What are the best ways to educate patients on preventive liver care?

Super insightful post! ?? It's amazing how much our gut health affects our whole body, including the liver. Time to watch out for what we eat! ??

One thing I have foundation to be helpful is to create awareness. Second insisting on Annual Health check ups to identify the levels. Third to educate on Life style changes.

Oncology pharmacist dealing with liver cancer patients and those undergoing cancer treatments that can strain the liver, here are few key points to emphasize on preventive liver care: 1- we can tailor education to each patient's unique situation, considering factors such as their cancer type, treatment regimen, medications, and underlying health conditions also provide one-on-one counseling sessions to discuss specific risks and preventive measures relevant to their circumstances. 2-Emphasize the importance of adopting a liver-friendly lifestyle that includes a balanced diet, regular exercise, and avoidance of harmful substances. 3-Encourage open communication and address any concerns or questions that arise along the way to empower patient

Of course not everyone will be motivated by knowing the risk factors. Different behavioural strategies for different personalities are required. Knowing the way you personally work through mindfulness and interoception is always helpful.

Some risk factors to know about preventive liver care are: 1. Stay hydrated and drink water. Our liver functions at its best when we are well hydrated to filter out toxins and waste. 2. Avoid alcohol and anything that is toxic to the liver. 3. Eat a healthy diet and maintain a normal weight to protect against fatty liver disease.

I believe a healthy lifestyle consists of the following: - Diet (lots of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and healthy fat; limited processed foods) - Exercise (at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily) - 8 glasses of water/day - Drink in moderation (see my prior contribution; same goes for diet) - Don't smoke or do drugs - Get a handle on your stress. Try meditation, yoga, or simply going out into nature. And, did you know that coffee is actually beneficial to your liver health? Just saying, good news for coffee lovers out there! (liver.ca, 2024).

It's important to understand any potential barriers that may prevent patients from following a healthy lifestyle. Once we have learned potential barriers we can proceed to creating a plan that can be realistic and achievable. Small wins!

Bad advice. You need to drastically reduce carb consumption (drinks aswell as foods), substitute animal proteins and fats in place of carbs, stop grazing, avoid seed oils and practise time restricted eating with at least 14 hour break between one of your meals.

Alcohol used to be the biggest cause of fatty liver disease. That has since been replaced by sugars. Fructose, particularly in concentrated juice/sweet drinks form can only be handled by the liver and all it can do is turn it into fat, some of which stays in the liver. Carbs also convert in the body to glucose. Glucose above one teaspoon full in the blood is toxic and the liver will try and convert it into fat, some of which will also stay in the liver. With the excess and or frequent consumption of carbs and fructose fatty liver disease is now very common and the foundation for insulin resistance and metabolic diseases.