Having a healthy liver is crucial in attaining a better quality of life
The liver is vital to our body’s functioning, it performs more than 500 vital tasks at a time. It includes helping us break down fat, processing toxins, and also secreting digestive juices and enzymes. Keeping a healthy and active liver helps us regain normal functioning.
Nowadays, people are addled by bad eating habits, sedentary existence, and unhealthy lifestyle choices. This makes them prone to many liver induced diseases like NAFLD, Enlarged liver, Liver Cirrhosis, Liver Cancer, possible Hepatitis infections and in extreme cases even liver failure.
To overcome this we have to get regular health checkups and look out for possible symptoms and change our lifestyle for the better. There are certain health hacks we can use to benefit our liver’s health.
Here are the top six health hacks to maintain and attain better liver care recommended by LiverIndia.
Hack 1: Eating more organic fruits and vegetables
Adulterated food is a common occurrence now with fast foods contaminated with low quality oil and excessive taste makers and even our vegetables and fruits preserved with an excess of pesticides and insecticides.It paints a grim picture but in the last 20 years we have seen an upswing in organic eating with the government and independent organisation supporting a more pro organic farming and also farm to table marketplaces.
Eating organic food groups relieves the liver a lot of stress. Furthermore some specific food groups help recovery in liver disease patients and people with enlarged liver. These can be classified to superfruits like dragon fruit, avocado, berries(strawberries, blueberries, etc) and they contain essential antioxidants, healthy fats and compounds that help our liver overcome specific diseases.
Dragon fruit contains high content of polyphenols and betanins help in preventing low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol from being oxidized.
Avocado contains elevated levels of plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) both of which help heal liver injury. They also are rich in healthy fats and fiber.
Berries are rich in polyphenols which are antioxidants that help protect the liver from damage and they also improve immune response in our body.
Hack 2: Consuming coffee
Globally coffee is the most popular and widely drunk beverage. Almost 166.63 million bags( per 60kg) is consumed a year. But many people do not understand the health benefits a cup of coffee brings to the table for our liver’s health.
When our body ingests the high caffeine in the coffees it produces Paraxanthine, a compound that can help recover from scar tissue after a liver fibrosis diagnosis. In pure metrics we are able to see almost lowering of liver disease by around 80% people who consume coffee.
Hack 3: Massaging the liver
This is one of the most unique and rare hacks to aid liver health. There are three different ways to massage your liver. The basic principle here is activate the lymphatic nodules and cause drainage in the localized region. If in case of pain or discomfort immediately stop the procedure and consult your GP.
Liver Press – while doing this massage, lie flat on your back with both feet firmly on the floor. Press your hand gently underneath the rib cage and move exerting pressure in an upwards direction. You must repeat this at least 20 times slowly as discomfort dissipates.
Press and Rub the abdominal region. Lie comfortably on your right side, place your left palm or thumb over the location of the liver and gently nudge inwards and downwards. ALternate movements sideways for a couple of minutes for more effectiveness.
Striking – This is the most uncomfortable method and ideally only recommended for trained practitioners. Lie down facing your left side with your knees and head bend in a curled position. Now, with your hand make a tight fist and gently strike over the liver. The strike must be fast but light. Perform this multiple times periodically for prolonged circulatory improvement.
Hack 4: Consuming complex food groups and more fibre
Complex food groups are hard to digest rich in fibre and specialized minerals, nutrients and are important tools that help us significantly reduce our daily calorie intake. Consuming complex grains like brown rice, chia seeds and seeds like walnuts help us immensely to fight against many liver related ailments.
Chia seeds contain α-linolenic acid (ALA) an important omega 3 fatty acid which helps us reverse Non alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Brown rice is a good carrier of complex carbohydrates that is good to prevent and fight against fatty liver disease.
Similar to chia seeds walnuts have elevated antioxidants and fatty acids that make thm the perfect seeds to fight against fatty liver disease.
Hack 5: Detoxing regularly helps alleviate stress on the liver
The first step in liver detox/ cleanse is in understanding if you have a healthy liver. The liver if it is healthy naturally cleanses itself but nowadays unhealthy food, drinks and social drinking may curtail these efforts.
Steps:
- Stop eating junk foods or fast foods. Foods from restaurants can have an insane amount of salt, certain additives and preservatives that can be detrimental to liver detox.
- Start consuming organic fresh produce and make green leafy salads a priority. The added fibre and natural minerals will not only cleanse the liver but also the body
- Doing a mild juice fast is another detox method that will help pull out toxins and alleviate stress on the liver.
- Safely applying enemas is a good way to cleanse the intestines but we should always be careful in its application.
- Taking liver supplements can help immensely improve liver health, using milk thistle, liquorice root and zinc supplements can aid you in your detox journey.
Hack 6: Maintaining optimum BMI
Covid has taught us that handling comorbidities contribute immensely to recovery and can also cause fatal results after an infection. Statistics predict that obesity is one of the most prevalent preventable causes of death in the world.
Obese people are usually affected by Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and the journal of hepatology predicts that ‘prevalence of NAFLD is increasing at approximately the same rate as obesity. Almost 30-37% of obese/overweight people are affected by NAFLD.
The easiest solution to this problem is exercise, eating organic and controlling consumption of junk foods, salt and sugary drinks. Following a strict daily regime is crcuial for obese patients who are at risk of getting NAFLD. Including brisk walks, swimming, jogging or callisthenics are very good for your liver. It is recommended that a minimum of 2 hours be spent on an exercise of your choice.
Follow these six hacks to promote your liver care. For a consultation or for other queries please feel free to contact us at care@liverindia.in
