Yet many hold him in low esteem, indeed they mistreat him with bad eating habits, stress, use of alcoholic beverages and infamous intake of drugs.
One notices him only when, inevitably, the first disturbances occur.
At that point the doctor and drugs are used (the latter often worsen the intoxication).
Unfortunately, not all of them overflow with wisdom and common sense, so many easily make mistakes that then pay off bitterly.
Furthermore, quite a few athletes have had their careers cut short due to severe liver disease.
Surely, it is essential to underline how a balanced and rational diet, without excesses in quantities, and a correct lifestyle are of great benefit to liver health.
Many athletes have a religious care towards their body for aesthetic purposes: they renounce alcohol, manipulated foods, do not smoke and lead a rigorous lifestyle, but then they are found inconsistent by resorting to steroids and drugs of any kind, as long as they improve their performance.
As is well known, steroids act on the liver, which is forced to undergo a series of upheavals that upset its precise biological balance, with the relative and inevitable consequences.
Another danger that the liver runs is that of being intoxicated by the large amount of proteins mistakenly introduced by athletes in the (wrong) attempt to increase muscle mass.
However, any diet that is too rich in one nutrient at the expense of others could cause liver damage.
For further information: Liver: How is it Done and What is it for? of carbohydrates: the liver has the important function of maintaining the constant level of glucose in the blood; in this sense it plays a very important role; in fact, it transforms the glucose coming from the intestine into glycogen, which, in this form, is stored.It also transforms excess glucose into reserve fat.
Finally, it has the ability to release glucose from its own glycogen by maintaining the optimal level of glucose in the blood.
In addition, it largely ensures the catabolism of amino acids.
It is also remembered that the production of plasma proteins takes place in the liver.
From this brief but interesting picture, it is clear that the liver supplies the human organism with all the vital substances it needs: proteins, for its growth and to continually replace the cells that are destroyed and the nitrogenous compounds that degrade; carbohydrates , to maintain the constant level of glucose in the blood so that it acts as fuel for energy functions; fats, for a more lasting source of energy and for some chemical-biological roles (remember, for example, that some vitamins act only thanks to the presence of fats and that steroid hormones derive from cholesterol).
Through the diet we take in the nutrients, which, after some transformation processes, are prepared by that very efficient chemical laboratory that is the liver in order to be used where and when they are required.
If there is a request (energy, plastic, etc.) by the body and the liver does not have that particular substance available, it will be forced to "borrow" it from "another substance, transforming it to adapt it to the" needs of the case, and to provide it for use.
That is why it is necessary to follow a balanced diet.
Excess fats (in addition to being toxic and poorly tolerated) tend to accumulate in the liver and, unless required, are subsequently stored as reserves in the storage sites (adipocytes) and in the blood (high cholesterol and triglycerides).
Although one of the liver functions is the elimination, in the form of bile salts of the excess cholesterol in the body, it is always good to limit the intake of foods rich in fats, which overload digestion, and therefore the liver.
As an alternative to the use of fats of animal origin, olive oil is highly recommended.
Handled foods and preserved foods (moreover those with dangerous chemical additives and toxic dyes) are also not recommended.
It is highly advisable to eat natural foods as they are integral in their vitamin-mineral heritage and get used to preparing them in a simple way.
We must try to eat seasonal fruit, that is fresh, rich in sugars (fructose), which has a beneficial and protective action on the liver, improving its efficiency and increasing its resistance to damage factors.
It is also necessary to follow a very simple rule to be applied at the table, that is to eat calmly, allowing yourself time to chew food well.
Before concluding, it should be added that the liver does not get sick easily, but it is possible to poison it quickly: bad digestion, an unhygienic work environment, an incorrect lifestyle, etc. are enough.
It is evident that frequent intoxications inevitably lead to malfunction of the liver and to possible diseases and morbid changes.
Liver and Sport
The true athlete, who places his own health and physical efficiency above all other goals, has the duty to safeguard the health of his liver with a perfect lifestyle.
The importance of having a perfectly efficient liver benefits not only the physical and organic state of health, but also the muscular progress which is always subordinated to liver function.
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