What Are The Best Ways to Help Keep Your Liver Healthy?

Liver disease is a big threat to the health of many people across the world. Even if you do everything possible to protect your wellness and wellbeing, you can still fall victim to liver failure, and it can be very hard to diagnose. There are various ways that you can help to keep your liver healthy.

Firstly, a daily cup of coffee has been shown to help reduce your risk of liver cancer by up to 42 percent. You should stick to only one cup per day, however, as excessive consumption can have other negative effects.

Another thing to be mindful of is the products you use to clean your house. Make sure that everything you use is safe and non toxic, as every spray that you use in your home will be breathed in, and every breath you take is eventually processed by your liver. The toxins that are around the home can be harmful to your liver in the long run, and there are often healthier, greener alternatives available.

It’s well known that alcohol is damaging to the liver, so avoid it as much as you can. Drink only in moderation and give your liver a total break from time to time. Just two drinks per day can cause huge problems with your liver in the long run.

Losing weight can also help to protect your liver. Being overweight causes all kinds of health problems anyway, but one of these can be excess strain on the liver. Losing any excess pounds will reduce your risk of getting fatty liver disease.

The best diet for your liver is something called the Mediterranean diet. When having your usual salad for tea, add what is called a ‘Mediterranean flare’, consisting of two tablespoonful’s of olive oil and the juice of half a lemon, squeezed. This tastes good and is a great detoxifier for the liver.

Categories: called, excess, Food, health, Liver, liver disease, liver healthy, losing, reduce

32 Liver Disease Deaths Could Have Been Avoided, Says Report

There’s no denying the effects that alcoholism can have on your mental health, but you also have to watch out for the impact that drinking can have on your physical wellbeing too. Not only can alcohol lead to liver disease, but, if this occurs, you may be at an increased risk of hospitals missing it. This is according to a watchdog who found that hospitals are missing chances to save the lives of patients with alcohol-related liver disease.

The National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome Death released a report which says that the NHS is not doing enough to help the patients of alcohol-related liver disease at an early stage. The review of care in England, Wales and Northern Ireland concluded that although most patients who died from the disease visited hospital at least once in the two years prior to their death, many failed to get the help they needed. The finding is based on the National Confidential Enquiry (NCEPOD), which looked at 200 hospitals and more than 300 patients who had died from alcohol-related liver disease.

This is a huge wellness concern, as the warning comes as the number of cases of liver disease is rising. Over the last decade, hospital admissions have increased by 40% – now totalling 200,000 a year. However, according to the study, too few patients had been referred to support services or screened for serious problems such as sepsis, and 32 deaths could have been avoided if such measures were taken. The report noted less than half of patients (47%) were judged to have received good care, only 28% of hospitals had consultant hepatologists (liver experts) present and just 23% had dedicated alcohol-care teams to provide comprehensive support.

According to report co-author Dr Mark Juniper, ‘Many people with alcohol-related liver disease have multiple admissions with this condition. This gives clinicians an ideal opportunity to offer appropriate treatment and advice to patients to help them stop drinking and improve their future health. Unfortunately, this isn’t happening.’ An NHS England spokeswoman responded, ‘We would expect all NHS service providers to use the recommendations as an internal benchmarking process to consider their own deficiencies and began to correct them.’

Categories: Alcohol, deaths, liver disease

Special considerations

There are a number of situations where the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is not recommended, or they should only be used if you are directly instructed to by your GP or another qualified healthcare professional.

When to avoid NSAIDs

Children under 16 years old

Aspirin should never be given to children under 16 years of age because there is a small risk it could trigger a serious and potentially fatal condition called Reye’s syndrome. This condition can cause liver and brain damage. Paracetamol or ibuprofen are a safer alternative for children under 16.

Pregnant women

The use of NSAIDs during pregnancy is not recommended unless paracetamol does not effectively treat a particular condition. If an NSAID is to be used, ibuprofen is the safest medication during pregnancy.

However, it should be taken at the lowest possible dose to treat symptoms for the shortest possible time. NSAIDs, including ibuprofen, should never been taken from the 30th week of pregnancy onwards. This is because it can cause a dangerous rise in blood pressure (pulmonary hypertension) inside the lungs of the baby.

Breastfeeding women

The use of NSAIDs during breastfeeding is not recommended unless it is felt that the benefits of treatment outweigh the risks to your baby. If an NSAID is to be used, ibuprofen will be recommended at the lowest possible dose for the shortest possible time needed to treat your symptoms.

Asthma

Some people with asthma find that taking an NSAID can make their asthma symptoms more severe. If this happens to you, it is best to avoid taking NSAIDs in future (unless directly instructed to by your GP or other qualified health professional), and take paracetamol instead.

Allergic reaction

If you experience an allergic reaction after taking an NSAID (including aspirin), such as swelling of your eyes and lips (angioedema) or a severe skin rash, you should avoid taking NSAIDs in the future.

Cautions

Stomach ulcers

NSAIDs can increase your risk of developing stomach ulcers and experiencing internal bleeding, particularly if taken on a long-term basis. Therefore, if you have an increased risk of developing stomach ulcers and internal bleeding, you may wish to use an alternative medication – read more about alternatives to NSAIDs.

Things that increase your risk of developing stomach ulcers and internal bleeding include:

• being 55 years of age or older


• having a history of stomach ulcers or internal bleeding inside your digestive system


• taking another medication known to increase the risk of stomach ulcers and internal bleeding

Medications known to increase the risk of stomach ulcers and internal bleeding include:

• heparin and warfarin, which are used to prevent blood clots


• aspirin, including low-dose aspirin


• corticosteroids, used to treat inflammation and suppress the immune system


• the two antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs)

However, there are some health conditions for which long-term use of NSAIDs may be the only effective method of relieving symptoms. For example:

• persistent back pain


• rheumatoid arthritis


• osteoarthritis

If you need to take NSAIDs on a long-term basis and have an increased risk of developing stomach ulcers and bleeding, you will probably be given an additional medication known as a proton pump inhibitor (PPI).

PPIs help to prevent stomach ulcers and internal bleeding by reducing the production of stomach acid. See treating stomach ulcers for more information about PPIs.

If you are taking an NSAID, avoid smoking and drinking large amounts of alcohol as these activities can increase your risk of developing a stomach ulcer.

Cardiovascular and kidney conditions

In rare cases, NSAIDs can damage the kidneys and cardiovascular system (the heart and blood vessels).

The use of NSAIDs is not usually recommended for people who have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular or kidney conditions. Examples of these include:

• having heart failure


• having advanced chronic kidney disease


• having a previous history of heart disease or heart attack


• having hypertension (high blood pressure)


• having a high cholesterol level


• smoking


• being overweight or obese


• being over 55 years old

Liver disease

If you have liver disease then NSAIDs may not be suitable for you as they can cause further damage to the liver.

Some types of liver disease include:

• alcoholic liver disease – where the liver becomes damaged by alcohol misuse, which in severe cases, can result in cirrhosis (scarring of the liver)


• non-alcoholic fatty liver disease – where fat builds up inside the liver; this condition can develop in people who are overweight or obese


• hepatitis – inflammation of the liver which is often the result of a viral infection


• liver failure – where the liver loses most, or all, of its functioning capability

Special considerations

Categories: bleeding include, developing stomach, increased risk, internal bleeding, liver disease, Long term, stomach ulcers, term basis