This is a month to focus on the fabulous things that your liver does for your body and your health. Did you know that over 30 million people in the U.S. have a form of liver disease including fatty liver?
This is a month to focus on the fabulous things that your liver does for your body and your health. Did you know that over 30 million people in the U.S. have a form of liver disease including fatty liver? There is a very real and present danger to your liver by being overweight.
Did you also know that there are over 100 different types of liver diseases and that many people are infected with Hepatitis B and C and are completely unaware of the fact? And although excessive drinking and drug usage does cause cirrhosis of the liver, other liver diseases are routinely caused by obesity.
The Liver Foundation brings people’s attention to liver diseases such as Hepatitis A and B, cirrhosis, biliary atresia and liver cancer; however, the foundation is wanting more people to know about the incidence of Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease which affects almost 25 percent of the United States population!
Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver disease is the build-up of extra fat in the liver in people who are overweight, diabetic or obese, or have high triglycerides, or high cholesterol. It is normal for the liver to have some fat, but if it is more than 5-10 percent of the liver’s weight in fat then it is called “fatty liver” and can lead to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, which means that along, with accumulating fat, there is inflammation and damage to the liver.
A swollen, inflamed liver may cause severe scarring (cirrhosis) over time and lead eventually to liver cancer or liver failure. Are you surprised to know that it is estimated that over 7 million children in the United States have fatty livers. Childhood obesity rates are climbing.
So how do we protect our chief de-toxifying organ? A healthy liver is important for us to maintain for a healthy, clean and lean body. We must maintain a healthy weight, by ridding our bodies of impurities and also feeding it with optimal clean food. Avoid eating saturated fats, high calorie meals, refined carbohydrates and sugars. And don’t eat raw shellfish.
Exercise regularly. This means at least three times a week, if not every day, because exercise helps burn triglycerides for fuel to reduce the possibility of fatty liver. Avoid toxins. Easier said than done in today’s polluted environment, but try to limit the contact with known toxins and then do what I do, which is a full body detox using products than you can find at www.discoverthis.isagenix.com. Get them wholesale by going to this site.
Also feed your body optimally by also finding clean nutritional products on this site. Use alcohol responsibility. One or two drinks per day is the maximum. After that, your liver starts to scar with cirrhosis. They don’t call it intoxication for nothing!
The use of illicit drugs is rampant. The estimates are that, in 2012, nearly 24 million people in the U.S., ages 12 and older were illicit drug users. This is almost 10 percent of the population. Shocking! Don’t use contaminated needles. This is a no brainer, as none of us needs to contract someone else’s liver disease through punctures. This goes for tattoos as well.
If you get inked, get it done at a reputable center. Unprotected sex (especially with multiple partners) is another way of getting hepatitis B and or C, as well as other nasty and deadly diseases. Wash your hands frequently, especially after using the bathroom, changing a diaper or dealing with other people’s body fluids. Follow the directions on all medications because, again, your liver works hard to de-tox your body, and a mix of drugs, or too much over-the-counter meds or prescriptions can put a lot of pressure on your liver to clean up your system.
Also, get vaccinated for Hepatitis A and B. As of yet, there is not a vaccine for Hep C.
Let’s celebrate liver awareness month by cleaning up our act!
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Jane Riley, M.S., B.A., C.P.T., Certified Nutritional Adviser, can be reached at janerileyfitness@gmail.com, 212-1451 or www.janerileyfitness.com.
