Useful tips for good liver health

Useful tips for good liver health

1. Maintain a healthy weight
Excess weight stored around the middle is associated with a condition called ‘insulin resistance’. Insulin resistance often accompanies and contributes to fatty liver disease. If you have insulin resistance, try to decrease your waist measurement. Men should aim for a waist circumference of less than 102cm and women, less than 88cm.

2. Avoid fad diets

Fad diets can cause fast and dramatic increases/decreases in your weight, which can put excessive stress on your liver. Spot fad diets by paying attention to their advertising; they often promise large amounts of weight loss in an unrealistically short period of time. Upon closer assessment, you will notice that they are usually lacking in one or more of the essential five core food groups, and hence are not nutritionally adequate. Aim to lose weight at a healthy rate – ½-1kg per week.

Avoid ‘liver cleansing’ or ‘detox’ diets – contrary to popular opinion, no particular diet is liver cleansing, but a healthy one greatly aids wellbeing. Your doctor or dietitian can provide you with a well-designed, healthy and nutritious plan.

3. Limit your intake of dietary fat, especially saturated fat
Hyperlipidaemia (high levels of fat in the blood) and hypercholesterolaemia (high levels of cholesterol in the blood) are associated with fatty liver disease. Get your levels under control by eating a diet that is low in total fat. Of the fat you do eat, try to have more unsaturated fats (both poly- and monounsaturated fats). Try to limit your intake of saturated fats, as these have been shown to increase blood fats and cholesterol. If dietary modification is not entirely effective, speak to your doctor about medications that can help.

4. Drink alcohol in moderation
While alcoholism is more common among men, it has been demonstrated that women are more susceptible to the adverse consequences of alcohol on the liver. In fact, it takes as little as 20 grams of alcohol daily (only 2 standard drinks) for women to develop liver problems. If you can’t cut back, talk to your doctor about getting professional help to reduce your drinking.

5. Have regular blood tests
Blood tests can identify abnormally high levels of fat, cholesterol, and glucose in the blood, all of which are associated with fatty liver disease. Too much glucose in the blood may mean you have Impaired Glucose Tolerance or Diabetes. If you have either of these, focus on controlling your blood sugar levels through diet, medications and/or weight loss.
If you have ever experimented with intravenous drugs, or if you have had a blood transfusion or organ transplant prior to 1992 – get a blood test for hepatitis C.

6. Stop smoking
Smoking has been linked to the development of liver cancer, and may enhance the toxic effects of some medications, such as Tylenol (acetaminophen) on the liver. Talk to your doctor or ring Quitline to get help to stop.

7. Get vaccinated against hepatitis A and B
Speak to your doctor about getting vaccinated. If you choose not to get vaccinated, avoid sushi or raw/partially cooked clams, oysters, mussels, and scallops, as these fish often live in hepatitis A contaminated rivers and seas.

8. Talk to your doctor before mixing herbal supplements, prescription and non-prescription drugs
Some medications require the liver to work hard to metabolise them. Taking too many medications at once can damage the liver. Be careful with certain herbal supplements that can be toxic to the liver such as kava, comfrey, chaparral, kombucha tea, pennyroyal and skullcap.

9. Practice safe sex
Protect yourself from hepatitis B and C. Not engaging in unprotected sex will greatly reduce the likelihood of infection with hepatitis B. While the risk of sexual transmission of hepatitis C is rare, protected sex is recommended if a person engages in anal sex, has multiple sexual partners, has frequent prostate infections, has open cuts or sores on the genitalia, or is menstruating. In addition, do not share toothbrushes, razors or other personal items with anyone. These may be routes of transmission of hepatitis B or C.

10. Avoid recreational drug use

Some recreational drugs and the chemicals they are mixed with can be toxic to the liver. Also, intravenous drug use is a common mode of hepatitis B and C transmission. If you currently use Intravenous drugs do not share needles – take advantage of a needle exchange program.

11. Don’t ignore liver problems because you feel no pain

If you have ever been told that something is wrong with your liver, ask your doctor for a referral to a liver specialist (hepatologist) – even if you feel fine. Signs and symptoms of liver disease and hepatitis are not always present.

12. Choose tattoo/piercing parlors wisely
If you intend to get a tattoo or a piercing, make sure that you deal only with establishments that are clean and that adhere to meticulous sterilization practices.