A US-based gastroenterologist has warned against doing three things that can seriously harm and affect your liver health in the long run.
According to Florida’s Dr Joseph Salhab, your liver – the largest internal organ in the human body, which performs over 500 functions, including digestion of proteins, mineral storage, and bile production- needs a lot of care.
Dr Salhab listed three things most people do on a daily basis without realizing how they affect their liver, leading to dangerous and even fatal conditions like cirrhosis and fatty liver disease, caused by inflammation.
Three things you need to stop doing
Drinking alcohol
“If you are drinking alcohol every single day, you will develop liver failure after a period of ten years,” Dr Salhab, popularly known by his moniker Stomachdoc on Instagram, told his followers. Alcohol-associated liver disease, which includes a range of conditions from fatty liver to severe cirrhosis, is one of the most common causes of chronic liver disease and death today, even among youngsters.
According to experts, ALD typically progresses in stages, although these can overlap and not all heavy drinkers will develop every stage, which include Steatosis, alcohol-associated Hepatitis, and cirrhosis. “So be mindful of how much you are drinking every week,” he added. Key risk factors include the amount of alcohol you drink, even though the new guidelines issued by the World Health Organization say any amount increases the chances of developing liver diseases.
Consuming high-calorie food
Eating foods that are loaded with saturated fats and processed sugar puts you at risk of fatty liver disease, which can progress to severe liver damage.
Your liver’s primary function is to process nutrients and remove toxins. When you consume more calories than your body needs, the excess energy is converted into fat and stored in liver cells. This fat accumulation, known as hepatic steatosis, leads to severe inflammation, scarring, and eventually, irreversible conditions like cirrhosis or liver cancer.
Not getting regular check-ups done
“Not getting your liver checked, at least once or twice a year, with blood work, is a culprit. Some of these liver diseases are sneaky and silent and can have no symptoms. So, sometimes the only way to find out early is to get checked,” said Dr Salhab.
According to experts, late diagnosis in most liver-related conditions allows the disease to progress and cause irreversible damage – thereby leading to liver failure or liver cancer, which are irreversible and fatal. Regular liver checks help to catch diseases early, when they are often reversible and manageable.