6. Yellow Skin or Eyes (Jaundice): Jamile Wakim-Fleming, a liver disease expert at
Cleveland Clinic, explains that damaged liver causes your skin or eyes to become
yellow because it allows bilirubin (a yellow compound) into your blood. If
your liver is healthy, it will be able to dispose of bilirubin, Fleming adds.
Jaundice is caused by high levels of bilirubin in the blood. Bilirubin is
responsible for the destruction and natural breakdown of red blood cells
in the body. Jaundice which occurs due to liver damage occurs when the liver
is unable to metabolize and excrete bilirubin. There are many different
signs and symptoms associated with jaundice. Apart from yellow discoloration of the skin,
other symptoms of jaundice include light colored stools, itchy skin, dark colored urine, and more.
5. Confusion: One of the signs of liver damage is if you begin to experience confusion. According to
Fleming, a damaged liver can allow too much copper to build up in your blood and brain. This can lead
to Alzheimer’s-like symptoms. She adds that if you’re experiencing this, chances are it’s not
the only symptom you’ve experienced. Confusion is associated with advanced-stage liver disease.
Do you experience any of these warning signs? Keep watching for some even more
serious warning signs that your liver may be damaged!
4. Muscle Wasting: If you have an oversized stomach with swollen ankles and skinny/weak
arms and legs, it could be a direct result from fluid imbalances that are commonly
caused by a diseased liver, says Fleming. This can also occur around your temples
and or above your cheeks. Fleming adds that these symptoms are late-stage liver disease
symptoms, so it’s highly unlikely you’ll experience these symptoms out of the blue.
3. Abdominal Aches: According to Bruce Bacon, a professor of internal medicine at the St.
Louis University School of Medicine, one common sign of liver damage is abdominal aches. Bacon
says you’ll feel swelling or pain in the right upper quadrant of your abdomen. The
reason it’ll be the right side is that the fat end of the liver is on the right side.
Abdominal pain associated with liver damage is usually located underneath the
ribs. The abdomen may also swell, and the person experiencing the liver damage may also experience
flu-like symptoms like fatigue, vomiting, muscle and / or joint pain, nausea, fever,
and more. If you begin to experience unusual liver pain, you should visit the emergency room.
2. Pain In Your Joints: Fleming states that vomiting, joint pain, fatigue and loss of
appetite are all interrelated symptoms of liver disease – mainly autoimmune hepatitis. This is a
condition where your immune system attacks the cell tissues in your liver. According
to the National Institutes of Health, this condition is more common in women than men.
1. Skin Spots: According to Fleming, if your liver is not properly cleaning the
blood in your body, clotting issues can occur near the surface of your
skin. Fleming adds that these clotting issues can cause large skin blemishes.
Scientists state that the condition of a person's skin usually reflects the health
of his or her liver. Our livers have a big impact on our appearance. This is because our livers are
considered the metabolic factory of our bodies. The liver creates energy which helps our bodies
function. If a person's liver is not breaking down toxins the way it should be, your body
tries to eliminate these toxins in other ways - and many times it does this through the skin.
There are many other complications which can occur as a result of liver damage. When a person's liver
function begins to decrease, he or she may begin to experience weakness and muscle loss
as well as decreased mental function. They may experience mental confusion, erectile dysfunction
(if they are a male), and an impaired immune system. Other symptoms include osteoporosis,
vitamin deficiency, and insulin resistance which can eventually turn into type 2 diabetes.
How to Prevent Liver Damage: One way to prevent your liver from being damaged is to increase your
intake of vitamin E. When making changes to your diet, you should also incorporate more
foods like nuts into your diet. Vitamin E can help minimize the symptoms of liver disease,
and nuts are high in vitamin E. It can help reduce symptoms of liver disease by preventing cell
damage, according to researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Some of
the best sources of vitamin E are nuts, wheat germ, seeds, vegetable oils and leafy greens.
One thing you can do to improve your liver health is eat a diet that is rich in nutrients. You
should also eliminate large portion sizes from your diet. Overeating can cause liver damage,
and limiting your portion sizes can help reduce how many calories you are eating every day,
which can help with weight loss and ultimately minimize liver damage. You
should also cut down on carbonated drinks, which are usually heavy in calories and can
significantly contribute to weight gain. Instead of consuming carbonated drinks,
you should drink a lot of water and keep yourself hydrated. Why? Because water
plays a huge role in helping the human body flush out toxins from the liver.
In addition to improving your diet and drinking more water, you should cut back (or better,
quit all together) on smoking if you are a smoker. Smoking is a major risk factor for
liver disease and liver damage. In fact, nicotine can raise levels of fat that is
found in the blood. This makes the liver work much harder to filter out the toxins caused by smoking.
Of course, one of the main contributors to good health is regular exercise. Adding
exercise to your life will improve your overall health, reducing the risk of non
alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). A recent study published in the Journal of Hepatology
states that even a little bit of exercise can help people with NAFLD. So incorporate exercise
into your life, even if it means walking up the stairs at the office instead of taking
the elevator. You should also try to cut down on your carb intake. This is because carbs
like potatoes and bread can quickly turn into glucose, which is stored in a person's liver.
Monitor Your Alcohol Intake: Alcohol abuse is the number one cause of liver damage. The easiest
way to ensure that your liver is healthy is to watch how much you consume. People who drink a
lot of alcohol can damage their liver because whenever a person's liver filters alcohol,
it has to work harder to filter it. Drinking large amounts of alcohol can also cause buildup
of alcohol fatty liver disease. In fact, a study completed by London's Royal Free Hospital studied
regular drinkers who cut out alcohol for one entire month. The results of the study proved
that there was an average of a 15 percent decrease in liver fat. The study also showed that the
people who cut alcohol from their systems showed cholesterol and blood sugar level improvements.
According to the John Hopkins Medicine Health Library, cirrhosis and other
chronic liver diseases are common causes of death in the U.S. It also states that,
on average, 31,000 people in the U.S. die each year from cirrhosis.
So it’s imperative for people to look for signs of liver damage.
In many cases, we damage our liver because of our lifestyle choices. Whether it’s constantly
consuming large amounts of alcohol, smoking cigarettes or overeating unhealthy food,
you’re putting extra stress on your liver. If your liver is overstressed,
it won’t be able to break down fats and produce energy, so you’ll end up fatigued.
If you feel that you live an unhealthy lifestyle and are worried that your lifestyle choices may
be affecting your liver, you should visit your doctor immediately. Your doctor will
monitor you and give you professional advice on what you should or shouldn’t do to improve
your liver health as well as your overall health. If you begin to show signs of some
more serious symptoms like abdominal pain or jaundice, do not ignore your symptoms. \Be
sure to watch for the warning signs, and never let serious symptoms go untreated!
What are some other ways you can incorporate healthy living into
your lifestyle to help reduce liver damage? Let us know in the comments section below!
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