Reduce Your Risk of Liver Disease

Your liver plays a key role in keeping you healthy, and it works hard every day to do so. Everything you eat or drink, and even the chemicals that come into contact with your skin, pass through your liver. It is important to keep your liver healthy so that it can keep doing its job to keep you healthy.

The Medical Group of New Jersey can provide you with care from a hepatologist in New Jersey to treat issues of the liver, but there are also steps that you can take to care for it:

• Drink alcohol in moderation: Excessive alcohol consumption can damage liver cells, leading to swelling or scarring that becomes cirrhosis. This condition can be deadly.

• Maintain a healthy weight: Exercising and eating well to avoid obesity helps to prevent nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, which can also lead to liver cirrhosis.

• Reduce exposure risk to Hepatitis A, B, and C: Hepatitis is a serious virus that harms the liver. There are vaccines available for Hepatitis A and B. Hepatitis A is spread through contaminated food and water, so caution should be taken in high-risk areas or conditions. Hepatitis B and C are spread through blood and other bodily fluids. To reduce your exposure to these, practice safe sex and be cautious about where you choose to get tattoos or bodily piercings.

• Do not abuse medications or supplements: Some medications, such as acetaminophen, can harm the liver when taken in excess. Other medications are harmful to the liver when taken with alcohol. Even some topical medications or skincare products can impact your liver. Check with your doctor before taking any medications or supplements, and make sure your healthcare provider knows about everything you are taking to avoid a dangerous interaction.

• Use caution with cleaning products, aerosols, and insecticides: Some cleaning products, aerosol products, and insecticides contain toxins that can harm your liver. Avoid direct contact with cleaning products, use aerosols in well-ventilated areas, and limit exposure to insecticides.

Keeping your liver healthy starts with you, but our hepatologists in New Jersey are here to support you and provide liver disease treatment if necessary. Contact The Medical Group of New Jersey today to schedule an appointment with a healthcare provider.