By Dr. Al
Sears
Most
of my patients figure as long as they don’t overuse alcohol or
drugs, their liver is safe.
But
alcohol isn’t your biggest worry.
If
you’re overweight, your liver is in real
trouble.
Evidence
suggests that alcohol contributes to only 6% of liver damage. The
much higher risk factor for liver damage is obesity. It alone
contributes to 52% of liver disease.1
And
when an overweight person drinks, the chances of liver damage are
dramatically increased. Let’s look at some real numbers so you can
see exactly what the risks are.
If
you’re overweight, you have a twofold increased risk. If you’re
obese (body mass index over 30), you’re four times more likely to
develop liver damage than a normal-weight
individual.1
When
you add alcohol to the mix, it gets even scarier. For example, a
normal-weight individual who drinks two or more glasses of alcohol a
day has a two-fold risk of liver damage. While an obese person with
the same drinking habits has a 5.9-fold increase – that’s nearly six
times the chance of liver disease. And overweight people drinking
two or more glasses a day have a 3.4-fold increased
risk.1
This
is bad news. Your liver is the most overlooked and often ignored
organ in your body. But it’s arguably the most
important.
Your
liver:
- Manufactures
a full quart of bile daily to break down fat. Bile is the
yellowish-green fluid that’s produced in your liver and stored in
your gallbladder. Bile also plays an essential role in emulsifying
– or breaking down – the fats you eat. Think of bile as a
detergent that gets rid of grease from your dishes.
- Filters
harmful toxins and substances (including alcohol) out of nearly
100 gallons of blood every day and allows nutrients to get to your
cells.
- Produces
more than 13,000 crucial chemicals and hormones including
cholesterol, testosterone, and estrogen. Plus, your liver manages
over 50,000 enzymes to maintain a healthy body.
- Regulates
blood sugar levels and prevents dangerous spikes and
lows.
- Stores
essential vitamins and minerals – including vitamins A, D, K, and
B12 – to help keep your bones from crumbling.
- Detoxifies
all internal and external environmental pollutants. If your liver
didn’t continually remove metabolic trash and toxins from your
blood, you would be dead in a matter of hours.
Even
more important than what your liver does, is what happens when your
liver is not working properly.
To
get rid of all the waste, your liver will create balls of fat that
collect in the liver itself. (This is the start of a “fatty liver.”)
Those fats will also spill into your blood in the form of
triglycerides, which boost your risk of a heart related disaster.
Your
liver will also move those toxins to different places in your body,
including your skin. In fact, many skin conditions like dandruff and
psoriasis are tell-tale signs of a sick liver.
All
of this contributes to a systemic poisoning that zaps your strength,
vitality – even your sex drive. Chronic fatigue, high blood
pressure, autoimmune disorders, and “problems in the bedroom,” often
have a connection to a sluggish or sick liver.
If
you haven’t started on a weight-reduction plan, get started today.
It doesn’t have to be difficult. My most important rule of healthy
weight reduction is simply to eat foods in their natural,
unadulterated forms. That includes red meat, fish, poultry, dairy,
eggs, most vegetables, most fruits, and nuts.2
Avoid
anything processed or refined. And start a heart healthy exercise
program.
To
Your Good Health,
Al
Sears, MD
You Should Check Out Dr.
Sears' Website Here.
1
Obesity is the Cause of Most U.S. Liver Damage: Risk of Disease
Fourfold Higher in Obese. Mitchel L. Zoler. Family Practice News.
July 1, 2004.
2 Sears, A. The Doctor’s Heart Cure Book. Dragon
Door Publication: Minnesota. 2004.