How small changes in everyday life can improve liver health
Created: 01/07/2022Updated: 01/07/2022, 4:47 PM
Getting plenty of exercise also improves liver health.
© Arnulf Hettrich / Imago
An unhealthy lifestyle can damage the liver.
But with just a few everyday tips, you can improve your health enormously.
An expert explains how.
Obviously, many people want changes in their life and are looking for effective strategies for changing habits: At number one on the Spiegel bestseller list from the area of "Life and Health" is a guide that gives tips on how to make minimal changes a maximum effect can be achieved.
In current surveys on good intentions for 2022, healthier eating and more exercise are at the top of the rankings.
The German Liver Foundation would like to support people with tips to be more flexible and nutritionally conscious in the new year and thus to preserve liver health.
Corona pandemic causes health trend - this behavior damages the liver
Some experts are already talking about the “health megatrend” in 2022, which arose from the corona pandemic. In fact, topics such as a
strong immune system, dangerous obesity and a healthy diet rich in vitamins have been very dominant in the media and private exchange
for almost two years . The German Liver Foundation has been addressing the fact that unhealthy diet and lack of exercise are responsible for numerous diseases, including the liver, for many years. The so-called western lifestyle can be very damaging to the health of our body: high calorie eating and drinking as well as far too little exercise promote the development of
serious diseases
, such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) - in adults and children.
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Although fatty liver disease can very often be the result of another metabolic disease, diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases are getting more public attention. And because symptoms of NAFLD usually only become noticeable at an advanced stage, they often go undetected for a long time. As a result, non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL), which is relatively harmless in its early stages, can become inflamed, resulting in non-alcoholic fatty liver hepatitis (steatohepatitis, NASH). Fatty liver hepatitis can develop into liver fibrosis (increase in connective tissue) and later in liver cirrhosis * (scarring of the liver). Liver cell cancer is also one of the possible sequelae of inflamed fatty liver.
These simple everyday tips will help you improve your liver health
The liver expert and chairman of the German Liver Foundation, Prof. Dr. Michael P. Manns: “An already existing fatty liver and also fatty liver inflammation can regress if those affected consistently change their lifestyle. In addition to
sufficient exercise and a reduced intake of calories
, the
consumption of carbohydrates, saturated fats and fructose
should be restricted. In addition, the liver values in the blood (GPT, GOT and GGT) should be checked in extremely overweight adults and children. The aspect of
movement is particularly important
.
It's so easy to be more mobile in everyday life.
With even small changes, everyone can make the year 2022 more agile, I'll just give a few examples: a walk instead of a TV series, stairs instead of elevator, bike instead of car, visit colleagues in person in the office instead of calling them and sometimes at the desk in the office work.
The corona pandemic has once again made it clear that being overweight is not only an enormous health risk for the liver.
Scientific data show that the heavier a person is, the higher their risk of dying from Covid-19.
I hope that in the New Year many people will bring more exercise into their lives and at the same time be more careful with their diet. "
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: Detox the liver simply: This cure has an ingenious side effect.
And Prof. Manns is also addressing political decision-makers and medical colleagues with an
appeal for the year 2022
: “We need health policy and legal frameworks for improving the prevention and early detection of NAFLD, which must be integrated into the Prevention Act.
This is the only way we can counteract the rapid increase in NAFLD.
In addition, the assumption of costs for weight-reducing measures should be made possible and legal requirements for food labeling should be enacted.
In addition, there is an urgent need for general practitioner care to raise awareness of this disease, ”he explains.
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