How to keep your liver healthy?
Your liver is a vital organ that plays an important role in many body functions, from helping to break down food and turn it into energy to regulating hormones and filtering out toxins. So, keeping it healthy and functioning optimally is important for your overall health and wellbeing.
This guide explains how you can improve your liver health by eating foods for liver health, eliminating toxic substances like alcohol from your diet, and much more. Alongside tips for improving liver function, we’ll also share how you can monitor your liver health with private liver function blood tests.
What does the liver do?
The liver is an essential organ that performs hundreds of functions necessary to sustain life. Some of the most vital jobs it performs are:
- Cleaning toxic substances out of the blood
- Getting rid of old red blood cells
- Making bile, a fluid that helps the body digest food
- Metabolising proteins, carbohydrates and fats so your body can use them
- Producing substances to help blood clot
- Regulating the amount of blood in the body
- Storing glycogen (energy) and vitamins
In addition, the liver is a gland that makes proteins and hormones vital for normal and healthy function in other parts of the body.
Why is looking after your liver important?
The liver plays an integral role in many body functions, so any issues can affect overall health, which is why looking after your liver is important. The British Liver Trust found that 9 in 10 cases of liver disease could be prevented, many just by making simple lifestyle changes.
Not looking after your liver can increase your risk of some types of liver disease, which can negatively affect your overall health.
What is liver disease?
There are many different types of liver disease, as the term is used to refer to any chronic condition that causes progressive damage to your liver over time. The liver possesses impressive regenerative powers, but constantly working overtime to restore itself takes its toll, and eventually, it can’t keep up.
Some of the most common types of liver disease include:
- Alcohol-related liver disease
- Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
- Haemochromatosis
- Hepatitis
Many of these conditions can lead to cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), which can cause serious symptoms and can even be life-threatening.
How can you improve your liver function?
Although liver disease is a serious condition, there are lots of things you can do to help improve your liver function. Below, we share some of our top tips, from limiting your alcohol to consuming more of the best foods for liver health:
Limit your alcohol intake
One of the best ways to boost liver health is to limit your alcohol intake, as alcohol consumption is the most common cause of liver disease in the UK, accounting for 6 in 10 cases.
Alcohol is toxic to your liver, so it must break it down so it can be safely removed from the body. However, the by-products of breaking alcohol down are also toxic.
Your liver can deal with these toxic substances in small amounts, but if you regularly drink more than the recommended 14 units of alcohol per week, or you regularly drink a large amount of alcohol in one go (binge drink), your liver becomes overwhelmed, and the toxic substances build up. This causes damage, such as cirrhosis, which is scarring of the liver that can prevent your liver from working properly and eventually lead to liver failure.
To minimise your risk of developing alcohol-related liver disease you should:
- Avoid binge drinking
- Not consume more than 14 units of alcohol per week
- Have at least 48 hours alcohol-free every week
Eat well
Eating a well-balanced and nutritious diet can also support your liver health. For most people, following a well-balanced diet means eating lots of vegetables, fruit, and high-fibre foods and limiting foods high in fats, sugars, salt, and refined carbohydrates. Explore our guide to the healthiest diets to learn more about eating healthily.
There are also lots of ‘liver healing foods’ that have been linked to improved liver function, including:
- Artichokes – These fibrous green vegetables contain antioxidants that studies have found help protect the liver against damage from toxins. Artichokes also appear to boost bile production and aid the body’s digestion of fats.
- Milk thistle – This plant contains silymarin, an antioxidant-rich compound that is thought to help stabilise the membranes of liver cells and prevent the entry of toxins. Milk thistle is taken as a supplement.
- Chilli peppers – Fiery chilies contain capsaicin, which is thought to have a beneficial effect on liver damage.
- Turmeric – Turmeric contains curcumin, a bright yellow substance and powerful antioxidant known for its anti-inflammatory properties it is also believed to help reduce scarring in the liver by protecting the flow of bile which breaks down fat.
- Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids – Foods like salmon, herring, and mackerel are all rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which could help reduce fat build-up in the liver, a common cause of non-alcohol-related fatty liver disease.
- Garlic – Some research has shown that garlic can help prevent cardiovascular disease, colds, and cholesterol and protect the liver from harmful toxins.
- Eggs – Packed with choline, a vitamin that contributes to normal liver function, eggs are the perfect food to boost liver health.
If you already have liver disease, you may need to make further adjustments to your diet to help support your overall health. Liver damage can often cause symptoms like nausea, poor appetite, weight loss, and fluid retention, but following a specialist diet and eating small regular meals throughout the day can help improve these symptoms.
Maintain a healthy weight
Obesity is a major cause of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Being overweight or obese can cause fat to build up in the liver. Over time these fat deposits can prevent your liver from working properly and lead to NAFLD, which then leads to cirrhosis.
However, if you’re overweight, losing more than 10% of your bodyweight can help remove stored fat from your liver and reduce your risk of developing NAFLD.
To maintain a healthy weight, it’s important to follow a healthy diet that balances the amount of food you eat with the energy you use. Increasing your exercise can also help you to lose weight and keep it off.
Stay active
Regular exercise is good for your overall health and wellbeing. But when it comes to the liver specifically, exercise helps your body burn fat for fuel, and this can help reduce the build-up of fatty deposits in your liver.
Anything that raises your heart rate counts as exercise. Exercise can be a walk around the block, doing some gardening, household chores, or swimming. It doesn’t need to be complicated - it’s best to start with an activity that you enjoy, as you’re more likely to stick with it.
Reduce your risk of viral hepatitis
Hepatitis is a major threat to a healthy liver, so minimising your risk of this condition can be beneficial to your liver. The three main types of Hepatitis are A, B, and C. How they are transmitted and affect your liver differ slightly:
Hepatitis A
Is usually transmitted via infected food or water and is more common in countries where sanitation is poor, which is why you may be advised to avoid drinking anything but bottled water in some countries.
There’s no specific treatment for Hepatitis A, and it usually passes within a few months. However, in rare cases, it can be more severe or even life-threatening.
To minimise your risk of Hepatitis A, you should always seek and follow travel advice from your GP surgery before travelling to areas where the virus is more prone, such as the Indian subcontinent, Africa, Central and South America, the Far East, and Eastern Europe. They may advise having a Hepatitis A vaccination and following safe eating and drinking practices.
Hepatitis B
Is a common infection worldwide that is transmitted in an infected person's blood. It is commonly spread from infected pregnant women to their babies but can also be spread by unprotected sex or injecting drugs.
Most adults with Hepatitis B can fight off the virus and make a full recovery in a few months. However, children can develop a long-term infection known as chronic Hepatitis B, which can lead to liver cirrhosis and cancer. Chronic Hepatitis B can be treated with antiviral medication.
Although common worldwide, the UK has relatively low rates as children are routinely vaccinated. In adults, Hepatitis B vaccination is only recommended for those in high-risk groups, such as:
- Healthcare workers
- People who inject drugs
- Children born to mothers with hepatitis B
- People travelling to parts of the world where the infection is more common
Hepatitis C
Is caused by the Hepatitis C virus and is usually spread through blood-to-blood contact with an infected person. As a result, in the UK, it is most common for those sharing needles to inject drugs.
Hepatitis C often doesn’t cause any noticeable symptoms, so many people are unaware they are infected. Some people can fight off the virus quickly, but others have the condition for years. This is known as chronic Hepatitis C, and this can cause cirrhosis and liver failure.
To minimise your risk of Hepatitis C you should avoid blood-to-blood contact with individuals.
Private liver function tests
At Bluecrest Wellness, our private liver function test evaluates the health and functionality of your liver. This comprehensive test measures how well your liver performs its normal functions, producing protein and clearing out bilirubin, a blood waste product. Other test markers include the presence of enzymes released by liver cells in response to damage or disease to give you a more complete picture of your liver health.
You can book a private liver function blood test at locations across the UK at a time to suit you. Plus, you can be confident that we will deliver fast, efficient and accurate results as we have established links with leading UK laboratories and are fully accredited for a wide range of private blood checks.
