Because of these two points, liver disease is already in the late stage when it is discovered. To protect the liver, do the following five things:

If you pay attention to some cases around you, you may find a phenomenon that most patients with liver disease are already in the late stage when they are discovered. Why is this the case? How can we nourish and protect the liver?

Function of the liver: The liver is one of the five organs in the human body. It is an organ mainly responsible for metabolism, and has functions such as deoxidation, storage of glycogen, and secretion of protein.

The liver is also the largest digestive organ in the human body, secreting bile and storing it in the gallbladder to help digestion. Most liver diseases are accompanied by jaundice, which is due to the liver's inability to continue to excrete bilirubin, causing bilirubin to accumulate in the body.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the liver and gallbladder are the exterior and interior of each other, and the eyes are the openings. The liver is responsible for storing blood, regulating blood, and storing and regulating blood. "Suwen·Five Zang Organs" says: "The liver is the organ that binds the tendons, and it nourishes the nails." The liver is also the general's official, responsible for planning and thinking.

Why is liver disease discovered in the late stage? 1. The liver has no pain nerves

The human body is a very amazing structure. When encountering danger, it will subconsciously retreat to avoid possible harm. For example, when the hand is pricked by a needle, the pain nerves will feel pain, and the nerve center will issue a command to subconsciously retract the hand.

Some organs send out distress signals through pain, such as angina pectoris, chest pain, etc. However, the liver does not have pain nerves, so even if liver damage occurs, there is no obvious pain. Discomfort in the right abdomen will only occur when the liver is malignant, such as cirrhosis or liver cancer, and the membrane covering the liver surface is pulled.

So even if there is some minor liver damage, there is no particularly obvious feeling.

2. The liver has a strong ability to repair itself

The liver has extremely strong regenerative and compensatory abilities. Even if 70% of the liver is removed, the remaining liver can still grow to the size required by the human body.

Because the liver has a strong ability to repair itself, it is also a "silent organ." When there is a slight injury, the liver can repair itself, and this process is basically unnoticeable if it is not checked.

How to nourish and protect the liver. The health of the body requires care and love. This is also true for organs and tissues, so liver care is extremely important.

1. Quit smoking and drinking

Tobacco and alcohol can damage any organ and tissue in the human body. After the human body ingests alcohol, it is absorbed into the blood through the stomach and small intestine, and then metabolized by the liver. If alcohol is consumed for a long time and in large quantities, it will greatly increase the metabolic burden of the liver and cause fatty degeneration of the liver; the acetaldehyde produced during alcohol metabolism has toxic side effects on liver cells and can cause liver cell cancer.

I have observed the liver cancer patients around me, and most of them are addicted to alcohol. So for the sake of your health, please quit smoking and drinking as soon as possible!

2. Avoid greasy and spicy food, eat more vegetables and fruits

Greasy and spicy food is difficult to digest, and excessive intake will increase the metabolic burden on the metabolic organs. The liver is the largest digestive gland in the human body, and patients with chronic liver disease have symptoms of aversion to greasy food, so they should reduce or avoid eating spicy and greasy food.

Vegetables and fruits are rich in mineral ions and vitamins, which are beneficial to the repair of damaged liver cells. However, due to factors such as region and dietary structure, the consumption of vegetables and fruits by Chinese people is extremely uneven. People in some areas do not even eat vegetables or fruits, which is extremely detrimental to health.

The Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2016 Edition) recommends that we should consume 300-500 grams of vegetables per day, and they should be diversified; and 100-200 grams of fruit, and they should be of various types. Patients with chronic liver disease should increase this amount appropriately.

3. Regular physical examination

In disease prevention and treatment, we emphasize "three earlys", namely early detection, early diagnosis and early treatment, and these three earlys must rely on physical examinations!

Unfortunately, many people don’t have the habit of physical examinations, which is very detrimental to disease prevention. I have seen many cases in my work where they just don’t go for physical examinations. They resist even the slightest problem, and when they can’t resist any more, they go for examinations, and the result is that the disease has already reached an advanced stage. The same is true for liver disease!

Therefore, it is recommended that the general public should have their liver function checked once a year, and people who drink alcohol, stay up late for a long time, or have hepatitis B should increase the frequency of physical examinations. Abdominal color Doppler ultrasound and alpha-fetoprotein should be checked once a year. Only in this way can liver lesions be discovered as early as possible and intervention treatment can be carried out as early as possible.

4. Carry out appropriate physical exercise

Proper physical exercise is extremely beneficial to physical health. If you pay attention to the people around you, you will find that those who exercise regularly have a better mentality and a healthier body. Studies have also shown that people who exercise regularly have stronger immune functions.

Except for patients with liver failure who need to stay in bed, other patients with liver disease or healthy people should choose appropriate physical exercises according to their actual conditions, such as Tai Chi, jogging, cycling, etc.

5. Avoid staying up late and ensure adequate sleep

The human body's ability to function over a long period of time depends on adequate rest (sleep). About one-third of a person's life is spent resting (sleeping).

According to TCM theory, the liver belongs to the element of wood in the five elements, which corresponds to the Zi hour in the twelve earthly branches (from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. the next day). You should go to bed before Zi hour to avoid staying up late. Staying up late is very harmful to the liver. Those who have stayed up late should know that after staying up late, the whole person will be listless the next day and the skin will become very greasy. This is due to the weakened metabolic function of the liver.

Adults should get 7 to 9 hours of sleep every day, so for good health, you should get enough sleep. Unfortunately, people are under great pressure in life nowadays, staying up late and not getting enough sleep are the norm, which is very bad for the body.

Finally, I hope that each of our friends will pay attention to health, prevent diseases, develop good living habits, have a healthy lifestyle, and have regular physical examinations.

I wish every friend a healthy and happy life and work.