World Liver Day 2023: Know How Poor Lifestyle Damages The Liver

There are various potential health risks connected to lifestyle decisions that may affect liver health. Failure to properly care for the liver might result in some serious, irreversible health issues.

(Representational Image)

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By Dr. Srikant Mohta, who is DM, Gastroenterologist, at Samaritan Hospital, Kolkata

As we are all aware, the liver is a vital organ in the human body and plays a significant role. The liver, which is the biggest organ in the body, is crucial for generating vital proteins, controlling metabolism, and cleansing the body. There are various potential health risks connected to lifestyle decisions that may affect liver health. Failure to properly care for the liver might result in some serious, irreversible health issues.

Harmful lifestyle choices including smoking, excessive alcohol use, and eating poorly, all of these raise the risk of liver diseases and cause damage to the liver.

Understanding the body’s call for help

The most prevalent cause of liver damage is excessive alcohol intake. Consumption of alcohol is now a frequent occurrence and a party symbol and excessive consumption might even have some long-lasting repercussions. It may result in liver inflammation, scarring, and eventually irreversible liver damage like cirrhosis. Moreover, poor diets that are high in processed foods, colas, junk food, and refined sugars might raise the risk of liver diseases. The intake of junk food is now a common phenomenon among people of every age group, especially the younger generation. Additionally, smoking has a number of negative consequences on the liver. It causes the cytokines to be produced, a substance that worsens inflammation and harms the liver cells permanently.

With the lifestyle becoming very sedentary, particularly in this post-covid era, and the work-from-home environment being on the rise, this can also lead to liver diseases. It is critical to note that liver illness can be asymptomatic in the early stages, and many people may be unaware that they have a liver problem until it is serious. As a result, prevention and early detection are essential for maintaining healthy liver function.

Prevention is better than cure

It is crucial to have a healthy lifestyle, which includes limiting alcohol intake, consuming a balanced diet, engaging in regular physical activity, and avoiding smoking, in order to lower the risk of liver disease. We often tend to ignore healthy habits during stressful times, but the lifestyle decisions we make have a big influence on our health and well-being, including our liver. Stress can occasionally result in more frequent drinking or smoking. Hence, in addition to adopting healthy lifestyle changes, we also need to consider how to deal with stress, which is a constant companion in modern life. 

High-risk individuals with a family history of liver disease, obesity, or diabetes should go through routine screenings and visits to a gastroenterologist to ensure that the disease is detected and diagnosed in its earliest stages. Although, when the liver is functioning extremely well, it is still vital to look after the other bodily organs and critical metabolic issues like controlling blood pressure, diabetes, and ischemic heart disease by adopting a healthy lifestyle. 

On this World Liver Day, let's take a minute to consider our lifestyle choices and resolve to take care of our liver health by adopting little but meaningful lifestyle adjustments so that we can lower our chance of developing liver disease and live longer and healthier lives.