Reversing liver damage
Liver Basics
The liver is one of the only organs in the body that is able to replace damaged tissue with new cells rather than scar tissue. For example, an overdose of acetaminophen (Tylenol) can destroy half of a person's liver cells in less than a week. Barring complications, the liver can repair itself completely and, within a month, the patient will show no signs of damage.
However, sometimes the liver gets overwhelmed and can't repair itself completely, especially if it's still under attack from a virus, drug, or alcohol. Scar tissue develops, which becomes difficult to reverse, and can lead to cirrhosis.
Liver transplants
Liver Basics
Liver transplants are considered only when a patient might die from liver disease. This is sometimes the case when a patient has liver cancer or when someone has advanced liver disease and the liver has stopped functioning properly. Being considered for a liver transplant does not mean that a patient is in danger of dying right away.
Liver transplantation is a long process that involves a lot of medical care. After a transplant, a patient needs lifelong drugs to keep the body from rejecting the new liver, and lifelong follow-up care from a specialist. Survival rates after a transplant are higher than 90% at 1 year, and patients usually have a good quality of life after their recovery.
Keeping your liver healthy
Liver Basics
Here are some things to remember about keeping your liver healthy:
· Don't have unsafe sex (always use condoms).
· Don't inject drugs like heroin or cocaine.
· Don't drink alcohol. Alcohol is a poison to the liver and also can make liver diseases such as hepatitis much worse. If you do drink, drink lightly.
· Don't share any personal items such as razors or toothbrushes that might have blood on them.
· Ask your VA doctor about getting vaccinated against hepatitis A and B. There is currently no vaccine against the hepatitis C virus.
· Follow strict food safety guidelines. Make sure that the water you drink and the food you eat are clean, especially when traveling to other countries. Most cases of infection with hepatitis A result from poor cleanliness during food preparation.
· If you take any medications, make sure your doctor knows about them. Also tell your doctor about any over-the-counter medicines, supplements, and natural or herbal remedies that you use. Certain medicines taken at the same time can cause damage to your liver, even if you can buy them without a prescription.
· Maintain a healthy body weight.
· Control blood sugars if you have diabetes.
· Keep cholesterol and blood fats within the recommended range. Ask your VA health care provider for advice on doing this.
Liver disease and other complications
Liver Basics
Liver disease is caused by damage to the liver. Liver damage can be caused by many things, including:
· Viruses (such as the hepatitis viruses)
· Drinking alcohol heavily
· Being very overweight
· Certain medications--for example, acetaminophen (Tylenol), can cause severe liver damage in people who also have heavy alcohol use
· Exposure to industrial chemicals, including cleaning solvents, aerosolized paints, and paint thinners
Liver damage can lead to livers that are swollen, shrunken, hard, or scarred. Such livers do not work well, and you can get very sick, or even die, if your liver stops working altogether.
Seven foods that will naturally cleanse your liver

(NaturalNews) The primary way in which your body expels toxins is via the liver, which detoxifies and cleanses your body by continuously filtering the blood of poisons that enter it through the digestive tract, the skin, and the respiratory system. But when your liver becomes overworked as a result of stress or excessive exposure to toxins, your entire system can be thrown off balance, and your health severely compromised.

Since the liver is also responsible for producing bile, another form of detoxification that is metabolically necessary for the breakdown and assimilation of fats and proteins from your food, it is exceedingly important that your liver be properly maintained. Without a well-functioning liver, your body will be unable to cleanse itself and absorb nutrients, which is a recipe for a health disaster.

"The thousands of enzyme systems that are responsible for virtually every body activity are constructed in the liver," writes Dr. Karl Maret, M.D., about the importance of vibrant liver function. "The proper functioning of the eyes, the heart, the brain, the gonads, the joints, and the kidneys, are all dependent on good liver activity."

"If the liver is impaired from constructing even one of the thousands of enzyme systems the body requires, there is an impairment in overall body function and a resultant greater metabolic stress on the individual."

So here are seven important foods you may want to begin incorporating into your diet in order to maintain a healthy liver.

Garlic, grapefruit, green tea, and green vegetables
Garlic contains numerous sulfur-containing compounds that activate the liver enzymes responsible for flushing out toxins from the body. This bulbous relative of the onion also contains allicin and selenium, two powerful nutrients proven to help protect the liver[->0] from toxic damage, and aid it in the detoxification process.

Grapefruit is rich in natural vitamin C and antioxidants, two powerful liver cleansers. Like garlic, grapefruit contains compounds that boost the production of liver detoxification enzymes. It also contains a flavonoid compound known as naringenin that causes the liver to burn fat rather than store it (http://www.dailymail.co.uk[->1]).

Green tea is loaded with catechins, a type of plant antioxidant that has been shown in studies to eliminate liver fat accumulation and promote proper liver function (http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v26/n11/abs/0802141a.html). This powerful herbal beverage also protects the liver against toxins that would otherwise accumulate and cause serious damage.

Leafy green vegetables such as bitter gourd, arugula, dandelion greens, spinach, mustard greens, and chicory also contain numerous cleansing compounds that neutralize heavy metals, which can bear heavily on the liver. Leafy greens also eliminate pesticides and herbicides from the body, and spur the creation and flow of cleansing bile.

Avocados, walnuts, and turmeric
Rich in glutathione-producing compounds, avocados actively promote liver health by protecting it against toxic overload, and boosting its cleansing power (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/12/001219074822.htm). Some research has shown that eating one or two avocados a week for as little as 30 days can repair a damaged liver.

Walnuts, which contain high levels of l-arginine, an amino acid, glutathione, and omega-3 fatty acids, also help detoxify the liver of disease-causing ammonia. Walnuts also help oxygenate the blood, and extracts from their hulls are often used in liver-cleansing formulas.

Turmeric, one of the most powerful foods[->2] for maintaining a healthy liver, has been shown to actively protect the liver against toxic damage, and even regenerate damaged liver cells. Turmeric also boosts the natural production of bile, shrinks engorged hepatic ducts, and improves overall function of the gallbladder, another body-purifying organ.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/035946_liver_cleanse_foods.html#ixzz3rlZw8Ow4

[->0] - http://www.naturalnews.com/liver.html
[->1] - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1200011/Grapefruit-offers-bitter-route-beating-obesity-makes-liver-burn-fat-instead-storing-it.html
[->2] - http://www.naturalnews.com/foods.html