What’s on our liver? Liver problems, emergency help, prevention

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The liver is one of the organs of our body most burdened with daily work. After Christmas spent at a lavishly set table, it can sometimes fail and hurt. Let’s see how we can help her.

1. The liver, as an innervous organ, cannot hurt us
2. However, when it increases in volume, it presses on the innervated serosa, and we complain of a stinging under the ribs on the right side. This is what is called liver pain
3. A stinging in the right side does not always mean liver problems
4. More current information can be found on the Onet homepage.

We often say that a hearty dinner “lies on our liver”. As in other cases, there is also a grain of truth in this statement. Every organ in our body (including the liver) produces a time-specific number and volume of enzymes, hormones and digestive juices – so it has a limited processing capacity.

So if we consume a food or substance in excess to be metabolized, the liver and kidneys will do whatever it takes to remove that excess from the body. If it succeeds, the most we’ll get is diarrhea. However, when the liver fails to deal with the excess, it will poison the body due to the ingestion of unwanted food, medicine or poison into the bloodstream.

The liver does not hurt

Liver pain depends not only on the type and amount of food consumed by us, but also on the functioning of a particular organism. Each of us has different levels of digestive compounds produced by the liver. Therefore, those whose liver produces large stores of glycogen (it takes up 10% of the liver’s weight) are usually able to eat a lot of sweets, while those who have a lot of bile juices (the liver produces up to 1,5 liters of them per day) do better. myself with a fatty chicken.

When talking about liver pain, we must remember that this is a simplification of some kind. The liver, as an innervous organ, cannot hurt us. However, when it increases in volume due to the inflammatory processes taking place inside, it puts pressure on the innervated serosa, which causes that we complain of a stinging under the ribs in the right side. This is what is called liver pain. It is worth taking care of the good condition of the liver as early as possible. Natural and properly selected supplements can regenerate, strengthen and support the work of the liver. Try, for example, Artichoke Elixir or Turmeric Elixir, which you can buy at great prices on Medonet Market.

Colic on the right side

Unfortunately, a stinging in the right side does not always mean liver problems. If the pain is located in the area of ​​the right hypochondrium and radiates to the right scapula, we may as well suffer from obstruction of the bile duct in the course of gallbladder stones. It works in such a way that the excess fat consumed promotes the crystallization of cholesterol going to the bile. Then, deposits form in the gallbladder, which impede the flow of bile into the duodenum, and the gallbladder is forced to contract much more than normal. And this is already felt by us as a pain manifested by colic in the right side.

Therefore, to diagnose the source and cause of such pain (liver or gallbladder), you always need to do an ultrasound and several laboratory tests. On the other hand, we don’t have to fear the worst right away. A single episode of pain does not mean that we have a liver or gallbladder disease. The holiday overload of the digestive system can also result in temporary failure of these organs, which is not yet a condition requiring treatment. When we have a headache after work, we don’t run to the neurologist right away to look for a brain tumor.

How can you avoid the worst?

However, in addition to treatable hepatobiliary problems, there are also serious diseases such as liver cancer or cirrhosis that precede it. Also, they may not give easily recognizable symptoms for a long time, but only manifest themselves with a feeling of shoeing in the right side. It is estimated that 800 people suffering from chronic liver failure in Poland, only 200 thousand. he knows about his condition. Therefore, it is worth undergoing periodic medical examinations, also taking into account such tests as the liver profile (ALT, AST, bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase).

Cirrhosis and liver cancer are most often induced by three factors: excess saturated fat in the diet (butter, lard), alcohol abuse and viral infections type A, B and C. by vaccinating, we can protect ourselves against hepatitis B, and by washing our hands and drinking clean water – avoid the type A virus. Besides, by following a diet rich in unsaturated vegetable fats and avoiding alcohol, we can keep our liver in good health for a long time.

You can also use herbs that have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the liver, such as: artichoke, St. John’s wort, calendula, dandelion. You can find them, for example, in the Eco-tea supporting the liver.

Less fat, more moderation

Let’s also think how to replace deep-fried foods with less caloric and healthier ones. And let’s stop deluding ourselves that if we start our meal with a clove of garlic with salt to chase away diseases and bacteria, it will also be enough to make the liver’s work easier.

Why does alcohol damage the liver?

Pure ethyl alcohol (spirit) or high-concentration aqueous solutions prepared from it (vodka) burden the liver’s enzyme system, at the same time impairing the metabolism of drugs and compounds considered by our body to be poisonous or harmful in hepatocytes. This is due to the fact that alcohol metabolism takes place in cytochrome p450 in the mitochondria of hepatocytes, which simultaneously blocks the metabolism of many substances (including drugs) in the same cytochromes.

Emergency help

In addition to preventing liver problems in the form of a proper diet, we can also use ad hoc, specially selected herbal medicines that support the work of this organ or protect it against harmful factors. Relief is also brought by warm compresses, heating the right side with an electric pillow, and drinking a glass of very warm (but not hot!) Water. This will help at least for a while.

You don’t have an electric pad? The device is available for order in the Medonet Market offer.

It is definitely not worth taking any painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen because of such pain, because they must be metabolized in the liver anyway, which will only additionally burden this organ and may even aggravate the symptoms. We’d better reach for one of the following drugs:

– in the case of biliary or hepatic colic, use a diastolic drug with drotaverine hydrochloride

– a preparation containing hyoscine should also bring us relief

– if we want to protect and regenerate our hepatocytes, take preparations with silymarin

– while our liver problems are associated with a small amount of bile secreted, we should reach for artichoke extracts, containing luteolin and apigenin, which by increasing bile secretion, at the same time reducing blood cholesterol levels.

We encourage you to listen to the latest episode of the RESET podcast. This time, we asked Orina Krajewska what, according to her, a holistic approach to health is. How to combine the three aspects – body, spirit and mind to enjoy balance and good health? You will hear about this and many other aspects of the topic in the latest episode of our podcast.