Superficial.
This one word can describe how we characterize health today. For many of us, we focus more on what is on the outside
rather than the inside. I believe that is a major problem.
Why? It’s because of this thinking that we fail to take care of what’s really important in our bodies. Take for example your
liver. Have you ever thought about loving your liver?
For many of us, we don’t even know where the liver is in our bodies. However, the liver is one of the most important
things that keeps you alive.
According to Dr. Rohit Satoskar of the Medstar Georgetown Transplant Institute the liver is an organ we often take for
granted. We can destroy our livers quite easily but once you trash it, it is gone.
But how important really is our liver? Here are the major tasks our livers do on the daily:
1. The liver produces bile
Bile is a substance that helps our body digest fat by breaking it down, making it easier to be digested and transferred into the small intestine.
2. The liver is our body’s natural detoxifier
when blood runs through the liver, it rids the blood of the harmful substances that our blood gets in the food or drinks we consume. That’s why we don’t die immediately from alcohol or drug use.
It preserves energy for our body
when we fast, or when we don’t have enough energy, the liver converts our stored sugar into sugar our body can use. This normally occurs when our glucose levels are below normal.
It gets rid of old red blood cells
The liver is the one responsible for destroying and sending old red blood cells into the stool. That is why one symptom that your liver may have a problem is the discoloration of your stool.
While we cannot comprehend all those things that the liver does to our body, one thing is very important to take note of
– YOUR LIVER IS IMPORTANT.
So, how do we take care of our liver? Here are 5 simple ways that you can start doing today
1. Limit or eliminate your alcohol intake
As indicated in one of our previous articles here, alcohol is technically poison. Specifically, it destroys the cells inside the liver. Some complications may
include:
a. Fatty Liver
b. Inflammation of the Liver
c. Scarring of the liver
2. Become active
When you are active, not only do you sweat and lose weight, but it also promotes healthy blood circulation. As the heart pumps blood, it then lets the liver do its work of regulating the blood and making the overall circulation efficient. Exercise does more than your figure, it helps you in the inside too!
3. Control your diet
What you eat will generally affect the outcome of your liver health. If you want to protect your liver, make sure to include anti-inflammatory, high fiber diet in your meal planning. Some of the food you want to consider eating are the following:
a. Green vegetables – known as highly rich in antioxidants, leafy greens also contains anti-inflammatory
agents that will help your liver stay healthy
b. Coconut oil – Coconut oil contains lauric acid. This type of acid is found to have several benefits like
being antimicrobial and antiviral. It helps the liver detox.
4. Forgive and Forget
What does emotions have to do with liver health? Some suggest that emotional troubles affect certain parts of the body. Emotional issues such as anger, bitterness, guilt and unforgiveness usually affect us in more ways than one. If you are prone to stress because of these emotional issues, your body tends to secrete substances that may affect your liver.
Our takeaway:
Caring for your body involves taking care of it as a whole and by parts. While some parts look important, we must also
focus on the parts of our body that we do not see. While the liver may not work like the eyes, nose or hands, It does
have an important role to play in our overall health. Remember, you can work with one hand, but you will definitely die
without a liver. That’s why it’s important to become a liver lover, boy!
About The Author
Manuel is a guy who loves books. He enjoys reading and does it whenever he can. If he’s not reading, he spends time with his family If he’s not reading, he spends time with his family and also ministers to teenagers in a local church. He does public speaking and talks about issues concerning the youth and young professionals. An Oleia topical oil user and content contributor.
