External signs of liver problems
External signs of liver problems
External signs you may have a liver problem
Did you know that you can tell how healthy a person’s liver is just by looking at them? Your liver does so many vitally important functions in your body and when it is not healthy, this creates several outward signs. Your liver burns fat and it regulates your metabolism, but your liver also cleanses and purifies your bloodstream. If your liver is sluggish, toxins will accumulate inside your body and this will affect the way you look.
Some outward signs of poor liver function include:
Dark circles under the eyes
Lumps of fat in the skin, particularly on the eyelids
Skin rashes
Red cheeks
Pot belly
Cellulite
Yellowing of the whites of the eyes
Coated tongue
Bad breath
Excessive sweating
Itchy skin
Red, swollen, itchy (allergic) eyes
Red palms
Acne rosacea
Brownish spots and blemishes on the skin
Dilated facial blood vessels (red capillaries)
A lot of our patients aren’t too worried about the health of their liver, but they are concerned about their appearance. You don’t need to have a specific liver disease in order to have a dysfunctional liver. Many people only associate alcohol with liver dysfunction and believe if they don’t drink much, there should be nothing wrong with their liver. Nothing could be further from the truth! Modern life and its associated exposure to stress, environmental chemicals, processed foods and medication means that everybody’s liver is under constant stress.
If you have several signs of liver dysfunction and you want to do something about it, I recommend the following:
- Go to your doctor and ask for a blood test called a liver function test. This is a good starting point for finding out how healthy your liver is. Please remember though that this test is not particularly sensitive; it will only tell you if you have actual damage to your liver cells.
- Follow the eating principles in my book Fatty Liver: You Can Reverse It. The eating plan in this book is suitable for everyone concerned about their liver health, not just those with a fatty liver.
- Take a good quality liver tonic like Livatone. This will help your liver to detoxify your bloodstream and cope with environmental toxins more effectively.
- Take a selenium supplement. Glutathione is your body’s most powerful detoxifier and you require selenium in order to manufacture it. Selenium deficiency is extremely common as it is difficult to get enough of this precious mineral through diet alone.
The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.
