8 simple and effective ways to detoxify your liver at home that you can know
The liver acts as a “filtration factory” to help the body stay healthy.
When toxins enter the body, the liver will help convert them into less toxic substances that are then gradually excreted. However, using large amounts of alcohol can overload the liver, causing stagnation and harm to the body.
What you can do to help protect your liver is to eat and live healthily to limit toxic substances entering your body, not by using drugs or food to clean your liver.
1. Limit alcohol intake
There is no medicine that can help your liver stay healthy when you regularly drink a lot of alcohol, especially on the upcoming Hung King’s Anniversary, April 30 and May 1. The liver is where all the alcoholic beverages you consume are metabolized.
The more alcohol you drink, the harder your liver has to work, over a long period of time, overloading the liver and leading to damage to liver cells, thereby causing negative consequences such as: fatty liver, cirrhosis. , Liver Cancer,…
To keep your liver healthy you should use alcoholic beverages as recommended with no more than 2 cans of beer per day or no more than 90ml of 40 degree alcohol per day. Particularly for people with liver disease or certain cardiovascular or endocrine diseases, they need to completely stop using alcoholic beverages.
2. Monitor medication intake
All drugs entering the body pass through the liver to be processed. Therefore, it is extremely important to learn about the effects of the drugs you are taking on your liver.
Most medications are safe for the liver if taken as directed. However, taking too much medicine, taking it too often, taking the wrong medicine, or taking multiple medicines at the same time can harm the liver.
For example, acetaminophen (paracetamol) is a pain reliever and fever reducer that is used very often. However, if the drug is not used properly (more than 4g/day or used for 10 consecutive days) it can cause liver toxicity.
There have been many cases of acute liver failure due to paracetamol overdose. Therefore, you should consult your doctor or pharmacist before planning to use this medicine.
3. Do not use too many functional foods
Dietary supplements, whether vitamins, minerals, herbs or other natural remedies, pass through the liver. Long-term use and not following instructions can completely accumulate and cause toxicity to liver cells.
An article published in the journal “Gastroenterology and Hepatology” shows that products that help lose weight or gain muscle can be toxic to the liver.
Even some vitamins such as vitamin A and vitamin B3, if used in excess, can harm the liver. Thus, to avoid harm to the liver, you should consult your doctor before using any dietary supplement.
4. Change your diet
A reasonable diet that benefits the liver and a healthy lifestyle is always a great solution. The diet needs to be balanced in terms of protein, fat, starch and fully supplemented with vitamins, minerals and fiber to help the liver stay healthy.
To ensure your diet is beneficial and keep your liver functioning well, you can refer to the following food choices:
- With protein, you should choose proteins from white meat and plants such as fish, soybeans, nuts, broccoli…
- Fats should choose unsaturated fats of plant origin such as olive oil, soybean oil, sunflower seed oil,…
- You should choose foods with a low GI index for starch such as whole grains, sweet potatoes, bread,…
- Add enough fiber, fruits and vegetables, and drink enough water every day to keep your liver working well.
- Drinking coffee is proven to reduce the risk of liver diseases such as cirrhosis and liver cancer by reducing the accumulation of substances harmful to the liver such as fat and collagen.
- Limit foods high in fat, sugar and salt such as fried foods, fast foods, soft drinks… these foods can affect liver function over time.
- Limit alcoholic drinks such as beer, wine,… to keep your liver healthy.
Especially during the upcoming holidays, gathering with friends or family can disrupt your diet and ingest a larger amount of toxic foods than usual. Control yourself so your liver doesn’t have to work too hard on those days.
5. Exercise regularly
Regular exercise is definitely a great measure. It not only improves liver function but also improves all other aspects of health such as cardiovascular, respiratory, musculoskeletal… Take advantage of the holidays to build your own collective habits. daily sex.
For the liver, research has shown that exercising regularly for at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days/week with simple exercises such as jogging, cycling, swimming,… can help. Can help prevent fat accumulation in the liver, limiting fatty liver.
6. Prevent hepatitis
Currently, Vietnam is still an area with a high rate of patients infected with two dangerous types of hepatitis viruses: hepatitis B and hepatitis C. These two viruses are the main causes of hepatitis and cirrhosis. and liver cancer in our country.
Their transmission routes include: blood-borne, sexual, and mother-to-child transmission. Understanding the transmission route can help us partly prevent infection. However, each of us should be retested for hepatitis B and C and participate in the hepatitis B vaccination.
Another common type of viral hepatitis is hepatitis A. They are transmitted through the gastrointestinal tract when we eat food contaminated with the feces or waste of a person with hepatitis A.
Therefore, we should be very careful with daily food by eating cooked food, drinking boiled water and washing foods such as vegetables, tubers, fruits… Especially during this holiday, you can choose gathering to eat at home instead of going to a restaurant or restaurant outside due to not being able to control the food source there.
7.Limit exposure to toxic environments
The liver not only processes toxins from the digestive tract, but also other toxins from the respiratory tract and skin. Therefore, an environment with many toxins not only causes the respiratory system to be damaged and the skin to have problems, but even the liver is also significantly affected.
You should avoid spraying pesticides, herbicides, etc. in the garden, and keep paint cans and chemical sprayers far away from where you live. If it is necessary to use toxic chemicals, wear a mask, goggles or droplet shield and always keep the space well-ventilated to minimize the harm they cause.
Dust from vehicles is also a toxic source for both the respiratory system and the liver. During holidays, you should limit going out during rush hours and always wear a mask when going out to protect yourself.
8. Drink enough water
Most of the weight of the liver is water, so drinking enough water is a way to keep the liver healthy.
However, most of us may not drink enough water or do not know how to drink water properly. Practice a healthy habit of drinking water as follows:
- Drink enough water (0.4 liters of water per 10kg of body weight per day).
- Drink at the following times: early in the morning when you wake up, before going to bed, before eating and after going to the toilet.
In addition, you should make it a habit to drink water every 1 – 2 hours instead of waiting for thirst to drink. This habit of drinking water not only keeps your liver healthy but also helps other organs function better.
9. When should you see a doctor?
Signs you need to see a doctor
The liver is a very good compensatory organ in the body, so when it is damaged, it is very hard for you to see abnormalities, only when the condition has become severe. Therefore, you should go for a general examination so the doctor can advise you more specifically.
In case you work in an environment with many toxic substances, regularly use alcohol, etc. You should go to the doctor to have your liver function evaluated as soon as possible. Signs that your liver is weakened that you need to pay attention to include:
- Frequent fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea.
- Yellow skin, yellow eyes.
- Pain in the upper right abdomen.
Some reputable hospitals that you can visit
- In Hanoi: Hanoi Medical University Hospital, Bach Mai Hospital, Viet Duc Friendship Hospital,…
- In Ho Chi Minh City: University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, Cho Ray Hospital, Nguyen Tri Phuong Hospital,…
Source: nhathuocankhang
