How to return a favor to the liver after the holidays

1. Give up alcohol

At all. At least for a while.

Alcohol and the Liver - How Alcohol Damages the Liver is one of the most powerful liver destroyers. If you drink too much, ethanol destroys liver cells, and in their place, areas with scar tissue are formed. This is how cirrhosis begins.

Therefore, it is extremely important, firstly, to drink no more than a conventionally healthy norm - so that the liver has time to process alcohol without being destroyed. And secondly - to give a tired body a break, refusing alcohol at all for at least a few days. This is necessary to start the cell repair process.

Ideally, alcohol should be abandoned altogether. Let's remind: there is no absolutely safe dose of alcohol. Even a small amount is harmful to your health.

2. Eat a balanced diet

Experts from the American Liver Foundation recommend 13 Ways to a Healthy Liver to give up canned food, fast food, smoked meats, pickles, fatty meats, white rice, white bread, muffins and sweets. Ideally, again, forever. If you are not capable of long-term heroism, follow a healthy diet for the liver for at least 5-7 days.

The diet should include:

fiber: fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grain breads and cereals, cereals;
lean meat, preferably not red;
dairy products, including low-fat milk and cheeses;
nuts and seeds;
fish;
vegetable oil.

3. Stay hydrated

Water is needed to speed up liver recovery. Normally, Dietary Reference Intakes: Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride and Sulfate should be ingested daily:

approximately 3, 7 liters of liquid - if you are a man;
about 2, 7 liters - if a woman.

It's good if you get 80% of this amount with any drinks, including milk, fruit juices, tea, liquid soups, and 20% in the form of solid food (juicy vegetables or fruits).

4. Avoid toxins

Do not smoke and try not to be in smoky areas. The smell of paint, chlorine, cleaning and detergents is also a clear signal of How Not to Wreck Your Liver that you should go outside or ventilate the room as soon as possible.

5. Walk more outdoors

Physical activity improves metabolic processes in the body and helps the liver recover faster.

6. Go in for sports

This will help to normalize weight, avoid obesity and liver disease associated with it. For example, exercise can prevent you from acquiring non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), one of the most common diagnoses in hepatology.

7. Analyze the medications you are going to take

Certain cholesterol-lowering drugs and over-the-counter pain relievers can be toxic to the liver. Be sure to read the instructions, especially regarding contraindications and side effects.

If the medication has been prescribed by a doctor, consult him additionally, emphasizing that you would like to reduce the burden on the liver. Perhaps the doctor will suggest you a more gentle remedy.

8. Take a closer look at milk thistle and turmeric supplements

There is limited evidence from Detoxing Your Liver: Fact Versus Fiction that milk thistle can reduce inflammation in the liver and that turmeric extract protects the organ from damage.

Adequate clinical trials that would unequivocally confirm the benefits of such dietary supplements for the liver do not yet exist. But you can consult with your therapist: perhaps, in your case, he will support the reception of such funds.

9. Drink coffee

Unexpectedly, but true: coffee drinkers are less likely to experience fibrosis, cirrhosis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and even cancer.

Doctors have not yet decided how much coffee a day you need to drink in order to get a healing effect. It is assumed that one to three cups is more than enough.

Yes, coffee is not recommended for everyone. For children, adolescents, the elderly, and people with high blood pressure, caffeine can be harmful. Therefore, before deciding on "coffee therapy" in the framework of liver cleansing, consult a physician.