HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE YOUR LIVER? How Can You Love it, if You Don't Know it?

Hi... I'm Your Liver! Let me tell you how much I love you…in 9 ways

1. I store the iron reserves you need, as well as a lot of vitamins and other minerals. Without me, you wouldn't have the strength to carry on!

2. I make bile to help digest your food. Without me, you'd waste away to nothing.

3. I detoxify poisonous chemicals you give me, and that includes alcohol, beer, wine and drugs (prescribed and over-the-counter) as well as illegal substances. Without me, your "bad" habits would kill you.

4. I store energy, like a battery, by stockpiling sugar (carbohydrates, glucose and fat) until you need it. Without me, the sugar level in your blood could fall dramatically and you'd go into a coma.

5. I make the blood that got your system going even before you were born. Without me, you wouldn't be here!

6. I manufacture new proteins that your body needs to stay healthy and grow. Without me, you wouldn't grow properly!

7. I remove poisons from the air, exhaust smoke and chemicals you breathe. Without me, you'd be poisoned by pollutants!

8. I make clotting factors that stop the bleeding when you accidentally prick yourself. Without me, you'd bleed to death!

9. I help defend you against the germs going into your body all the time. I take those cold germs, flu bugs and other germs you encounter, and knock them dead - or at least weaken them. Without me, you'd be a sitting duck for every infection known to man.

That's how much I love you... but do you love me?

Let me tell you some easy ways to love me, your liver

Don't drown me in beer, alcohol or wine! Even one drink is too much for some people and could scar me for life.

I scar easily.. and those scars, called "cirrhosis" are permanent. Medicine is sometimes necessary. But taking pills when they aren't necessary is a bad habit. All those chemicals can really hurt a liver. Watch those drugs! All drugs are chemicals, and when you mix them up without a doctor's advice you could create something poisonous that could damage me badly.

Be careful with aerosol sprays! Remember, I have to detoxify what you breathe in, too. So when you are cleaning with aerosol cleaners, make sure the room is ventilated, or wear a mask. That goes double for bug sprays, mildew sprays, paint sprays and all those other chemical sprays you use. Be careful what you breathe!

Watch what gets on your skin! Those insecticides you put on trees and shrubs not only kill bugs they can get to me right through your skin and destroy my cells, too. Remember they're all chemicals. Cover your skin with gloves, long sleeves, a hat and mask every time insecticides are in the air or if you're handling them.

Don't eat too much fatty food! I make the cholesterol your body needs, and I try to make the right amount. Give me a break. Eat a good, well balanced nourishing diet. If you eat the right stuff for me, I'll really do my stuff for you!

WARNING: I can't and won't tell you I'm in trouble until I'm almost at the end of my rope... and yours. Remember: I am a non-complainer. Overloading me with drugs, alcohol and other junk can destroy me! This may be the only warning you will ever get.

Take My Advice, Please! Check me out with your doctor. Blood screening tests can identify some trouble. If I'm soft and smooth, that's good. If I'm hard and bumpy, that could mean trouble. If your doctor suspects trouble, ULTRA SOUND and CT scans can look into it. My life, and yours, depends on how you treat me.

Now you know how much I care for you. Please treat me with tender loving care. Your silent partner and ever-loving lover …. LIVER