Things to love about the liver

The liver is the organ of the human digestive system, the most important role is to help digestion of food, especially the digestion of oily foods, liver detoxification function, and discharge of toxic substances in the body. Therefore, we must do the following things well and love our liver.

1. Lose Weight, Eat Yogurt: A smashed food will cause your intestines to store some foods that cannot be digested. Bacteria will ferment these foods and produce some harmful substances in your colon. The result is that the liver becomes hypertrophic due to digesting unhealthy foods. The solution is to lose weight, eat more skim yogurt. Dr. Mae Diehl of Johns Hopkins University suggested: "In animal experiments, it has been confirmed that eating a cup of yogurt every day has an antibacterial effect. Applying to humans can reduce the chance of getting fatty liver."

2. Stop for 6 drinks: Be aware that if you feed the liver with alcohol that exceeds its digestive capacity, it will become hypertrophic. The alcohol filter in the liver becomes a sick yellow as it swallows too much fat. Dr. Raymond Koff, a liver pathologist at the University of Massachusetts, has found that this change can occur theoretically overnight. Of course, let your liver rest for a while and its function will recover, but if you continue to give it a heavy burden, it will have irreversible damage, scars will remain forever, until you die of cirrhosis.

3. Eat less drugs that injure the liver: Drugs like antipyretics, which have a by-product called Tylenol, are harmful active ingredients. Your body's method of dealing with them is limited. Tylenol that is not discharged will destroy liver cells. According to William M. Lee, MD, a hepatologist at the University of Texas, “The problem with this drug is that their side effects and efficacy are mutually reinforcing. If you take it, it’s very difficult to avoid this.” The method is to reduce the amount of drug to safe measurement. If you eat too much, you should go to the hospital to see a doctor. For drugs such as antipyretic net, please do not take it within 48 hours after drinking, which will increase the burden on the liver. If you must take it, a small number of methods can reduce the side effects.

4. Check your usual medicines: In addition to Tylenol, there are other medicines that will inevitably erode your liver. Because of the different pharmacology of chemicals, their side effects are sometimes harmless, but sometimes they can cause serious damage to the body. Dr. Adrian Di Bisceglie, Medical Director of the American Liver Fund said: "When you take erythromycin, anti-hypertensive drugs or other drugs that may cause damage to the liver, do not forget to remind your doctor to give you regular checks of liver function. ”

5. Wash your hands before meals: Wash your hands before eating This seemingly simple action can be very effective in preventing the spread of hepatitis A.

6. Think before you tattoo: If you must catch up with this fashion, first listen to the research findings of the Southwestern University of Texas Institute. They found that the risk of transmission of hepatitis C caused by tattoos was 9 times higher than the usual transmission channels. In the United States, the death caused by hepatitis C has already exceeded AIDS. The head of the research team, Robert W. Haley, warned that some tattoo shops may claim that their operating instruments are sterile. This makes no sense because the tattooists When operating, secondary pollution is very easy to happen.

7. Take some alpha-lipoic acid: This is not a hallucinogen. It is an antioxidant produced by glutathione, the top boss of your liver. This substance can detoxify toxic substances, become soluble in water and excreted from the kidneys. Dr. Savant Mehta, director of the Liver Transplantation Center at the University of Massachusetts, said that for patients who have Tylenol poisoning, we will give them a medicine to stimulate their glutathione production. In order to maximize the detoxification of the liver, they give the patient twice a day 50 mg of alpha-lipoic acid tablets. This medicine is also available in pharmacies.

8. Eat some milk powder: Milk this type of food is very popular in European countries. The active ingredient of this food is silymarin in its stem. A study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology showed that silymarin can help restore liver function due to alcohol damage, virus erosion, or chemical damage. Dr. Mehta said that although the effectiveness of milk thistle needs further scientific demonstration, about half of the patients in my clinic are taking it. But if you want to try, there is no such medicine in China. In addition, the price of this medicine in the United States is 23 US$/60 capsules.

9. Cupping protein powder: Some bodybuilding professionals often take protein powder to help them strengthen their biceps. But how does protein powder enhance liver function? A study published in the Journal of Nutrition shows that when rats are given protein-rich diets, their damaged liver begins to recover. Harihara Mehendale, a toxicology professor at the University of Louisiana, believes that such treatment ideas are equally effective in humans because there are many amino acids and glutamate components necessary for liver growth in protein powders.