Protecting Your Liver

Helping blood clot and transforming food into protein and carbohydrates are only two activities that the liver carries out quickly and efficiently. This rigorous organ also detoxifies the blood from infectious substances like bacteria to assist in their excretion as bodily waste, and when assaulted by pollutants like cigarette smoke and pesticides, works to neutralize them. Despite the liver's toughness, though, it can fail if it regularly receives pollution overload, most commonly in the form of alcohol.

Excessive drinking often has disastrous consequences for the liver, leading to the build-up of fat deposits that cause the organ to grow inflamed. Commonly called alcoholic hepatitis, this condition, if left uncured, ultimately leads to cirrhosis, a fatal liver disease, and to liver cancer or failure. Monitoring alcohol intake, therefore, remains the simplest way of avoiding liver damage.

For those who want to alleviate the suffering of alcoholic or viral hepatitis, some health consultants recommend taking milk thistle, an herb used in ancient Greek and Roman times to counteract jaundice. One of milk thistle's key components, silymarin, prohibits toxins from entering the liver and soothes inflammation; for this reason, it can also be used by people taking medications that may have negative side effects on the liver. Many people who have none of these complaints nonetheless take 80 to 200 milligrams of milk thistle extract daily to maintain liver health and reduce the risk of harmful toxins that enter the liver. However, women in particular should bear in mind that silymarin impairs the effectiveness of oral contraceptives and may not be safe for those who are pregnant or nursing.