Your liver detoxifies blood, aids digestion, and supports your entire body. This blog explains your risks of liver disease and how to keep it healthy.

By: Said I. Nabhan, MD

Your liver is the quietest workhorse in your body. Unlike the heart and lungs, you never feel it doing its life-supporting job, yet your liver performs more than 500 functions every day – only your brain handles more.

You should know the signs if something goes wrong.

Read more about gastrointestinal liver conditions.

October is National Liver Awareness Month, dedicated to raising knowledge of overall liver health and disease prevention. The designation is necessary because liver disease is the ninth-highest cause of death among American adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control. And in Ohio, chronic liver diseases such as cirrhosis accounted for 1,842 of every 100,000 deaths.

This blog will hopefully contribute to you understanding your own liver better.

Why You Should Be Aware of Your Liver

Your liver’s primary job is to clean your blood, and it does so without stop – about 22 gallons per hour. But that job relates to many other functions, involving metabolism, digestion, immunity, and vitamin storage. Among your liver’s daily tasks:

• Making bile – The acidic fluid that carries away waste and breaks down fats in the small intestine.
• Producing proteins and cholesterol – These carry fats through the body.
• Regulating amino acids – Organic compounds that form the building blocks of proteins.
• Converting toxins into liquid waste (urea) – These toxins include ammonia and drug ingredients.
• Helping balance blood sugar levels – By storing glucose (as glycogen) and releasing it as needed.
• Regulating blood clotting – By making anti-clotting proteins and building procoagulants (to stop bleeding).

6 Liver Diseases, Symptoms, and Risks

Knowing your liver’s location can help you determine if something is going wrong. The liver takes up most of the space behind your rib cage (mostly on the right). The gallbladder is tucked into its underside, and the pancreas is below the gallbladder.

Following are among the most common liver disorders and symptoms:

Fatty liver disease – Nearly four in 10 Americans suffer from excess fat in the liver cells. This illness develops from two causes: from heavy alcohol consumption, called alcoholic fatty liver disease; and from metabolic conditions such as obesity, high cholesterol, or Type 2 diabetes, called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Symptoms: Few symptoms present with fatty liver disease, unless the liver becomes inflamed (swollen and irritated) from NAFLD, which can lead to cirrhosis. Click here for an overview of fatty liver disease.

Liver cirrhosis – Prolonged disease and damage to the liver can cause tissue scarring that interfere with liver functions, including its ability to filter blood, break down nutrients, and produce bile. When these functions falter, you become susceptible to complications such as gallstones, jaundice, and kidney failure. Symptoms: Warnings of cirrhosis include yellowing eyes and skin (jaundice), fatigue, severe itching, and easy bruising and/or bleeding. Click to our liver cirrhosis web page here.

Hepatitis – Commonly caused from a virus brought on by toxins, certain medications, and health conditions, hepatitis is an inflammatory liver disease. The virus most often occurs in two forms: hepatitis B, which is serious but can be fought off by your immune system; and the more common hepatitis C, which ranges from mild to serious and is transmitted through blood contact. Either infection can be short-term or chronic. Symptoms: Signs of hepatitis include weariness, dark urine, jaundice, and joint pain. Our hepatitis web page explains more.

Liver cancer – Cancer is an invasive tumor formed by rogue cells that grow uncontrollably. In the liver, conditions including chronic hepatitis, NAFLD and cirrhosis can trigger DNA mutations that cause this abnormality. Symptoms: Liver cancer often does not present symptoms in its early stages. If you experience abdominal pain and swelling, jaundice, weakness, and unintentional weight loss, consult a doctor. Learn about all gastrointestinal cancers here.

Bile duct cancer – The bile ducts are tubes that connect the liver and the gallbladder to the small intestine, transporting bile to break down fats during digestion. Cancer can develop in the ducts inside or outside of the liver. Bile duct cancer is rare, with risk factors that include chronic ulcerative colitis and cysts. Symptoms: Signs of bile duct cancer are like those of other liver diseases, including dark urine, nausea, abdominal pain, fever, and jaundice.

Bile duct (gall) stones – Doctors theorize gallstones form when the liver produces too much cholesterol or bilirubin (a chemical produced from breaking down red blood cells). These stones can form in the gallbladder and bile ducts that attach to the gallbladder, liver and intestines. Symptoms: If a gall stone gets lodged in the duct, resulting symptoms can include intense pain in the abdomen, pain in the right shoulder and between the shoulders, and nausea. Our bile duct stones web page explain more.

What to Expect If you Suffer Liver Disorder Symptoms

A gastroenterologist or hepatologist can diagnosis and treat liver conditions. Here’s the difference between the two physicians:

A gastroenterologist specializes in caring for the full digestive tract. This includes the esophagus (food pipe), stomach, intestines, liver, bile ducts, gall bladder, and pancreas.

A hepatologist also is a gastroenterologist, with added training to specialize in disorders affecting the liver, gall bladder, pancreas, and bile ducts (hepatic organs).

Learn more about the differences between a gastroenterologist and a hepatologist here.

Each professional would perform several tests to diagnose a liver condition, including blood screening, stool analysis, and imaging, including an internal exam of your gastrointestinal tract using a camera-equipped flexible scope or capsule (an endoscopy).

Whichever specialist you see, be prepared to discuss your family health history to determine if you have inherited risks of liver disease. Also, be open about your daily lifestyle, including medications you take, because your liver filters everything you eat, drink, breath, and absorb through the skin.

How to Keep Your Liver Healthy: Gastroenterologist Tips

• Eat liver-friendly foods. Think about lots of plant-based nutrients and lean proteins. Strive for five to nine portions of fruits and vegetables as well as natural fibers from nuts, whole grains, and seeds. Lean proteins are important because they provide enzymes that help your body detoxify and help to maintain a healthy weight to reduce risk of fatty liver disease.

• Limit exposure to toxins. These include tobacco products, cleaning solvents, and chemicals. When applicable, wear protective gloves when you can.
• Avoid viral exposure. To prevent hepatitis, practice safe sex and do not share razors, toothbrushes, or needles. If getting a tattoo, ensure the shop uses sterilized equipment in a sterile environment.
• Limit alcohol consumption. Generally, health advisers suggest no more than one drink a day for women and two for men. Fortunately, your liver can heal itself from minor alcohol damage in a few days or weeks, so try to abstain for two consecutive days per week.
• Support good circulation. Daily activity improves blood circulation, which can strengthen the liver and its ability to perform more than 500 roles. Further, daily exercise – even walking –contributes to a healthier weight. If you have not been active, talk to your doctor about easing into exercise.
• See a gastroenterologist. When detected early, liver conditions can be treated more effectively and comfortably, and potentially less expensively. Regular bloodwork and imaging can monitor liver function and detect emerging issues. Bring a list of questions regarding your day-to-day activities, changes in bowel movements, and unexplained discomfort or weight loss.

Your liver works tirelessly. This National Liver Awareness Month you can lighten the load on your internal workhorse by following the above practices. You might soon notice the benefits. The rest of your body should.

Visit our Liver Conditions web page to learn more. If you’d like to request an appointment with one of our gastroenterologists or hepatologist, fill out this online form.