From Air Toxins to Liver Toxins: How Our Polluted Atmosphere Harms Your Liver

When you think about keeping your liver healthy, you know to avoid alcohol, fast food, and sugary drinks, but what about toxins in the air? 99% of Earth’s entire population breathes air that exceeds the World Health Organization’s guideline limits, and polluted air results in millions of deaths every year (1). That’s a lot… and with the recent wildfires in Southern California on top of general air pollution from cars, trucks, planes, industrial factories, and energy plants, air quality should be a big concern if you already suffer from liver disease (2). Luckily, there are small things you can do to decrease air pollution and essential actions you can take to protect your health from its effects.?

How the Air We Breathe Affects Liver Health

First off, how bad is air pollution for our liver really? We're exposed to cars and trucks every day, and it’s not like the sun is blocked out from air pollution. Particulate air pollution from burning fossil fuels is actually invisible and creates harmful metals and other deadly toxins to be released into the air. When you breathe these in, they don’t just affect your lungs – pollutants that are inhaled get absorbed into your bloodstream and filtered out by your liver. However, when there is an excess of these metals and toxins, it can give your liver a tough time (2). Any type of toxin that enters your body can disturb your natural biochemical processes, which also relates to hazardous air (3). Toxic air can even enter your immune system and create inflammation in your liver; long-term exposure to these particulates can cause hepatotoxicity, which is an oxidative stress that causes free radicals to attack healthy cells and damage your liver (2). Pollution really is no joke when it comes to your liver!

But do different kinds of pollutants have different effects? Not exactly – no matter the pollutant, studies have shown that exposure to both wood smoke and crude oil exhaust can increase the oxidative stress and inflammation of the liver, which can then increase your risk of liver cancer. And if you suffer from fatty liver disease, particularly metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), you could be in even more danger (2).?

Air Pollution and Its Increased Risk of MASLD

Where’s the proof? How do we know that air pollution can make liver disease worse? An animal study published by the Journal of Environmental Sciences discovered that even low levels of long-term exposure to particulate air pollution leads to the increased risk of MASLD (4). And if you live in a city or by a main freeway, you’re probably exposed to air pollution daily. Okay… well, that study was just on animals – how about humans??

Another thorough study was examined on about 90,000 adults across China between the ages of 30-79 and collected information on health history and lifestyle habits. They found that increased levels of long-term air pollutant exposure showed an elevated risk of MASLD, especially with male participants who were obese and practiced unhealthy lifestyle choices; those who smoked, drank, and consumed a high fat diet exacerbated the effects. The study established that air pollution from industrialization can increase the risk of metabolic disorders and can especially trigger metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), which is a predecessor to cirrhosis of the liver. That’s some alarming information, but don’t worry: there are actions you can take to prevent these distressing effects!

What You Can Do About It

Do you want to take action against air pollution? Cleanse the air with these simple lifestyle changes (5):?

• Walk or ride a bike when possible
• Take public transport
• Limit car usage
• Get your vehicle smog checked regularly?
• Buy more efficient and less air-polluting vehicles
• Carpool to work?

Who knows – maybe more exercise and less car usage will do you some good in the long run! Exercise is always good for you, right? And getting your car regularly checked is most likely a safe bet. But what if the air outside is worse than usual, either from a natural disaster or a man-made one??

How You Can Protect Yourself When Air is Unsafe

A safe air quality index is between 0 and 50, but when the air quality is unsafe, what do you do? Protect yourself from toxic air pollutants with these precautionary measures (6):?

• Do not exercise outside
• Use an air purifier?
• Keep windows closed when indoors?
• Avoid indoor air toxins like cigarette smoke, incense, and candles
• Wear an N95 or KN95 mask if you need to go outside?
• When traveling in a car, keep windows closed and use air conditioning

If you find yourself in a situation where the air in your location is unsafe, please take these actions to protect your liver and overall health. Additionally, you can drink The Plug to help your liver recover from any toxins that enter your body. With 13 handpicked ingredients that provide antioxidant protection, immune support, and anti-inflammatory effects, The Plug Drink can help cleanse and restore your liver from air pollutants and other toxins.

Cleanse the Air and Your Liver?

We get it! You take your liver health seriously because no one wants their body’s largest filter to be clogged up with damaging metals and pollutants. At times it can feel like we can’t control what’s in the air or what is going into our bodies, but as long as we know how to minimize our own air pollution and protect ourselves from it, our health and the health of others can be preserved. So let’s maintain both our well-being and the well-being of our planet together, PlugFAM!

Bibliography

1. How air pollution is destroying our health [Internet]. World Health Organization. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/how-air-pollution-is-destroying-our-health

2. Kim JW, Park S, Lim CW, Lee K, Kim B. The Role of Air Pollutants in Initiating Liver Disease. Toxicological Research [Internet]. 2014 June;30(2):65-70. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4112066/

3. Gou B, Gou Y, Nima Q, Ding X, Zhao X. Exposure to air pollution is associated with an increased risk of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease. Journal of Hepatology [Internet]. 2022 Mar;76(3):518-525. Available from: https://www.journal-of-hepatology.eu/article/S0168-8278(21)02153-X/fulltext

4. Thomas L. Study links low levels of PM2.5 exposure to liver damage [Internet]. News-Medical.Net. 2025 Feb 5. Available from: https://www.news-medical.net/news/20250205/Study-links-low-levels-of-PM25-exposure-to-liver-damage.aspx?

5. Simple Solutions to Help Reduce Air Pollution [Internet]. California Air Resources Board. 2011 Sept 19. Available from: https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/fact-sheets/simple-solutions-help-reduce-air-pollution?

6. How to Protect Yourself When the Air is Hazardous to Your Health [Internet]. Weill Cornell Medicine. 2023 June 29. Available from: https://weillcornell.org/news/how-to-protect-yourself-when-the-air-is-hazardous-to-your-health?