The liver is one of the most important organs in the body. It performs hundreds of functions vital to sustain life and makes hormones and proteins that are required by other parts of the body.It cleans toxins, makes bile, regulates the amount of blood in the body and metabolizes proteins, carbohydrates and fats so the body can use them.But with the consumption of food high in saturated and trans fat, sugar, processed foods, dietary and medical supplements and alcohol, liver health can get damaged to the point of fatality. According to the American Liver Foundation, about 51,642 adults died from liver disease in 2020 in the United States. Are there any signs of depleting liver health? If yes, what are they? Find out below!
Jaundice
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Liver damage can cause yellowing of the skin and eyes. This is because the liver is responsible for processing bilirubin, a yellow pigment produced from red blood cells and excreting it into bile. But when the liver is not functioning properly, it is not able to process the pigment which gets build up and leads to yellowing of skin and eyes.
Abdominal pain and swelling
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If the upper right part of your abdomen pains frequently, it could be because of a damaged liver. Liver damage can cause inflammation and fluid build up in the abdomen which can cause sharp pain when you move and breathe.
Dark urine and pale stools
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Another easy-to-spot sign of liver damage is dark urine and pale stool. Due to the build-up of bilirubin in the liver, the urine may be excreted in darker colours than usual such as brown, orange or amber. Additionally, when the liver stops functioning properly it stops producing enough bile salts in the stool leading to a pale or clay colour or at times even disrupting the flow.
Fatigue and weakness
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An unwell liver is weak at filtering out toxins from the bloodstream which can lead to you feeling more fatigue than usual and feeling unwell. It can also cause brain fog where you are confused or disoriented. And, due to fluid retention, you can feel weakness in your body and experience swelling in the feet and ankles.
Bruising and bleeding
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When liver damage occurs, the organ doesn’t produce enough clotting factors which are proteins required to clot blood and stop bleeding. This results in the body bruising and bleeding more rapidly. In the later stages, you can also end up vomiting blood due to the liver being clogged.
