On World Hepatitis Day, come and check if your liver is healthy?

World Hepatitis Day is celebrated on July 28 every year to raise awareness of hepatitis. How much do you know about your liver?

The liver is one of the important organs of the human body and has powerful functions. However, liver diseases are common and highly prevalent diseases among Chinese people, such as hepatitis, fatty liver, cirrhosis, liver cancer...

It is often said that "liver disease is delayed". Most people are unaware of liver disease only afterward.

Because many people do not pay attention to protecting their livers, and due to the special "constitution" of the liver, liver disease is already in a serious state when it is discovered.

So, what are the symptoms of a bad liver? What should you pay attention to? And what behaviors can cause damage to the liver?

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What are the functions of the liver?

A normal adult liver weighs about 1.5 kg and measures approximately 26 cm*15 cm*6 cm.

Strong “hardware”: One of the major characteristics of the liver is its strong regenerative ability . Even if only 1/3 of the liver is retained, it can still grow back to its original size.

Excellent "software": The liver has 500 functions and can carry out hundreds of chemical reactions in an orderly manner 24 hours a day without sleep, and only 25% of the liver function is used .

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But the strength of the liver does not mean that it is always as solid as a rock.

Since there are no pain nerves in the liver, when faced with toxins in the body, the liver is like an emotionless "killer", making it difficult for the human body to detect minor liver damage.

Of course, this is not entirely a good thing, because once you notice that you are not feeling well, your liver may already be too “tired”.

What are the behaviors that damage the liver?

Drinking

First of all, it must be made clear that any drop of alcohol will cause harm to the body . In China, 4% to 6% of people suffer from alcoholic liver disease, which means that a considerable number of Chinese people's livers are suffering from the damage caused by alcohol.

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Alcohol is mainly metabolized in the liver, converted into acetaldehyde and acetic acid under the action of two enzymes, and finally excreted from the body in the form of carbon dioxide and water.

Excessive alcohol damage to the liver manifests itself in the early stages as fat accumulation, also known as alcoholic fatty degeneration, followed by inflammation leading to liver cell necrosis and abnormal liver function.

When the rate of liver regeneration cannot keep up with the rate of necrosis, the liver begins to produce fibrous tissue to fill the necrotic liver tissue, forming cirrhosis and even developing into liver cancer, which will "critically attack" various systems of the body and may cause portal hypertension, hepatic encephalopathy, hepatorenal syndrome, etc.

Fat

The Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents recommends that adults consume 25 to 30 grams of edible oil per day . However, the average daily edible oil intake of Chinese people is about 42 grams, which is far above the standard. Although delicious food is beautiful, the health problems that come with it cannot be ignored.

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The liver is the metabolic center of the body's three major nutrients: sugar, protein, and fat. Generally speaking, after food is digested and absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract, part of it is transported to the liver for metabolism and converted into nutrients that can be used by the human body.

It should be noted that no matter how strong the liver's storage capacity is, it has an upper limit. If a high-fat diet is consumed for a long time and exceeds the liver's processing capacity, the fat cannot be metabolized in time and accumulates in the liver cells, which may lead to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease , and the health of the liver is threatened.

drug

As the saying goes, medicine is three-part poison, and many drugs have potential hepatotoxicity. Under normal circumstances, the liver is a well-known detoxification expert. It participates in drug metabolism and can break down toxic substances.

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When the amount of drugs exceeds the liver's tolerance, they will cause certain damage to the liver. The medical term is called "drug-induced liver injury", which manifests as various acute and chronic liver diseases. However, due to the lack of specific clinical manifestations, it may be misdiagnosed or missed.

If the drug-induced liver injury is mild, it can be recovered after stopping the drug, but if it is severe, it may be life-threatening. Therefore, you must follow the doctor's advice when taking the medicine and avoid taking it blindly .

What are the symptoms of a bad liver?

Because the liver has a strong compensatory ability, early liver damage may have no obvious symptoms, or only a slightly poor appetite, indigestion, mild fatigue, and slightly poor sleep.

When liver function cannot compensate, serious complications may occur, even life-threatening, including hypersplenism, ascites, cancer, hepatic encephalopathy, secondary infection, massive bleeding and even shock caused by rupture of esophageal and abdominal wall varicose veins, etc. Toxins enter the brain, causing dizziness, intellectual impairment, personality changes, and even coma, etc. The only way to cure advanced cirrhosis is liver transplantation.

How to protect your liver?

In summary, to protect the liver, we must abide by the following principles:

First, avoid alcohol . There is no such thing as "moderation" when drinking. Any drop of alcohol can cause harm to your body.

Second, eat a balanced diet with adequate but not excessive nutrition, and control fat intake.

Third, maintain a regular schedule , get enough sleep, and keep exercising.

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Fourth, use medication rationally .

Fifth, attach importance to vaccination and do regular physical examinations . Vaccinate babies with hepatitis B vaccine as planned, and adults at high risk of hepatitis B infection or in special positions should receive hepatitis B vaccine in a timely manner.

In summary, there are no obvious symptoms in the early stages of liver disease, or they may only manifest as a slightly poor appetite, indigestion, mild fatigue, slightly poor sleep, etc., while in the late stages serious complications may occur and may even be life-threatening.

Because there are no pain nerves in the liver, it is often difficult for the human body to detect even minor liver damage. Therefore, we must be extra careful in protecting the liver, eat a healthy diet, lead a regular life, and be more cautious in taking medication.

Author: Meng Yao, Doctor of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine

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