Chronic liver diseases kill millions of people a year. With the necessary precautions your liver will always work in your favor.
It is no secret that the proper functioning of the liver is vital so that the rest of the organs of the body fulfill their work and have a good quality of life. What not everyone knows is that, to date, it has been found that the liver fulfills just over 500 functions on its own. Among the most important are the transformation of food into energy, the elimination of toxins and alcohol from the blood and the production of bile to aid digestion.
If the liver stopped fulfilling its functions, your whole body would collapse. The clotting of your blood would be much slower, you would be intoxicated by the amount of toxic substances that would travel through your bloodstream, your immune system would be deficient and glucose would not be converted into glycogen to be used as a source of energy, among many other consequences.
Although on all sides the importance of a healthy liver is promoted through good nutrition, low consumption of alcohol and fat, chronic liver diseases, especially cirrhosis? They have become one of the leading causes of mortality in the world, ranking sixth in Mexico and third among men who are 23 to 64 years old. The main complication of cirrhosis is hepatic encephalopathy, which is a brain disorder that can end in death. In hepatic encephalopathy, the liver loses the ability to fulfill its functions and, as it does not purify the blood, various substances, such as ammonia, reach the brain and accumulate, progressively altering brain functions.
Although cirrhosis has become a real threat to men, it is not the only chronic liver condition that can affect you to the degree of leading to premature death. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease has grown alarmingly in recent years and, along with liver fibrosis, are serious effects that you have to avoid at any rate.
THE ENEMIES TO BEAT
Hepatic cirrhosis
It is the gradual destruction of liver tissue due to prolonged injuries or diseases, this causes the progressive decrease in blood flow that passes through it. As liver tissue is lost, substances such as nutrients, hormones or toxins cease to be processed by the liver, and protein production is inhibited. The bad news is that the damage caused to the liver by cirrhosis is irreversible.
This is the cause
You have already heard: its main cause is prolonged alcohol abuse, but there are other factors that can intervene to develop cirrhosis, such as having suffered hepatitis, the use of certain drugs, having been exposed to chemicals, suffer from cystic fibrosis, diabetes or malnutrition, among others.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
It is a problem that becomes relatively common, where the rate of dead cells in the liver is increased, which brings a series of alterations in it, the most common being the accumulation of fat in the liver organ. This used to be an exclusive problem of drinkers but, from a few years to date, it has occurred more frequently in people who do not drink alcohol and therefore had to change their classification. When the liver is surrounded by fat it changes both its appearance and its function, which causes it to swell and produce a non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, which can lead to cirrhosis.
This is the cause.
Our bodies were designed to keep moving. Failure to do so brings many problems. Eating more of the bill and leading a sedentary life can lead to this condition without the need for alcohol (although its prolonged abuse can also end in fatty liver disease). Today it affects, in the United States alone, about 90 million people. Although more research is needed, it is known that eating more calories than necessary, not exercising enough and leading a sedentary life affect to develop this condition, which can result in premature death.
Liver fibrosis
It is the growth of scar tissue as a result of infection, inflammation, injury or healing, and inhibits liver functions.
This is often caused by fibrosis as a result of cirrhosis.
THE SOLUTIONS
Straight to the elliptical
Researchers observed 13 obese and sedentary men, who suffered from fatty liver disease, in a seven-day exercise program, which consisted of 60 minutes of supervised aerobic exercise at a maximum heart rate of between 80 and 85 percent each day. . The concentrations of a chemical in the blood associated with the death of liver cells dropped significantly that week, suggesting that aerobic exercise may work in this group of people, although more studies are needed to confirm it.
Slow slow
A study applied to 15 people in a prediabetic state suggests that simply walking can decrease the progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. In the study, participants walked in a band for one hour seven days a week at 85 percent of their heart rate. Before and after the study, the researchers measured the polyunsaturated lipid index (ILP, an indicator of liver health) of the participants. After seven days, the level of ILP increased by 84 percent, something extremely positive for people at risk of developing liver disease. “Exercise seems to affect the accumulated metabolic risk factors for disease progression,” says Jacob M. Haus of the Cleveland Clinic. At present,
The Lower red
Scientists analyzed the data of 495 thousand people with the aim of investigating the relationship between the consumption of meat and fat, and the risk of hepatocellular cancer (the most common liver cancer) and death from chronic liver disease. Compared to those who ate less red meat, those who ate the most had a risk of dying from chronic liver disease 2.6 percent higher and 74 percent higher chances of developing hepatocellular cancer. Saturated fat intake was associated with a 3.5 percent higher risk of dying from chronic liver disease and an 87 percent increase in your chances of developing this type of cancer. On the other hand, the ingestion of white meat implied a fall in the probabilities of 48 percent in both measurements.
Curcuminate
Curcumin, a component of turmeric spice (also known as stick or saffron root), has anti-inflammatory properties. A study applied to mice suggests that it could delay the damage of progressive inflammatory diseases of the liver, such as biliary cirrhosis and sclerosing cholangitis. Both conditions cause inflammation in the bile ducts of the liver, which leads to scarring and obstruction of these, which can lead to fatal cirrhosis. The research mouse suffering from chronic liver inflammation was given a diet high in curcumin for eight weeks. Liver tissue and blood were analyzed before and after the rodent ingested the component and the results were compared with data from another who was on a control diet.
Get off what you already know
Two research published on bmj.com found that high body mass indexes (BMI) and alcohol work together to increase the risk of liver disease. The first study collected data from one million 230 thousand 622 women to investigate the relationship between them and the risk of cirrhosis. It was concluded that having a BMI above 22.5 increases the risk of liver cirrhosis regardless of alcohol intake. On the other hand, the relative risk of cirrhosis due to an increase of five BMI units, without exceeding 22.5, still with alcohol intake was negligible; however, the absolute differences were not. The absolute risk of liver cirrhosis was similar among obese and normal-weight women who drank between half an alcoholic drink and a third a day, but the thing changed between those who had two and a half drinks a day. The absolute risk of cirrhosis was 2.7 / 1000 in five years among those at average weight, and 5/1000 among obese women. The second study focused on the effect of BMI, alcohol consumption and the risk of dying from liver disease. Participants were divided into nine groups according to their BMI and their alcohol consumption habits. Compared to those who were underweight and did not drink, obese drinkers and large drinkers, regardless of their BMI category, had a higher risk of dying from liver disease. Drinking a lot of alcohol increases the effects of obesity in terms of the risk of dying from a liver condition. For example, obese people who drank one to 14 drinks a week increased their risk of dying from these diseases by 5.58; those who took 15 increased it to 18.9.
Get on
Olive oil is also good for the liver. In one study, rats that were fed with this oil showed less oxidative stress after being exposed to a harmful herbicide compared to those that were not given. Apparently, the monounsaturated fat contained in olive oil works as a protector and its polyphenols could nullify the dangerous free radicals.