Acute signs your liver is struggling include: Feeling sluggish, tired and fatigued constantly. White or yellow-coated tongue and/or bad breath. Weight gain – especially around the abdomen. Cravings and/or blood sugar issues.
However, as your liver loses its ability to function properly, you're likely to experience a loss of appetite, nausea and itchy skin. In the later stages, symptoms can include jaundice, vomiting blood, dark, tarry-looking stools, and a build-up of fluid in the legs (oedema) and abdomen (ascites).
Poor diet and lifestyle habits can contribute to sluggish liver function. Eating a diet high in sugars and fats (especially refined carbohydrates and unhealthy types of fat such as those found in deep-fried foods) can add to the liver's workload.
At first, you probably won't notice liver problems. But as it gets worse, your skin can feel itchy and bruise easily. Your eyes and skin may look yellowish, which doctors call jaundice. Your belly might hurt, and you could lose your appetite or feel sick to your stomach.
Most people with liver disease report abdominal pain. Pain in your liver itself can feel like a dull throbbing pain or a stabbing sensation in your right upper abdomen just under your ribs.
Eat high potassium foods: Potassium helps to cleanse the liver, so loading up on potassium-rich foods is key. Some of these foods include sweet potatoes, spinach, avocados, wild-caught salmon, bananas, and white beans.
Blood tests used to assess the liver are known as liver function tests. But liver function tests can be normal at many stages of liver disease. Blood tests can also detect if you have low levels of certain substances, such as a protein called serum albumin, which is made by the liver.
When the liver is overburdened and consequently unable to metabolise nutrients and fats properly it slows down metabolism leading to more serious health issues as well as weight gain and lethargy.
Fatty/Fast Food Items
French fries, wafers, burgers, and pizzas do no good to your liver. These food items are high in saturated fat or trans-fat content and are difficult to digest. In other words, your liver needs to work hard to process these food items.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Incredible detoxification actions of ACV work to flush out the harmful toxins from the liver that hinders its normal functions. Studies discloses that regular intake of ACV promotes weight loss, diminishes cholesterol levels, lessen inflammation, and uplift the overall health of the liver.
Yogurt is one of the best natural sources of probiotics which, scientists believe, may lower fat levels in the liver, reduce liver damage, and regulate fats in the blood.
Liver purifies blood, and supplies it to muscles and tissues. However, when it is under exceptional strain, it cannot do its purification function well, which causes muscle pain and body aches as toxins accumulate in blood.
Fatigue is the most common symptom reported by patients with liver disease. Although the underlying pathogenesis of fatigue in liver disease is still poorly defined, it appears to involve changes in central neurotransmission, which result from signalling between the diseased liver and the brain.
According to the American Liver Foundation, there are no medical treatments – yet – for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. So that means that eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly are the best ways to both prevent liver damage from starting or reverse liver disease once it's in the early stages.
Abdominal pain. Fatigue. Nausea and vomiting. Yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes (jaundice)
You likely won't notice an enlarged liver on your own. In some severe cases, you might notice a feeling of bloating or fullness in your belly, or an ache in your upper right abdomen, where your liver is. It's more likely your healthcare provider will discover it during an exam.
Pain below your ribs can be caused by your GI tract, like GERD, indigestion, gallbladder disease, or constipation, or problems with your lungs, like pneumonia. You may also have nausea, bloating, chest pain, coughing, or pain that's worse when you breathe in.
"Alcohol is the worst drink for your liver as it makes it harder on the liver to break down and remove toxins from the body," says Minerva Valencia, RD. "Alcohol is known to cause damage to this vital organ, but a wide variety of alcoholic drinks can also pose health risks," says Janet Coleman, RD at TheConsumerMag.