Are you a liver lover?

No, dear readers, the question is not meant to deal with the gustatory sense or liver in the favorite food that you eat with gusto. The question or inquiry touches on how much, we, your columnist included, care, attention, concern do we focus on the health of our livers. Truth to tell, most of those interviewed put the heart, brain, kidneys high on the list of the organ they would rather protect and preserve their structural integrity as well as functional ability. And usually, the liver is ranked among the lowest. Well, if they only know...

The liver is the biggest solid organskin is the largest organ in terms of area- which is located on the right upper quadrant of the abdomenjust underneath the lower part your right rib cage. It has a right lobe which comprises 5/6 of its size and left lobe, the remaining 1/6. From top to bottom, a healthy liver measures 14 plus/minus 2 centimeters. By the combination of palpation and percussion, the lower edge of the liver of liver should not be felt below the lowest right rib or if ever, just one finger lower.

Contrary to what many people think, it is the liver that produces bile; by its cells called hepatocytes, the amount varies from golden yellow fluid of 900 to 1100 ml per day. Small vessels called bile canaliculi collect bile then drain them into right and left hepatic duct unto the bigger common hepatic duct that brings now the bile to the gallbladder for storage, acidification concentration that when bile flows out from the gall bladder, the thru the cystic duct joining the common hepatic to form the big common bile ductthe bile would be greenish, more acidic and a lot more concentrated. Bile is needed for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (ADEK)). Bile salts is required for the emulsification- breakdown of large globules of fat into smaller goblets making them more absorbable.

Aside from the digestive and nutritional func- tions of the liver, look at it as a veritable role as some kind of a factory of sort. It produces albuminthe most numerous protein in the body, whose absence could give some folks edema or manas especially in the ankle. Without fibrinogen and prothrombin which are secreted by the liver, a simple shallow cut would lead to massive bleeding. The liver is the major organ of detoxification, also called metabolic transformation, in which potentially harmful substance e,g, chemicals in our foods, as preservatives, colorings additives are converted to less toxic or even nontoxic substances. That explains why when a person has hepatitis- from whatever causethe food content is low protein because its digestive by product Otherwise, these accumulated ammonia would circulate in the body and upon reaching the brain, the ammonia would depress the nerve cells and the patient goes into coma, called hepatic encephalopathy.

Of course, we have also heard about the impressive capacity of the liver to regenerate- a former surgeon-teacher of ours told us that if half of the liver is removed, in six-month’ time, the liver would have come back to its original size and shape, that is if the person has sound nutrition, in perfect health with no other co-morbidities. However, experience and day to day realities show that the liver is insulted in so many ways- environmental pollution, hepatotoxic medicines like general anesthesia, even anti TB drugs can harm the liver, high-doses of paracetamol stress and yes, please don’t forget alcohol- they, acting alone or in combination brings not only insult but also actual injury and destruction of the liver cells, which sad to say, will now lead to many signs and symptoms like abnormal excessive enlargement of the male breast- gynecomastia- low sperm count, and on the part of the female, loss of libido and other undesirable results. Lest one forgets,