6 Ways You’re Destroying Your Liver (Even Without Alcohol)

While it’s true that your liver can take a considerable beating and still function properly, there’s still a limit to the amount of abuse that it can endure. A lot of people believe that only alcohol can bring lasting damage to the liver, but the truth is that there are lots of other factors that may affect the condition of this organ.

Your liver filters out the toxins in your body and when these toxins accumulate over time, it can spell disaster for your entire body.

Aside from consuming too much alcohol, here are other ways that your liver can get destroyed:

1 ) Eating processed food

Preserved food is loaded with fat and preservatives to maintain its expiration date. These chemicals can cause oxidative damage to your liver. A condition called fatty liver is the result of consuming too much calories from fat and carbohydrates.

2 ) Sedentary lifestyle

Physical activity causes your body to use energy from carbohydrates more effectively. A sedentary lifestyle prevents your liver to function at its fullest.

3 ) Having too much body fat

When you consume too much processed food AND have little physical activity, you are a prime candidate for obesity. Being obese is bad for the liver because it causes fat to accumulate in there, which can cause inflammation. This condition is called non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and when left untreated, can lead to cirrhosis or liver failure and liver cancer.

4 ) Taking too much strong painkillers

Popping a few Tylenols when you can’t stand the pain is okay every once in a while. But don’t do it often – it contains Acetaminophen and at big doses can damage the liver. Combined with alcohol, it’s twice deadly, so never take Tylenol when you have a hangover.

5 ) Taking slimming products

Aside from the fact that it’s too good to be true, slimming products increases toxicity to the liver as much as it makes you lose weight. Watch out for products such as green tea extract, Lipokinetix, and Hydroxicut.

6 ) Other medications

Beware of medications that contain sodium valproate, carbamazepine, phenytoin, levofloxacin and moxifloxacin. These can create havoc in your liver when taken for a prolonged period of time. If you need to take these, make sure that you have regular blood tests to check the condition of your liver.