World Liver Day on Monday, April 19, raises awareness of the importance of liver health. There are four top tips to keep your liver healthy.

Not only is your liver the largest organ inside your body, but it’s also one of the body’s hardest-working organs. It manufactures, stores, and processes everything you put in your body, including food, alcohol, medicine, or toxins.

Diabetes and liver

People with diabetes are at increased risk of liver conditions compared to the general population.

Fatty liver affects 60-70 per cent of people with type 2 diabetes; however, research has shown many people are unaware of the condition. Fortunately, many of the changes which improve the management of diabetes also improve your liver health.

Tips for keeping your liver in top shape

In many cases, lifestyle changes can help reverse or stop the progression of fatty liver disease. Plus, improving the health of your liver can have wide-ranging health benefits.

1. Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet. Limit fat, cholesterol and salt. Eat plenty of vegetables and fruit.
2. Exercise regularly. Exercise improves your overall wellbeing and helps maintain a healthy body weight.
3. Limit alcohol intake. Heavy alcohol use can permanently damage your liver and its ability to function. It’s recommended that adults have no more than two standard drinks per day with at least two alcohol-free days per week.
4. Ask your GP for a liver health check and hepatitis test. Viral hepatitis often has no symptoms but left untreated, can lead to liver damage, cirrhosis, and liver cancer.

Why is it important to look after your liver?

Your liver needs to be kept in shape so it can perform all the important jobs that keep our bodies functioning. The liver is like an elastic band. It can only stretch so far before it will show signs of damage or even break.

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is a condition where fat builds up in the liver and is the most common type of chronic liver disease in Australia. In 2019, it was estimated that 1 in 5 Australians had NAFLD – that’s 5.5 million of us! While it may not cause any symptoms, it can lead to significant health problems.

This World Liver Day take action to look after this important organ. You can’t survive without it!