Healthy liver: How to prevent diseases

How do you protect your liver?

The liver is robust and can withstand a lot. Nevertheless, you should not put too much strain on it. There are a few things you can do yourself to prevent liver disease:

• Limit your alcohol consumption.
• Eat a balanced diet, mainly plant-based and low in fat. Also pay attention to your sugar consumption: a diet high in sugar promotes the development of fatty liver.
• Control your body weight and maintain a healthy body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference.
• Exercise regularly and for at least 150 minutes per week.
• Get vaccinated against hepatitis A and B.
• People with chronic liver disease are at greater risk of health problems and should therefore be vaccinated against other viruses and bacteria (such as pneumococcus, influenza) to prevent serious illnesses.
• Active ingredients in medications are broken down by the liver. Check with your doctor which medications can be discontinued if necessary. Make sure you use over-the-counter medications in moderation.
• Avoid contact with liver-toxic chemicals and substances, such as pesticides and certain cleaning products.
• Avoid risky behaviour: Sharing needles while using drugs and having unprotected sex can increase the risk of hepatitis.
• Actively discuss your liver health in your family doctor’s office and take advantage of regular preventive examinations – such as health check-up including hepatitis screening.

What liver diseases are there?

One of the most common liver diseases is inflammation of the liver (hepatitis). Hepatitis can be caused by a fatty liver or toxins, for example. But viruses can also trigger inflammation of the liver (hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, hepatitis D or hepatitis E).

If hepatitis becomes chronic, the liver can become increasingly scarred (liver fibrosis) until liver cirrhosis (“shrunken liver”) eventually develops.

This not only increases the risk of liver cancer, dangerous varicose veins in the esophagus (esophageal varices) and other complications: If liver failure occurs, harmful substances are no longer filtered out of the blood. The result can be hepatic encephalopathy (disorder of brain function).

Autoimmune liver diseases

The body’s own immune system can also damage the liver. Autoimmune diseases of the liver include autoimmune hepatitis, in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the liver tissue.

Primary biliary cholangitis is characterized by inflammation of the bile ducts inside the liver. It is a rare liver disease that occurs predominantly in women.

In primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), the bile ducts inside and outside the liver are chronically inflamed.

Chronic liver diseases

Liver diseases are often chronic or can at least become so. Fatty liver, chronic hepatitis, liver fibrosis and cirrhosis are among the chronic liver diseases.

In addition, genetically caused liver diseases usually have a chronic course. These are usually rare liver diseases, such as copper storage disease (Wilson’s disease), porphyrias or alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. Autoimmune liver diseases are also chronic.

Symptoms of liver disease

The liver suffers unnoticed for a long time, which is why liver diseases often only cause symptoms late. Typical signs of a damaged liver include:

• Pain in the right upper abdomen
• Skin changes
• Red, smooth tongue (“lacquer tongue”) and lips
• Sweet-sharp bad breath (Foetor hepaticus)
• Itching of the skin
• Water retention (edema)
• Bulging of the abdomen due to abdominal dropsy (ascites)
• Dark coloured urine
• Changes in bowel movements (e.g. light or greasy stools)
• White fingernails or toenails
• Red spots on the palms of the hands
• Tendency to bruises and bleeding
• Jaundice (yellow discoloration of the skin and eyes)
• Star-shaped veins on the skin (“liver stars”)
• Taste disorders (dysgeusia)
• Enlarged liver (can be diagnosed by a doctor)
• Hormonal disorders, e.g. in men, potency problems, gynecomastia (enlarged breast gland in men), loss of abdominal hair (“bald belly”), in women, absence of menstruation

In addition, non-specific symptoms can also occur in liver diseases:

• Fatigue and weakness
• Feeling of fullness
• Nausea and vomiting
• Loss of appetite
• Weight loss
• Mental impairment (e.g. confusion or memory problems)
• Joint pain

Liver disease is often caused by being overweight with fatty liver disease is more common in people who are diabetic or have high levels of cholesterol. In the UAE, due to the high number of people living with such lifestyle diseases, and, in part fuelled by the pampered and sedentary way of life adopted by many people, means a high proportion of adults are at risk of liver disease.

Note:
If you suspect that you have liver disease or notice corresponding symptoms, please contact your GP. The earlier liver disease is discovered, the better it can be treated.