8 Signs That Your Liver Could Be Sick

The liver is one of the most important organs in the body. As the largest internal organ, it is no surprise that the liver plays many vital roles in the operation and maintenance of a healthy body. The liver acts as the primary filtration organ in the body as well as producing a number of vital hormones, secretions, and blood components, which makes maintaining a healthy liver a top priority for anyone concerned about overall health.

A healthy liver is essential for digesting food, absorbing nutrients, getting rid of toxic substances and regulating a number of other vital processes. As a result, when your liver is not functioning at optimal levels, your entire body and overall health suffer.

Common signs that your liver might be sick are:

Yellowish tone to your skin and/or eyes
Abdominal pain and swelling
Itchy skin that doesn’t seem to go away
Dark urine
Pale or bloody/ tar-colored stools
Chronic fatigue
Nausea
Loss of appetite

However, it has been reported that at least half of people show no signs or symptoms until their livers are seriously damaged. Therefore, it is important to check the health of your liver using a panel of simple blood tests, including checking your levels of bilirubin, slkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT).

If any of these tests come back abnormal or even outside the optimal range, there are a number of things you can do to boost the health of your liver, including:

Reducing your alcohol consumption and increasing the amount of water you drink
Using prescription and nonprescription drugs ONLY when you REALLY need them and just taking the recommended dose
Eating plenty of fiber
Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight
Taking liver-boosting and -detoxifying supplements such as milk thistle, dandelion, probiotics, green tea, vitamin E and curcumin.

You can get more information from the Blood Test Results Decoded program about liver function tests and other blood panels that can be used to help diagnosis potentially serious liver conditions, as well as improve your liver health.
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Author: Dr. Karen Vieira
An advocate of natural health and healing, Dr. Vieira holds a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from University of Florida College of Medicine. She is also trained in alternative/complementary medicine. Dr. Vieira is on advisory boards for several supplement companies and schools. She previously led the Kraft Foods cell-based discovery team for health and wellness ingredients. She is a speaker, author and trainer in scientific, medical and health fields. Dr Vieira recently published a course on reading your blood test called Blood Test Results Decoded.