Beware! The "silent killer" - liver cirrhosis

March 18th of every year is "National Liver Care Day". The theme of this year's Liver Care Day is "Early prevention and early screening to avoid liver cirrhosis"

What is cirrhosis?

What do you think of when you think of liver cirrhosis? Big belly, ascites? Vomiting blood, black stools? Or slow speech, abnormal behavior? Many people think of these, but in fact, these are just some of the manifestations of complications of decompensated liver cirrhosis. So what exactly is liver cirrhosis?

Cirrhosis is a common chronic, progressive, diffuse liver disease caused by a variety of reasons. When the liver is damaged for a long time, fibrosis or liver nodule-like changes will gradually form, which will destroy the normal structure and function of the liver.

What are the causes of cirrhosis?

1. Long-term excessive drinking: Alcoholic liver disease is the most common cause of cirrhosis in Europe and the United States, and has been on the rise in my country in recent years.

2. High-fat, high-sugar diet: In recent years, with the change of people's lifestyles, the number of obese people, especially those with abdominal obesity, has increased significantly, leading to an increase in the number of patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and a corresponding increase in the number of related cirrhosis cases.

3. Intake of drugs or poisons: Long-term or repeated exposure to arsenic-containing pesticides, carbon tetrachloride and other hepatotoxic poisons, biological agents, or long-term use of hepatotoxic chemical drugs such as isoniazid, cinchophen and methotrexate can also cause liver cell damage and may progress to cirrhosis.

4. Other factors: Hepatitis B virus infection is the most common cause of liver cirrhosis. Autoimmune hepatitis, liver blood circulation disorders, genetic and metabolic diseases, parasitic diseases, etc. are also important factors leading to liver cirrhosis.

The five most damaging liver killers

1. Lack of sleep. Many people have the habit of working or entertaining at night, but staying up late is most likely to cause liver disease. The reason is that during sleep, the human body will enter a self-repair mode. Frequently staying up late will not only lead to insufficient sleep and decreased body resistance, but also affect the liver's self-repair at night.

2. Not urinating in time after getting up in the morning. Detoxification can be done through urination, sweating, and defecation. Urinating as soon as possible after getting up in the morning can expel toxins accumulated overnight in time, avoiding toxins from being retained in the body and causing liver "poisoning".

3. Overeating. Overeating not only damages gastrointestinal health, but also easily causes a significant increase in free radicals in the body. The key role of the liver is to help the body deal with free radicals, eliminate toxins, and purify the blood.

4. Prefer fried foods, eating half-cooked or burnt foods. Eating fried foods for a month can cause significant changes in the liver, triggering changes in enzymes similar to hepatitis. Similarly, eating half-cooked or burnt foods (especially meat) can easily cause liver damage.

5. Excessive drinking. Excessive drinking will reduce the liver's ability to purify blood, leading to an increase in toxins in the body, inducing liver damage and a variety of diseases. In addition, excessive drinking can easily lead to liver poisoning and induce hepatitis.

How to prevent cirrhosis?

1. Healthy eating habits. Eat low-fat, high-protein, high-vitamin and easy-to-digest foods on time and in appropriate amounts.

2. Quit smoking and drinking. Alcohol is directly related to liver cirrhosis. Long-term drinking, especially strong alcohol, can lead to alcoholic liver cirrhosis.

3. Learn more about the basic knowledge of liver cirrhosis. Liver cirrhosis is a consequence of the gradual development of liver parenchymal degeneration caused by various reasons.

4. Do not take drugs that are harmful to the liver for a long time, such as isoniazid and barbiturates.

5. Suitable outdoor sports, such as walking, Tai Chi, Qigong, etc.

Source: Healthy China, People's Daily Online Science, Science Popularization China