7 Early Symptoms of Liver Damage

(And 3 Amazing Liver Detox Recipes)

Keeping an eye open for any early signs of liver problems is an essential part of maintaining a holistic health lifestyle. Without a fully functioning liver, both your health and lifestyle will be compromised. Luckily your liver is capable of repairing itself, so providing that any problems are spotted early, and are not allowed to develop and worsen, your liver is likely to make a full recovery. So you need to be on the alert. Here are some symptoms of liver problems to be on the lookout for.

Liver damage can include anything from heredity (i.e., inherited from a family member), toxicity (i.e., due to chemicals or viruses) to a long-term disease (i.e., Cirrhosis) that can affect your liver for the rest of your life.
The liver helps the body digest food, absorb nutrients, and eliminate toxic substances. Without this abdominal organ you wouldn’t able to live.

Causes for liver damage
Liver problems usually occur gradually and over many years. The most common cause for liver problems is long term alcohol consumption. Other causes are:

Various viruses including many typee of hepatitis
Malnutrition
Reactions to certain medications
Overuse of certain medications
Exposure to harmful chemicals
Inherited disorders of iron and copper metabolism
Diseases like liver cancer and fatty liver caused by obesity
Diabetics have an increased risk of liver disease
Even smoking can dramatically increase the risk for not only lung cancer, but also liver cancer. Certain chemotherapy drugs can damage cells in the liver, and even too much of vitamin A can cause liver damage.

7 Early Symtomps of Liver Damage

Dark yellow urine
Due to increased levels of the bile pigment in the body that cannot be eliminated by the damaged liver. People may associate it with dehydration, but if they drink enough fluids, it should not happen.

Swollen Abdomen
Cirrhosis, the serious progression of liver disease, causes fluid build-up in the abdomen (a condition referred to as ascites), as levels of albumin and proteins in the blood and fluid are retained. This may actually make the patient appear pregnant. While ascites can be caused by numerous medical conditions, cirrhosis of the liver is the single most common. Sometimes, swelling can also take place in the ankles, as accumulated fluid is drawn down into the body by the forces of gravity.

Diarrhea, constipation or intestinal bleeding
There are noticeable changes in bowel movement. You may have periods of constipation or diarrhea or change in the stool color or traces of blood in it.

 
Acid Reflux
If you suffer from increasingly frequent attacks of acid reflux with indigestion, with or without vomiting, these are other warning signs that all is not well and needs investigating further.

Jaundice
This is the well known ‘yellowing’ of your skin. Your whole body including sometimes your fingernails and eyes take on a yellow hue. This is mainly due to the build up of ‘bilirubin’ which is a pigment in bile. Bile is made in our livers, and is essential in the digestion process. If your liver is having problems filtering the toxins that you ingest (whether through the digestive tract, the skin or the respiratory system) bilirubin will collect in the bloodstream thus turning your pallor yellow.

Nausea and vomiting
Due the interruption to the digestive system, you may suffer from heartburn, nausea and vomiting.

Abdominal pain
Especially where the liver is located, in the upper right part of the belly under the ribs.

3 Liver Detox Recipes

1. Liver Boosting Beet Juice:
1 beet
1 carrot
1 lemon, peeled
1 handful parsley
 
Instructions: Run all ingredients through a juicer and enjoy.

2. Deep Green Liver Detox:
1/2 cucumber
2 cups kale
1 lime, peeled
1 cup swiss chard
1/2 lemon, peeled
 
Instructions: Run all ingredients through a juicer and enjoy.

3. Liver Detox Green Smoothie:
2 oranges, peeled
1/2 rib celery
1 lemon, peeled
1/2 cup dandelion greens (or other bitter green)
1/2 cup parsley
 
Instructions: Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.