Liver

There ought to be a Liver Appreciation Day. The liver is not only the largest solid organ in the body, but it is the only organ that can regenerate. And it performs more than 500 functions in the body, including filtering and eliminating toxins from the blood, producing bile (to break down fats), making proteins and blood plasma, turning excess glucose into glycogen for storage, and facilitating the clotting of blood. Unfortunately, the liver is susceptible to a wide range of factors that can negatively impact its health and function — factors that cause different types of liver disease, which can be grouped by cause: Liver diseases caused by viruses, such as hepatitis Liver cancer Liver diseases, including cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), caused by alcohol, drugs, or other toxins Inherited liver diseases, such as hemochromatosis and Wilson disease Fatty liver disease (an accumulation of excess fat in the liver), […]