Protecting the liver has become one of the most important concerns for people nowadays, perhaps due to the alarming severity of liver diseases. Therefore, many people pay attention to avoiding behaviors that can harm the liver, such as staying up late. There are many examples of liver diseases worsening due to staying up late, but people often forget that there are other behaviors that can harm the liver which they may engage in every day.
1. Excessive smoking and drinking
Alcohol is definitely a liver's worst enemy. Alcohol (ethanol) is first metabolized into acetaldehyde in the liver, and then further metabolized into acetic acid. Acetic acid is finally metabolized into water and carbon dioxide. In this metabolic chain, acetaldehyde is the real liver-damaging substance. Acetaldehyde can cause varying degrees of damage to the liver: in mild cases, it damages liver cells and causes liver enzymes (such as transaminases) to leak into the bloodstream, which is why liver enzyme levels are often elevated after drinking. In severe cases, liver cells suffer irreversible damage and eventually develop into liver cirrhosis, medically known as alcoholic liver cirrhosis, which can progress to liver cancer.
Nicotine in cigarettes and the metabolic product of alcohol, ethanol, are extremely harmful to the liver. The harm of smoking lies in the fact that tobacco smoke contains thousands of harmful substances that, when inhaled into the body, can cause varying degrees of damage to multiple organs including the liver, and is one of the main risk factors for diseases and cancer. Therefore, people with liver diseases should quit smoking and drinking completely.
2. Eating too well and having excessive fat intake
The liver is the metabolic center for the three major nutrients in the human body: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. After the food we eat is digested by the gastrointestinal tract, it enters the liver through the portal vein system and is then processed into nutrients that the body can use.
The liver has a certain metabolic limit. If you eat rich foods every day and the liver cannot handle it, the fats cannot be metabolized into glucose in a timely manner and instead accumulate as storage in liver cells, causing liver damage. This condition is known as fatty liver. Fatty liver can be treated and reversed to a certain extent, but if not properly managed over a long period of time, it can lead to fatty liver cirrhosis and even liver cancer.
3. Taking medication indiscriminately
The liver is also the largest detoxifying organ in the body. It is involved in drug metabolism and can break down toxic substances. If you have paid attention to the adverse reactions listed in the drug instructions, you will find that many drugs have a warning saying, "Long-term use may cause elevated liver enzymes. Please use under the guidance of a doctor." Therefore, any medication should not be taken indiscriminately (including so-called tonics).
In addition to prescription drugs, it is important to avoid self-administering other medications, as taking multiple drugs can easily lead to drug interactions and affect the liver's ability to metabolize drugs. When seeking medical treatment for liver diseases, patients should inform their doctors of all the medications they are currently taking as a reference for prescribing medications.
4. Taking so-called "liver-protecting" and "hangover" products
Drinking too much alcohol is harmful to the liver, but taking indiscriminate "hangover" or "liver-protecting" products can also be harmful to the liver.
The reason is that there is currently no such thing as a "hangover" remedy. Alcohol is primarily metabolized in the liver, and theoretically, speeding up alcohol metabolism is the key to relieving a hangover. However, alcohol metabolism mainly depends on the activity of related enzymes, and there are currently no drugs that can significantly increase the activity of these enzymes.
No matter what kind of "liver-protecting" product it is, it still needs to be metabolized by the liver, which increases the burden on the liver. If the ingredients are known and manageable by the body, then it is okay; but if unknown or inappropriate ingredients are added, it can potentially cause liver damage.
5. Emotional stress
Stagnation of liver qi, whether fast or slow, can manifest as a series of physical ailments: stomach pain, abdominal pain, diarrhea, headache, chest tightness, irregular menstruation, breast hyperplasia, uterine fibroids, pigmentation, high blood lipids, fatty liver, hypertension, and so on. Most people cannot withstand repeated episodes of anger and emotional outbursts, which can lead to liver qi stagnation and liver yang uprising, causing significant harm to the liver and the person.
