but also to table sugar that is added to coffee, juice or other foods and drinks and to industrialised products that can come full of added sugar, as is the case of soda.

It is also worth mentioning that white flour, which is rich in simple carbohydrates, is interpreted by the human body as sugar, since the final product it generates is glucose.

 

(3) Sodium (Salt)

It is well known that excessive sodium consumption is very bad for your health. It can result in fluid retention, blood vessel hardening, high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, and heart failure, as pointed out by the School of Public Health at Harvard University in the United States.

But what about the liver? Well, it is not left out of that equation and can also be impaired by excessive sodium intake.

However, we need to remember that the mineral is not only present in table salt, but is also found in excessive quantities in the famous miojo, in industrialized spices, ready broths of meat, vegetables, or chicken (those in the shape of a square), shoyu sauce and other ready-made, canned, sausages, and other processed and processed foods.

When buying any food or drink, check the sodium content in the nutritional table that must be present on the product packaging. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, in the United States, healthy adults should not consume more than 2.3 thousand mg of sodium each day, individuals with high blood pressure should not ingest more than 1.5 thousand mg of the mineral each day, and those with persistent heart failure, liver cirrhosis, and kidney disease may need to consume much smaller amounts than these.

In turn, the American Heart Association recommends that adults limit their sodium intake to 1.5 millg of the nutrient per day.

 

(4) Herbal Teas And Supplements

Even natural products such as herbs can have contraindications and cause dangerous side effects to the liver, especially when overuse occurs. As I did, there are plants already recognised as dangerous to the organs: kava kava, chaparral, saccaca, ponytail, sacred cascara, thorny saint, mother-good, balcony, fedegoso, and black prick, for example.

However, consuming any tea or herbal supplement consistently, that is, daily and in large quantities, can be toxic to the liver in the medium and long term.

 

In addition, some herbal supplements can deliver in a single capsule an amount of the active compound of the plant that corresponds to five or six cups of tea. Then, with the urge to obtain the benefits attributed to the herb in question, the person can take about three capsules daily, which can result in liver problems.

That is why, before you start using a tea or herbal supplement for any purpose, it is essential to consult your doctor to find out if the product is really right for you and at what dosage and for how long it can be used safely, so that it is not dangerous to your liver or other parts of the body.

 

(5) Alcoholic Drinks

Whether it’s just consuming a dose of alcoholic beverages every day, or staying all week without drinking alcohol but abusing the drink on the weekend, alcohol is a toxic substance for the liver to metabolise and excrete.

Alcoholic beverages overload the organ, which means that the liver is unable to perform the functions it should have, since it is busy with the task of dealing with the excess alcohol that has been ingested.

There are a number of liver diseases that are associated with excessive drinking of alcoholic beverages: liver cirrhosis, fatty liver (hepatic steatosis), alcoholic hepatitis, and liver cancer.

For those who do not want to be without alcoholic beverages but are aware of the need to take care of their liver’s health, the recommendation is not to consume alcohol daily but to ingest a small amount-one or two doses at most-of their eventual alcohol consumption.

 

(6) Obesity Or Being Overweight

Overweight or obesity results in the wrong secretion of some hormones, especially insulin. This can result in problems such as metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes and favour the accumulation of abdominal fat.

But what about the liver? This process can also favour the accumulation of fat around the liver, resulting in the development of fatty liver or hepatic steatosis. That is, to take care of the organ, it is also super important to maintain a healthy body weight.