Eat for Health - “WE ARE WHAT WE EAT”
Since everything we eat, drink, breathe and absorb through our skin must pass through the liver in one form or another, special attention to nutrition and diet is vital and can help keep your liver healthy.

Eat a well balanced and a nutritionally adequate diet. Cut down on the amount of deep-fried and fatty foods you and your family consume. The risk of gallbladder disorders can be reduced by avoiding, if not at least reducing the intake of high-fat and cholesterol foods. Reduce salt (sodium) or try alternative seasonings in your cooking. Vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, pepper, mustard, cloves and thyme are some of the seasonings that are just as good to be used in your cooking.
When buying canned (processed) foods, check the labels for colouring and artificial preservatives as these are known to be high in chemical content and maybe hazardous to the liver.

Keep your weight close to ideal. There have been various researches that links obesity as being one of the causes of gallbladder disorders. Also, those who are overweight or have diabetes are at an increased risk for a form of potentially serious liver disease called non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.

If you are dieting to lose weight, make sure that you are still getting all the vitamins and minerals your body - and your liver! - need to function properly. Most of the patients with liver diseases are associated with malnutrition.

IF YOU ALREADY HAVE LIVER DISEASE, a special diet that helps rebuild the damaged liver cells and help the liver to form new healthy ones is usually recommended. The diet helps to protect the liver from working too hard and also help it function as normal as possible.

• Proteins help with tissue repair, prevent fatty build-up and damage to the liver cells. If the liver is severely damaged, the protein will not be properly processed
• Sodium (salt) is known to cause fluid-retention in the body. Patients with known ascites and swelling in the liver are strictly advised to restrict sodium intake to prevent worsening the condition. Canned soups and vegetables, cold cut meats, mayonnaise, tomato sauce, dairy products, cheese and ice cream are high in sodium. The best salt substitute is lemon juice (which is salt free).
• Carbohydrates should be the major source of calories for patients with liver disease. Increasing the intake helps reserve enough glycogen which turn is converted to glucose for energy for the body.

Patients are also strongly adviced to stay away from supplements to the diet, such as fad foods or packaged “nutritional” aids, as they contain a high dose of sodium, potassium and protein mixtures.


STRONG IN BODY, MIND AND SOUL
Besides eating right, exercising regularly will help to keep your liver healthy. Shed the kilos to stay within the normal weight range and exercising also helps to keep you alert and fresh. It gives you the extra boost of energy and patients often respond more positively to treatment. The need to exercise has been widely covered by both medical facilities, the health magazines, the press and the call for exercising even has been taken up by some corporate firms for their workers. Exercising is an essential part of being healthy, especially as you age.
There is always a downside to anything good. Wear and tear of ligaments is the most ‘side-effects’ of over-doing it. Your exercise regime should fit your physical body limit, i.e. do not try carrying weights when you have back problems.
At the end of the day, regular exercising can help bring down your risk of cancer, heart and liver diseases. Remember to check with your doctor before trying out a new exercise regime and stay well-hydrated by drinking enough water when you exercise.