Signs of an unhealthy liver

Do you have an unhealthy liver? What are the signs and symptoms of an unhealthy liver? If you too want to know, then today, you’re in luck! Your liver acts as a powerhouse for your body. It is busy all the time and keeps filtering out toxins. It helps you with the digestion process, creates energy from the fuel that you eat.

 

Yellow skin

The liver is that part of your body that is responsible for breaking down the hemoglobin. Red blood cells that have already outlived their utility are thereby filtered out by the liver and thus broken down. The globin part of the hemoglobin can be said to be reprocessed but the heme part never does. So, necessarily it gets converted to bilirubin pigment for the excretion thing. However, when you do not have a healthy liver, bilirubin gets accumulated in the body.

 

Fatigue

The Liver is the storehouse of energy for your body. So, maintaining a healthy balance of glycogen is necessary to cater to the demand of energy in case of a dip in blood sugar levels. This is basically done by the conversion of glycogen to glucose. When the liver fails to perform these energy-giving jobs your body doesn’t have the required energy and then you end up feeling tired.

 

Weakness

Similar to the fatigues, if you are also facing weakness, it is also a sign of an unhealthy liver. It would also depict that something is not right with the liver. Weakness can also be a sign of depletion of protein content in your body as well as the fat stores. If you do not have a healthy liver, it can surely mess up the things with fat metabolism. It fails to generate the required quantity and quality of bile required to emulsify those fats in your diet.

Decreased appetite

People suffering from liver issues, particularly those with alcoholic liver disease and end-stage hepatic failure, tend to suffer the loss of appetite. This is mainly due to some tumor necrotic factors as well as circulating cytokines in the blood. In this case, the stomach also does not work properly and thus limits the intake of nutrients. It may also result in bloating and a feeling of fullness/satiety thus suppressing the appetite.

 

Itchy skin

Sometimes you face an issue regarding your skin. Your skin might get itchy mainly because of a blockage or a slowed flow of bile. This is also one of the symptoms depicting the liver issues. Bile is basically produced by the cells of the liver and then flows directly into the intestines by way of bile ducts. In this route, any blockage would cause the bile to stagnate. This type of itching generally occurs in the palms of the hands and also the sole of the feet.

Easy bruising/bleeding

The liver also plays a major role in producing various blood clotting factors, thus being the first line of defense for the body against basic bruises and injuries. With the growing chronic liver disease, even minor blunt injuries would cause large bruises. Even the small cuts may keep bleeding even when you apply adequate pressure.

 

So, if you find some of the above symptoms, your liver might not be functioning properly. Thus, not only is it important to take precautions, but also know what foods and drinks to avoid for a healthy liver.