How to keep the liver in working mode for the holidays: tips from a gastroenterologist

How to keep the liver in working mode for the holidays: tips from a gastroenterologist

We tell you what you can eat and what you should avoid.

Gastroenterologist, hepatologist, Hadassah branch of the Hadassah Clinic in the Skolkovo International Medical Cluster.

“During the New Year holidays, the issue of maintaining liver function is acute. As a rule, people unleash themselves: they eat a lot of fatty foods, drink alcohol, move little, take medications thoughtlessly. All this negatively affects the work of the organ.”

How to keep the liver in working mode

It is important to take into account existing and possible diseases. The liver has enormous resources and can easily cope with a single error in the diet, but it should be remembered that the prevalence of diseases of the organ is great. One of the most common problems is metabolic syndrome – overweight, impaired carbohydrate absorption, “fatty” liver.

People with such conditions need to monitor the diet: limit the amount of sweets eaten, fatty foods. To New Year’s celebration did not cause unnecessary problems with the liver, it is better to minimize the use of alcohol, and physical activity, on the contrary, increase.

When consuming raw fish, you should also be careful. In nature there are parasites, for example, opisthorchias. This is a flat worm that affects the biliary tract, liver tissue and pancreas. It is through raw fish that you can get infected with the parasite, so it is best to buy products in reliable places and subject them to heat treatment.

Products for a healthy liver

A healthy liver does not need help, but some products can keep it in shape. Among them:

1. Milk thistle. It contains the active ingredient silymarin, thanks to which this plant can repair damaged cells and improve bile flow.
2. Fish. It is rich in omega-unsaturated fatty acids, which, if consumed regularly, improve metabolism in general and the condition of the liver in particular.
3. Vegetables. They can also indirectly be beneficial for the liver. By creating volume in the stomach, vegetables help you eat less, making it easier for the liver to do its job.

Ways to speed up the elimination of toxins

The simplest method is physical activity. Moderate to light paced activity has been proven to reduce free radicals and ammonia in the blood.

If we talk about toxins caused by poisoning, the most reliable means are sorbents and plenty of water. In case of poor health, you should seek help from a specialist.

About medicines for liver health

As Andrei Yakushev notes, the concept of “support the liver with drugs and do anything” does not work.

Although there is a whole class of drugs, their effectiveness in maintaining liver health is usually not enough.

They can improve its condition, but in the absence of the underlying damaging factor. These include alcohol, certain medications, viruses, and metabolic disorders. It is possible to remove most of these causes: treat viruses, limit alcohol consumption, increase physical activity. These measures will help the liver more than taking medicines.