One of the greatest working organs in your body is your liver. It cleanses the toxins, digests, and breaks down the food. However, most individuals do not realize its significance until the time when the issues come in. It does not have to be a costly process to take care of your liver, a few easy everyday habits can save hundreds.

Why Liver Health Matters

More than 500 critical functions are carried out by the liver and they include:

• Expelling pernicious poisons out of your blood.
• Assistance in fats breakdown and vitamins storage.
• Managing the cholesterol and blood sugar level.
• Degradation of drugs and alcohol.

Overworking or damaging your liver may result in fatigue, lack of digestion, weight gain and even serious ailments such as fatty liver disease or cirrhosis.

1. Maintain a Healthy and Liver-Friendly Diet

Your diet can impact how your liver functions. Select foods that are high in fiber and full of healthy fats (good fats), and antioxidants.

Suggested foods:

• Fresh fruits and vegetables (especially greens, beets and carrots)
• Whole grains (such as oats and brown rice)
• Healthy fats (such as olive oil and nuts)
• Protein (such as lentils, eggs, or fish)

Foods to avoid:

• Fried and package foods
• Sugary sodas, sweets, and drinks
• Too much salt and red meats

2. Hydration

Hydration helps remove some toxins from your system. 8–10 glasses of water per day allows the liver time to do a natural cleansing process. You can also drink lemon water in the morning to help kick start your digestion and detoxification.

3. Regular exercise

Regular movement is associated with overall healthy weight and fat buildup in the liver.
Some examples of things you can do:

• 30 minutes of walking, cycling or yoga each day
• Avoid sitting for long hours; take short breaks to stretch, your body will thank you!

4. Limit Alcohol and Cessation of Smoking

• Alcohol contributes greatly to liver injury. Moderate alcohol consumption can cause liver injury cumulatively.
• Reduce alcohol consumption or quit

Limit smoking to minimize the oxidative stress to liver cells

5. Use Medications Appropriately

Some painkillers and supplements can injure the liver when taken excessively.

• Always stick to prescribed dosing
• Avoid taking medications or supplements without your doctor’s advice, or taking medications or supplements with alcohol.
• Check with your doctor before starting any supplement

6. Manage Stress and Get Sleep

Chronic stress and lack of sleep can interfere with hormones and liver detoxification processes.

• Practice meditation or deep breathing
• Incorporate 7-8 hours of sleep daily to allow the body to heal

7. Schedule Health Checks

Detecting liver problems early will help to prevent serious problems.

• Do LFTs (Liver Function Tests) once a year
• Liver function tests should be done more frequently if diabetes or obesity is present.

Conclusion

A healthy liver means a healthier you. With clean eating & drinking, exercise, and avoiding harmful habits into your routine, you should be able to help your liver perform for years to come. Remember it is better to prevent a problem before it becomes one.