Liver, one of the most important and largest organs of the human body, is called the main factory of our body, which handles hundreds of important tasks ranging from digestion to purifying the blood and storing energy. But the irony is that due to modern lifestyle, bad eating habits and lack of physical activity, liver related diseases are rapidly taking the form of an epidemic. Liver diseases are often called 'silent killer' by medical science and health experts, behind which a very scary and scientific truth is hidden. This disease is called a silent killer because when the liver starts deteriorating internally or is struggling with initial problems like fatty liver, it does not cause any significant pain or obvious symptoms in the body in the initial stages. People keep ignoring their general fatigue and weakness, and by the time the symptoms of this serious disease come out, it is too late and most of the liver has been damaged.
Liver is such a unique and miraculous organ in our body that has the natural ability to regenerate itself, due to which it silently tolerates the initial damage. When a person consumes excessive amounts of junk food, oily food, processed sugar and unhealthy diet, or is not physically active at all, excess fat gradually starts accumulating in the liver cells. This condition is called Fatty Liver Disease in medical language, which later paves the way for fatal diseases like cirrhosis and liver failure. Since the liver does not have any pain receptors, it is unable to make the person feel pain despite being damaged internally. This is the reason why most of the patients do not realize that their liver is internally affected by the disease and this silence makes it the biggest enemy of the human body.
Diseases that hollow the liver from within mainly include non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), alcoholic liver disease, dangerous viral infections like hepatitis B and C. Apart from this, people who consume alcohol excessively, their liver gets tired of expelling toxins and liver cells start dying. Type-2 diabetes, increased obesity, high blood pressure and imbalance of cholesterol in the body also directly destroy the health of the liver. Continuous excessive consumption of painkillers or antibiotics without doctor's advice also puts a heavy toxic load on the liver, due to which liver tissues start getting damaged. When all these diseases and bad habits together put pressure on the liver, this organ gradually stops working and poison starts spreading in the body, which can even lead to the death of the patient.
Even though liver disease is called a silent killer, when this disease progresses a little, the body starts giving some very subtle and hidden signals, which are very important to be identified in time. Its initial signs can be extreme fatigue without any hard work, feeling of weakness in the body, slight yellowing of the eyes or skin (symptoms of jaundice), heaviness or mild pain in the upper right part of the stomach. Apart from this, sudden weight loss, swelling in feet and ankles, constant itching on the skin and the color of urine becoming very dark yellow also indicate that your liver is in danger. If a person experiences any of these symptoms for a long time, he should immediately stop being careless and consult a good gastroenterologist or liver specialist and get a liver function test (LFT) and ultrasound done.
To keep our life safe and keep our liver healthy, it is very important that we bring positive changes in our lifestyle and pay special attention to our diet. Include green leafy vegetables, fresh fruits, whole grains, fiber-rich diet and plenty of water in your diet, which help detoxify the liver. Completely abstain from flour, refined sugar, packed food and excessive fried foods, because these things are the biggest causes of fatty liver. Apart from this, start doing yoga, pranayama, running or gym regularly so that body weight is controlled and fat does not reach the liver. Staying away from harmful habits like alcohol and smoking is the biggest guarantee of long life of the liver, because once the liver gets completely damaged, its treatment becomes very difficult and expensive, so adopt the principle of 'prevention is better than cure' and start taking care of your liver today.