5 Foods and 10 Habits you Didn’t Know are Hurting your Liver

The liver is a super-organ in our body, responsible for many functions. Its main function is the purification of toxins and other substances in circulating blood. It also helps ensure that our blood is freely moving in our body without any difficulty as it produces important clotting factors. It also stores vitamins and fat efficiently, though when fat deposition is higher, it can cause fatty liver disease. It also helps the immune system perform its function smoothly. It obviously helps in digestion because of the secretion of bile. Lastly, it is also responsible for ensuring that ammonia gets converted to urea for safe excretion from the body.

Common Foods Contributing To Liver Damage-

Our liver is continuously working to make sure all functions go on seamlessly. Some damage may occur due to daily wear and tear, which is totally to be expected. The liver also has a very versatile population of stem cells that get right to work- repairing any damage as soon as it happens. But, they cannot work forever. Let us look at some food groups which may contribute to liver damage-

• Any food that has a high glycaemic index- like fruits, honey, sweeteners- they are all rich in fructose.
• Foods that have added sugars in them- like all your favourite snacks, sweets, fried stuff, adding sugar to your chai or cuppa
• Diet high in fat- like seed oils, butter, animal fat etc. 
• If you tend to eat raw meat – like fish or otherwise, you may be exposing yourself to a viral infection.
• Raw veggies like tomato, cucumber, chickpeas, spinach, mangoes and eggs can cause infections or it may be too hard for the liver to process them for nutrients.

Lifestyle choices that negatively impact liver function-

Millions of Indians suffer from a variety of liver issues like Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, hepatitis, cirrhosis, fibrosis and liver failure in the extreme cases. Our liver normally stores about 5% fat, but it can store more when there is a glut of resources. This leads to fatty liver or steatosis, which is a hallmark of many metabolic disorders that can strike later on. We think you should work on these areas for better liver health-

• Not consuming probiotics is a bad decision. 
• A diet high in trans fats can cause steatosis
• A diet low in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids is hard on the liver as it helps break down many compounds which release free radicals. Antioxidants help in getting rid of damage causing free radicals. 
• High sodium intake can increase blood pressure and cause liver failure in the long run
• A sedentary lifestyle can cause insulin resistance, obesity and cause the liver to get affected adversely. 
• Consuming alcohol regularly can make the liver work overtime. Alcohol is toxic in nature and the liver works to detoxify it. If you keep subjecting your liver to such abuse, it will lead to inflammation and severe liver disease. 
• Smoking can expose the liver to a variety of toxins in an indirect manner. 
• You should always stick to the medication dose prescribed by your doctor. Overdosing can cause serious complications as the liver tries hard to work on them
• Unsafe sexual practices are a total no-no. You should be really careful of Hepatitis C which is a sexually transmitted disease. 
• The liver needs plenty of water to work its magic. If you don’t drink enough, then you are putting your liver in some serious danger.

Conclusion

We have given you a very general list of all the foods and habits that can damage your liver in the long term. But some uncommon causes of liver damage from daily habits include not sleeping enough and being stressed for long periods of time. Fatty liver disease is a silent epidemic in India, with almost 50% of the population suffering from some form of it in a few regions of the country. Being a couch potato is bad for health too, as you are not moving, sweating and actively helping your liver detoxify. Let us learn how to take care of our liver better, so it can continue to take good care of us.