The Importance of the Liver

The liver is the most complex and vital organ in the body; it is also one of the largest.  The liver performs many functions every day to keep the body healthy.  All the blood that leaves the stomach and intestines must pass through the liver before reaching the rest of the body.  From this blood, the liver removes glucose (sugar) then stores what it does not use.  The liver converts food into nutrients that the body uses to accomplish a number of important steps in the metabolism of protein, fats, and carbohydrates.

Some functions of the liver are:

• To prevent shortages in the body by storing iron and vitamins A, B12, and D.
• To produce quick energy when the body needs it.
• To manufacture new body proteins.
• To regulate the transfer of fat stores.
• Blood clotting
• Bile production.  The liver aids in the digestive process by producing bile.  Bile is a digestive juice which helps in the digestion of fats in the intestines.  The liver cleans the blood and discharges waste products into the bile.
• Controlling the production and excretion of cholesterol. (Some cholesterol medications work on the liver to increase the production of bile, forcing the liver to use up more cholesterol.)
• Metabolizing alcohol.  Diabetics should not drink alcohol before having a meal because the liver will metabolize the alcohol before the food.  If you consume alcohol before a meal, you could have an episode of hypoglycemia even though you have just eaten.
• Processing drugs absorbed from the digestive tract.  The liver detoxifies substances into a form that is easier for the body to use. 
• If you spilled a chemical on your arm, it would go through the skin and have to be processed by the liver.
• Fighting infection.  The liver helps the body fight infection by producing immune factors that help remove germs and bacteria from the bloodstream.                                                            The liver can regenerate its own damages tissue.

The liver has many more functions and is tremendously important to the regulation of life processes. 

Ways to help your liver stay healthy:

• Avoid taking unnecessary medicines, especially those that work directly on the liver.
• Do not mix medicines without the advice of a doctor first; you could be creating a harmful poison.
• Never mix alcohol with drugs.
• Be careful when using aerosol cleaners, bug sprays, paint sprays and other chemical sprays.  When you breathe in the fumes from the sprays, the liver has to detoxify what you breathe in, or what goes into the body through the skin.

One common cause of liver problems is drugs, both over-the-counter and prescription.  Many drugs work on the liver.  Some herbs and alternative remedies taken for medical purposes can actually be toxic to the liver.
Diabetics need to be very careful when taking various types of medication because of the role the liver plays in glucose control.  A few drugs that are hard on the liver include some diabetic medicines, arthritis drugs, cholesterol drugs, antacids, oral contraceptives, steroids, antidepressants, and many more.  Pain medication is hard on the liver; do not take it unless you need it.

Symptoms of liver disease:

• Unusual or unexplained loss of appetite
• Exhaustion, weakness, and fatigue for no known reason
• Nausea and vomiting of blood
• Jaundice is often the first and only sign of the disease.
• Severs prolonged itching
• Dark urine
• Edema
• Mental confusion (because toxins build up in the blood)
• Easy bruising and a tendency to bleed gray, yellow, black, bloody or clay-colored stools.  You need to see a doctor.

Having a few of these symptoms may or may not be an indication of liver disease, but you need to be checked if you are having a problem.  It is easier to protect your liver from damage than it is to deal with one that is diseased.