According to the latest WHO data published in May 2014, deaths caused by liver diseases in Philippines reached 10,388 or 1.99% of total deaths. The age adjusted Death Rate is 15.58 per 100,000 of population ranks Philippines Top 87 in the world.
There is over a hundred kinds of liver disease but the common liver diseases include hepatitis, fascioliasis, cirrhosis, alcoholic liver disease, fatty liver disease, hemochromatosis, Gilbert’s syndrome, Budd-Chiari Syndrome, and liver cancer.
According to the Hepatology Society of the Philippines (HSP), about 10% of the population is infected with hepatitis, that is close to ten million Filipinos suffering from Hepatitis B and C.
Both Hepatitis B and C are strongly associated with later development of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.
“Globally, 30 percent of cirrhosis cases can be attributed to Hepatitis B infection and 27 percent can be attributed to Hepatitis C infection. The attributable proportions are likely to be higher in the Philippines,” Former HSP President Diana Payawal, M.D. says.
Liver cancer is the eighth most common form of cancer worldwide and is the deadliest of all cancers. According to the Department of Health and the Philippine Cancer Society, liver cancer is also the 3rd leading sites for both sexes (2nd cancer site for males; 7th cancer site for females). According to Dr. Samuel So of Stanford’s Asian Liver Center, if not prevented, an average of 40 Filipinos a day will die due to liver cancer a day in the next few years (current average is 20 deaths per day).
Your liver is your go-to guy (or gal) for keeping you well. It actually performs over 400 functions in your body!!! It sifts through every single thing that comes into your body and uses what it can and gets rid of what it can’t, so it’s important to keep things coming in that your body can use, rather than things it has to filter out because it recognizes them as harmful invaders.
When your liver is overwhelmed with burden to constant remove instead of use, you’ll feel:
- Sluggish
- Tired
- May gain weight
- Suffer headaches
- Have odd digestion
- Have pain in your right side
- May have skin discoloration
No fun, right? Optimizing your diet with fresh, plant-based foods is a great place to start to keep your liver clean and healthy, but other than that, some other important things can help keep your liver free from toxic overload.
Here are five realistic (non-diet) ways to detox your liver, whether you’re coming into a healthy lifestyle the very first time or you just need a regular tune-up pre-holiday party season:
