Are You Damaging Your Liver?

By W. Gifford-Jones, MD and Diana Gifford-Jones —— Bio and Archives August 5, 2007

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“What causes liver disease?” Ask anyone this question and 99 percent will answer, “It’s imbibing in too much Cabernet Sauvignon or other alcoholic drinks”. But today the liver can be injured by a host of less known, but equally hazardous habits. So how are you being unfriendly to your liver? And what can we learn from the “Mayflower”, the ship that carried Pilgrims to this continent in 1620?

The football-sized liver is an amazing organ. Every day it performs hundreds of functions. But today, as never before in history, its most important challenge is changing the toxic substances we ingest into products that can be safely removed from the body. And although the liver has great power to regenerate, never assume it’s indestructible. So what’s the problem? Consider the abuse of television on the liver every day. Ads that persuade consumers there’s no reason to suffer even minor pain. Tens of thousands of people swallow these pills as if they were M and M candy. But swallowing painkillers, particularly more than the recommended dose of acetaminophen (Tylenol), along with excess alcohol, can cause liver failure and death. Thousands of cold sufferers are often prescribed antibiotics that have no effect on viral cold infections. Others reach for a variety of cold medications of questionable value. Both place needless burden on the liver. Every year I see an increasing number of patients using herbal medicines. But a recent report from The Mayo Clinic cautions that herbal supplements such as kava, comfrey, chaparral, kombucha tea and skullcap can be toxic to the liver. Remember, it was a natural drug, hemlock, that killed Socrates two thousand years ago. Be careful of what gets on your skin. When using an aerosol cleaner make sure the room is well ventilated, or wear a mask. Use protective measures when spraying to control insects or fungicides. And be certain to use a mask when painting with a spray device. Don’t become a victim to viral infections of the liver that are preventable. Hepatitis A is transmitted by food and drink contaminated by sewage. This can be fatal to elderly people. Today large numbers of North Americans are infected with hepatitis B. Spread by sexual contact, saliva and contaminated needles it’s a serious disease that can result in liver cancer, and cirrhosis. One-third of patients infected with this virus are without symptoms. Others suffer from fever, muscle and joint pain and jaundice, a yellowing of the skin. A vaccine called “Twinrix” provides dual protection against hepatitis A and B. It’s prudent for travelers, health workers and those who live dangerous sexual lives to be vaccinated against hepatitis B. Ideally everyone should have this protection. What’s shocking is that excessive use of alcohol and hepatitis B are not the only ways to develop cirrhosis. A report from Johns Hopkins claims 25 percent of North Americans suffer from nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). It results from not stepping on the bathroom scale to see the pounds mounting up year after year. Patients with NAFLD develop fatty deposits in the liver, and elevated liver enzymes, but have no history of excessive consumption of alcohol. Hopkins researchers claim that 15 percent of NAFLD patients go on to develop nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) which causes scarring of the liver. Pathologists say these changes are indistinguishable from liver damage caused by too much alcohol. What is even more startling is that NAFLD is now being seen in young obese children. If this isn’t a wakeup call I don’t know what is. I’ve just completed reading a fascinating book, “Mayflower”, the history of Pilgrims who landed in Plymouth in 1620. Half of them died within a year from hunger, cold and infection. But none died from lack of exercise. Today we’re dying from obesity, destroying our liver from drugs we often do not need, and from being too lazy to use our legs. It was also interesting to learn that on the Mayflower voyage it became necessary to ration beer. This lack caused illness among both Pilgrims and sailors and some died. Beer in 17th century England was safer than water. I’m convinced that in 2007 alcohol in moderation is still safer than most drugs.