While you are taking care of your heart and kidneys, you are probably neglecting your liver, which is actually one of the most important organs in your body. In fact, 20% of the blood that your heart pumps goes to the river. Additionally, the blood from other major organs goes straight to your liver, so that it will be free from toxins before your heart pumps it again. As you can see, the liver is an essential part of the body, so it is only natural that you protect it.

Unfortunately, there are some bad habits that you may have added into your lifestyle that can cause damage to your liver. To protect your liver from these bad habits, you should know what they are, so you can avoid them from now on.

Drinking Too Much Alcohol

This is the most common and you probably know that drinking excessively can cause liver disease. When you habitually consume alcohol, your liver will focus on converting alcohol into a form that is less toxic. In return, you decrease your liver’s ability to get rid of toxins and you get a fat and inflamed liver.

This organ will try to break down alcohol, but this can actually result to a chemical reaction that eventually damages the cells in your liver. The more you consume alcohol, the longer the negative effects stay. Cirrhosis or scarring of the liver could take place and you could suffer from permanent liver damage. What’s even more terrifying is that a damaged liver can give way to many types of cancer.


Eating could be something you’re very fond of doing. While you may enjoy a lot of food, this could lead to obesity, which can damage your liver. Normally, people tend to overeat on foods that are not healthy, including fatty, fried foods. This has the same effect with excessive drinking. As you continue to eat the wrong foods, your liver stores more fat, which can result to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease or NAFLD.

You certainly do not want to be obese as this is not an attractive size for men or women. At the same time, you should avoid this condition as this can overwhelm your liver and store extra fat in the liver cells. As you continue to accumulate fat, your liver becomes inflamed while destruction of the liver cells is apparent.

Overusing Medications

Your liver is tasked to break down all substances that you put in your mouth and this includes the medicine that you consume. You may have a long list of herbs, supplements and medications that you use every day. While some of them are harmless to your liver, there are many that can destroy this organ over time. Some can cause mild damage, but others can result to complete failure of the liver.

To be on the safe side, make sure that you don’t take your medicine in excess amounts. You may want to avoid continuous use of acetaminophen, which is the most well-known culprit behind liver damage caused by medication. Since this drug can be obtained without prescription, it is easy for people to consume it more than what’s necessary. Plus, there are remedies for cold and flu that contain acetaminophen, so you may want to be careful when taking your medications.

You should also know that there are supplements that cause liver damage and one of them is vitamin A. Always check the label of the medication for warnings that talk about liver damage.

Sleeping Inadequately

The Journal of Anatomy published a study that shows how sleep deprivation can cause several health conditions, including negative effects to the liver. This is because of oxidative stress, which can lead to diabetes, obesity, and heart problems.

When you don’t sleep well at night, your liver may not be able to process fat well. Instead, it will allow fat buildup to happen. It is recommended that you have at least seven hours of sleep, so your body can repair itself and you protect your liver in return.


Smoking is said to be more dangerous than drinking alcohol. If you are a smoker, you should quit now to keep your body healthy. Smoke from cigarettes can affect your liver due to the toxic chemicals it contains. When it reaches your liver, this can cause oxidative stress, which can produce free radicals that your liver cells may not be able to fight off.

Oxidative stress could result to fibrosis where your liver suddenly develops extra tissues, which you can compare to a scar tissue. Needless to say, this can harm your liver greatly and its ability to function will be hindered.

Avoiding Peeing in the Morning

If you hold your urine for a long time, you know this is not good for your body. Although urine is mostly associated with your bladder, it is still connected to your liver’s health. Many people don’t urinate in the morning or they hold their pee for a very long time. This leads to liver poisoning because you don’t eliminate the toxins that have been accumulated during the night.

These six bad habits are some of the things you probably do without knowing they hurt your liver. Take care of your body’s natural purifier, so it remains healthy and you have optimal health as well.