New Delhi | Jagran Lifestyle Desk: The liver is one of the most important and second-largest organs of our body. It is also considered one of the most complex organs that perform crucial body functions and is associated with a person's digestion, immunity, metabolism, and nutrition storage. The liver regulates blood sugar, removes toxic substances from the body, helps blood clot, and controls cholestrol levels. However, if this precious part of the body is given not given the proper care it gets damaged. The damaged liver, later on, can develop diseases like Hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, fatty liver and others.
Just to take proper care of the Liver it is very important to know what can harm our organs and what steps one should take to avoid any major problems related to the liver.
In this episode of Jagran Dialogues, Subhasish Dutta, Deputy Editor, Jagran New Media, spoke to Dr Anukalp Prakash, Department of Gastroenterology, CK Birla Hospital, Gurugram and discussed Liver-related diseases and how to keep liver healthy.
Here's an excerpt from the interview:
Q- Which liver-related diseases are most common in India?
Dr Anukalp Prakash- The liver is the biggest organ on the right side of our body, weighing approximately 2-3 kgs and it performs multiple functions in our body. Cholestrol production, blood sugar monitoring and detoxification are all functions of the liver. It is the only organ in our bodies that can regenerate and till the time we lead a healthy lifestyle, liver-related issues don't occur. Nowadays, fatty liver is the most common disease in India. That means, cholestrol, calories get stored in the liver after being converted into liver fat. The liver is the storage of the fat and when it gets excess, then that causes fatty liver. Other diseases which are common are Hepatitis, which can be further divided into categories such as hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and hepatitis E. Hepatitis A and E are caused due to intake of unhygienic water and food whereas Hepatitis B and C are caused by blood, blood products and unprotected sex. Alcohol intake is the main cause and the most common cause of why people in India suffer from liver diseases.
Q- What are the factors that trigger liver-related diseases?
Dr. Anukalp Prakash- Different liver diseases have different triggering factors. The fatty liver gets triggered by mainly two things either alcoholic fatty liver or non-alcoholic fatty liver. Non-alcoholic factors are led by our faulty lifestyles or due to higher intake of junk foods. Alcohol is a very common cause of liver disease. Hepatitis A and E are very common in the current season because people tend to go and eat out more. This infection is caused by the intake of raw items, salads or fruits as it gets mixed with our blood and reaches liver to infect it. Hepatitis B and C are caused by blood products.
Watch the interview here: