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Give Thanks to the Liver This Holiday Season
During the holidays, the liver tends to work overtime digesting food and cocktails. As Angela Lashbrook reports for Elemental, “like an office manager who remembers everyone’s birthdays and duties while their own contributions are forgotten, the liver keeps the rest of the body’s functions running smoothly.” The liver is a critical body detoxifier and also one of the only irreplaceable organs. Yet it doesn’t always get the credit it deserves. Lashbrook writes:
Luckily for holiday revelers everywhere, the liver is the salamander’s tail of the human body: It’s the only internal organ with regenerative abilities. Scientists aren’t totally sure why it can regenerate while others can’t, but this plays an important role in liver transplants. While humans can’t live without a liver, they can live with just a piece of it. (This means that sometimes, instead of a whole new liver, a recipient will get a large piece of the liver from someone currently alive, such as a relative. The chunk of liver then regenerates to form a complete — but maybe somewhat misshapen — new organ.) We’re talking superhero powers here.
The liver processes blood in the body and balances and creates nutrients. Drinking and overeating can make the liver’s job harder, but as long as overindulging is not a daily affair, the liver can handle the celebration with ease. So enjoy yourself this holiday season, and thank your liver for keeping up.
