The liver is the second largest organ in our body and should be given the same importance as the brain and the heart. It is a key player in the body's digestive system. The liver functions are very important in our body and contribute to the digestive functioning for effective metabolism. Over the past decades, there has been a steady rise in the number of cases of liver disease. World Liver Day is observed on the 19th of April every year. Medicircle presents you World Liver Day Awareness Series wherein we are speaking to eminent gastroenterologists and hepatologists to build awareness about the healthy functioning of the liver.

Dr. Pankaj Kumar Bajpeyi is been working with a specialty of liver transplant, liver surgeries, pancreatic surgeries, portal disease surgeries, biliary disease surgeries, complex abdominal surgeries, and abdominal trauma treatment for the last 10 years. He has treated many National and international patients successfully. While getting experience of more than 10 years, Dr. Pankaj has established his liver and pancreatic treatment clinic named Yakrutalay Super specialty Clinic and has successfully treated many patients across the globe.

Fatty liver disease is a Lifestyle disease

Dr. Pankaj informs, “You should get yourself tested even if you are healthy and not having any symptoms or diseases because even in a healthy person, we have seen deposition of fats in the liver. Fatty liver disease is a lifestyle disease because of your inactive lifestyle and poor nutrition through your diet. A balanced diet usually contains 40% carbohydrate, 30% fat, and 30% protein. Not incorporating a balanced diet in our routine could lead to a problematic situation.”

Dr. Pankaj adds, “In India, increasing risk of fatty liver diseases are seen in people with obesity, drinking, smoking and taking narcotic drugs responsible for bad liver health. A healthy lifestyle is always good for your liver, it reduces the load of bad things in the liver.”

Sign and symptoms of Liver diseases

Dr. Pankaj mentions, “There can be mild, moderate and severe symptoms if the liver is not working properly. Severe symptoms are easily noticeable and moderate symptoms are not of that much severity. Mild symptoms start with jaundice symptom that is a yellow discoloration of the eyes, disturbed sleep pattern, one tends to sleep more in the daytime, and night sleep is quite late. Further, this condition leads to itching, a person starts scratching their skin and body. This is due to the deposition of bile salts under the skin which should get eliminated by the liver. These symptoms are the signs of developing liver disease. In case the symptoms appear, a person has to undergo pathological tests, some sonographies, CT, and MRI scans of the abdomen. From the reports of these tests, doctors can diagnose the condition thereby deciding the treatment procedure.”

An active life is more important than any medicine

Dr. Pankaj shares, “We have some drugs to treat liver diseases but more than any medicine, physically active life is going to help you out. Brisk walking of 30 minutes daily, a balanced diet including green leafy vegetable can be very helpful to recover the loss. If not treated on time, the fatty liver could result in liver cirrhosis and further, there can be a liver transplant. One should avoid getting a liver transplant.”

Supplements for healthy liver

Dr. Pankaj speaks, “There are many supplements available in the market such as Stromatin, Hepatin but I don’t favor any supplement. These supplements generally contain amino acids and substitutes for other essential chemicals. Consumption of extra protein through these supplements will lead to a decrease in the dependence on carbohydrates and glucose for energy.”

(Edited by - Renu Gupta)