Liver Location (Where is Your Liver)

It is important to first understand that the liver is the body largest gland. It supports almost every other organ in the body and without a healthy and functional liver, the survival rate of a person will drastically reduce. Note that the liver is known to weigh around 3 pounds and this means that only the skin is heavier and larger than it. Note that the liver is considered a gland because it produces the bile which is needed to digest fat by breaking them into smaller pieces to enable them get digested in the small intestine.

Where is Your Liver Located?

Location of Liver

The liver is located in the upper right side of the abdominal cavity which is found beneath the diaphragm and at the top of the stomach, intestines and right kidney. Note that the liver overlies the gallbladder. The liver itself is a triangular organ and made of very soft pinky brown tissues that is then encapsulated by a connective tissue capsule. The liver is protected and held into place in the abdomen by the coverage of the capsule and the reinforcement with the help of the peritoneum of the abdominal cavity.

It is important to note that the peritoneum mentioned above is connected to the liver in four locations and these locations include; the coronary ligament, the triangular ligaments from both the left and right side as well as the falciform ligament. One important thing to note here is that the connections in this location cannot be regarded as true ligaments for the actual sense, however, they can be regarded as a region of condensed peritoneal membrane aimed at supporting the liver. The location and function of the liver is the same in every person and this include young, old, babies, man or woman.

What Does the Liver Do?

The liver does a whole lot of things. The main thing it does is to regulate most chemical levels in the blood as well as the excretion of bile. It is important to note that what bile actually does is to break down fat and then help further digestion and absorption. It is also worthy to mention that all the blood that leaves the intestine and stomach is known to pass through the liver and in this case the liver then processes it while it creates nutrients for the body to use. For drugs to be useable and effective, the liver helps the metabolism so that it is converted into forms that makes it easier to be absorbed by the body.

The liver is known to be involved in a whole lot of other functions in the body and they include:

• Producing a kind of protein for blood plasma
• The liver is also involved in the storage and release of glucose as needed by the body
• Regulation of blood clotting
• The liver is also responsible for clearing the blood of harmful substances including drugs
• Involved in producing special proteins and cholesterol which helps in carrying fats through the body
• There is also an issue of bilirubin which is dangerous when in the body. Having it build up inside the body could cause the eyes and skin to start turning yellow. The liver is responsible for clearing this bilirubin in the body.
• They help in producing immune factors which helps the body fight off infection as well as clear the bloodstream of bacteria.
• The liver also does a good job in converting ammonia which is harmful into urea. It is important to note that urea is simply an end product of protein metabolism which is excreted in the urine.
• The liver also serves as a storage for iron as it processes hemoglobin for the use of its iron content.

Functions of Liver

In fact, as the liver breaks down this harmful substances, it ends up excreting them into the blood or bile. For example, the blood by products are known to get filtered out by the kidney after which they now leave the body through urine. On the other hand, the bile by products are ferried into the intestine where they get out of the body in the form of feces. In all, the liver does a whole lot of work in the body and a failure will be catastrophic for the body.

Common Liver Problems

The liver is one of the most important organs of the body due to the role it plays in keeping the body functioning appropriately. However, there could be some liver problems as a result of disorders, conditions and infections that most likely tend to affect the tissues, structure and cells of the liver which end up causing some serious damage to the liver. When the liver becomes damage, the probability of the liver not functioning appropriately or stop function altogether become high. The following are some of the common liver problems

Alcoholic Liver Disease

It is important to note that excessive alcohol intake is considered dangerous for the liver. Alcoholic liver disease is a common liver problem and it usually shows up after consuming alcohol in excess over a period of time mostly in years. Note that the higher the volume of alcohol consumed and the number of years of consumption, the higher the possibility of liver problems. Liver problems associated with alcohol often comes with loss of appetite, dry mouth, abdominal pains and tenderness among other symptoms.

Liver Cysts

Liver cysts are common liver problems affecting a lot of people. It may not pose any problem in the beginning but can cause a lot of pain when the cyst start growing large enough. When it grows large, it can cause pain in the abdomen, obstruction to bile ducts and infection of the cyst itself. The problem with liver cyst issues is that they hardly present any symptoms and can only be detected by mere stroke of luck during testing in most cases.

Liver Fibrosis

Another common problem of the liver is fibrosis and it is considered to be a later stage of the alcoholic liver disease. It is a problem characterized by the quick formation of fibrous tissue, liver scarring and regenerative noodles and all these do impede the flow of blood and ensures that the liver does not function properly. This type of liver problem is most commonly caused by hepatitis C and comes with a lot of signs and symptoms. The symptoms include weakness, lack of appetite, exhaustion, dark urine, abdominal pains, jaundice, nausea, itchy hands and feet and enlargement of the liver. In addition, a sizeable number of people that suffered swelling of legs and feet due to retained fluids have been attributed to this liver problem.

Hepatitis

Hepatitis is simply the inflammation of the liver. When the liver becomes inflamed, the cells get damaged due to the chemical being released in the liver. Abdominal pains is one of the most noticeable symptoms as the liver becomes enlarged due to viral infections. Other signs for this kind of liver problem include headache, fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, diarrhea, dark urine among many others. It is important to note that some types of hepatitis may only show little symptoms and will only become obvious when it has already led to cirrhosis.

Foods that are Good for the Liver

The liver is an important organ of the body and one of the ways to take care of it is by eating liver friendly foods. Eating the right foods can help reset the body’s most important organ and ensure that it functions properly at all times. The following are foods that can help the liver

Darky Leafy Green

When you are looking for food that helps the liver in its detoxification process, then darky leafy green is one of such foods. Examples of these include Brussel sprouts, kale and cabbage. They are known to contain Sulphur in very high levels that are helpful for the liver during detoxification process where free radicals as well as any other toxic chemicals get removed from the system. Another important Darky Leafy Green is Dandelion because it contains taraxacin which pushes the liver to release bile.

Garlic

Garlic is one of the most common medicinal foods that is useful in a lot of body problems. Garlic is good for the liver because it contains a compound known as allicin which is Sulphur based which supports the liver detoxification. This compound is known to help the liver get rid of unwanted compounds in the body.

Eggs

It is important to note that amino acids are important especially for the liver in detoxification process. Eggs are known to contain the amino acid considered to be essential to the detoxification process. There is also Choline coenzyme which is found in the egg yolk protects the liver from substances considered toxic to the body

Berries

All kinds of berries whether blueberries, cranberries, raspberries and strawberries are natural foods that play a very important role in helping the liver function properly in the body. Berries contain Phytochemicals which is what the liver normally uses to get the body protected from free radicals. In addition, berries contain polyphenols and Anthocyanin and this helps prevent the cancer cells in the liver.

Coconut Oil

The liver can work more efficiently when there is less strain on it and this is what the coconut oil does. This is because they are simply easy to digest and easily broken down. This gives the liver less work or strain thereby allowing it to work better and more efficiently.

Ginger

This is another food that support detoxification of the liver. It contains antimicrobial, anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties. Ginger helps to lower the cholesterol on the blood, promote circulation and nourish the liver.