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Test Liver Health Regularly Because the Liver Can Regenerate in Just 30 Days!
Right now your liver is sitting in the upper right side of your abdomen multitasking. At three pounds and roughly the size of a football, the liver carries out hundreds of functions at any given time. Many of those liver functions are the “dirty work” of maintaining the body. The liver is responsible for:
- Removing waste products
- Removing old cells from the blood
- Processing chemicals that are in food
- Controlling chemical levels in the blood
- Filtering alcohol out of the bloodstream
- Metabolizing medications in the blood
- Producing bile for food digestion and waste removal
The liver is sensitive and resilient at the same time. It can handle exposure to alcohol, medications and chemicals, but damage can occur.
The human body has accounted for the liver’s higher risk of damage by giving it a unique capability. The liver is the only internal organ that can completely regenerate.
Liver Regeneration Explained
The liver’s ability to regenerate isn’t well known. Most people know that cells can repair themselves, but the liver can recover even if more than half of its cells are completely destroyed. And that’s good given that alcohol isn’t the only thing that can damage the liver. Common medications like Tylenol and airborne toxins that are inhaled can also cause liver damage that has to be healed.
How is this miraculous regeneration possible in the liver?
The liver isn’t like any other organ in the body. When the tissue of other organs is damaged it creates scarring. The heart is the perfect example. Damage to the heart is irreversible and immediately creates scars that inhibit normal functioning.
Instead of scarring, the liver is able to replace the damaged tissue with new cells. The new cells enable the liver to regenerate in just 30 days and prevent scars from forming. Impressively, when people have hepatectomy surgery where part of the liver is removed, the liver can keep functioning while it heals and regenerates.
The Liver Regeneration Exception
The liver can regenerate itself relatively quickly so long as the recovery conditions are right. When there is little to no down period for the liver to heal or the healing process is impeded, regeneration won’t occur as it should. If there are other health complications or the liver is continuously exposed to a toxin the liver will become damaged instead of regenerating.
When damage occurs it can be detrimental for the liver. Improper healing leads to inflammation in the liver, a condition known as hepatitis. If the liver is damaged further it can cause scar tissue to form. Scar tissue in the liver can’t be healed. Extensive scarring leads to a condition known as cirrhosis, and eventually, a liver transplant may be necessary.
For most people, liver regeneration begins within a day or two of no exposure to alcohol or other toxins. However, if the exposure has been long-term it can take weeks for the healing to begin and months for the liver to recover.
Because the liver can rapidly regenerate, if you want to truly know the state of your liver health it needs to be tracked over time with regular testing. And if you are actively trying to improve your liver health, you’ll want to check liver enzyme markers consistently over at least three months to ensure function is improving. After the healing period, another liver health test can give you baseline measurements for future testing and comparisons.
Choose Health makes health testing easy, convenient and affordable with at-home kits that contain everything you need. The test provides insights that lead to real liver function improvements.
Track 6 Liver Health Markers in 3 Easy Steps