Unlike your heart and lungs, you cannot feel your liver working; however, it is just as essential to your life.
Your liver performs more than 500 vital functions a day, including filtering toxins from your blood, managing blood clotting, making bile to digest fat, storing sugar for energy, making protein for blood plasma, and helping with digestion.
Many of the liver’s functions are related to your metabolism. These metabolic functions allow you to convert food to energy, break down food into the basic nutrients your body needs, and eliminate waste. When the liver is unable to perform those functions properly, it can lead to liver failure and the need for a lifesaving liver transplant.
Liver disease affects all ages, genders, races, and ethnicities, and it can be caused by various factors, such as genetics, lifestyle, and exposure to common toxins and chemicals. Many of these liver diseases have few to no symptoms, so it is important to understand your risk and talk to your doctor about liver disease prevention and early detection.
A growing epidemic
The rise in obesity and diabetes in the United States is fueling a little-understood yet life-threatening disease known as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), formerly nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. MASLD is a medical condition in which there is an excessive buildup (approximately 5-10% of the liver’s total weight) of fat around the liver. Left untreated, MASLD can progress to an advanced stage of disease known as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), which can lead to cirrhosis, liver failure, and the need for a lifesaving liver transplant. In fact, MASH is now one of the leading causes of liver transplantation in the United States.
Did you know:
- MASLD affects 80-100 million Americans
- Obesity is one of the leading causes of MASLD
- More than 2 in 5 American adults have obesity
- MASLD is found in 75% of overweight people and 90% of those considered obese
- MASLD is the most common form of pediatric liver disease
Are you at risk?
When diagnosed early, many people can slow their disease progression and, in some cases, reverse it. The liver is the only solid organ in your body that can regenerate or repair itself after injury, so it is important to talk to your doctor about any risk factors you may have, as many of the tests that indicate liver disease are not considered routine. People who are most at risk for developing MASLD/MASH include those who: are 40-60 years old, are female, are overweight or obese, have diabetes, have high triglycerides, and/or have high cholesterol.
Minimizing your risk
Everything you eat, breathe, and touch is processed through your liver, so ensuring good liver health is critical. You can take steps to minimize your risk by following these simple tips:
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Eat a healthy diet
- Exercise regularly
- Limit alcohol intake
- Only take medications as prescribed
To learn more about liver disease, prevention, and early detection, head to liverfoundation.org. To find out if you’re at risk for MASLD/MASH, visit thinkliverthinklife.org/quiz to take our short liver health quiz, which is also available in Spanish.
