Take good care

The human body is a wonderful thing.  It knows how to take care of itself (you might notice this if you watch how the skin seems to heal itself with time).  What is visible on the outside is also going on on the inside.

One example of this is the liver.  Did you know that there are at least nine things that the liver does for the body to keep it healthy?  Here's a sample:

• Our liver stores the iron reserves we need, in addition to a lot of vitamins and other minerals.  Without this reserve, we wouldn't have the strength to carry on.
• The human liver creates bile, used to digest our food.  Without it, we'd waste away to nothing.
• Without the liver, we would not be able to detoxify poisonous chemicals such as alcohol, wine, beer and drugs (both the prescription and non-prescription kinds), to say nothing of illegal substances.  I suppose some bad habits can kill.
• Like a battery, the liver stores energy by stockpiling sugars (carbohydrates, glucose and fats) until we need them.  Otherwise, sugar levels in our bodies could fall dramatically, causing coma.
• The liver is responsible for making the blood that got us going even before we were born.
• This is where new proteins are manufactured so that we can stay healthy and grow.
• This is the organ that removes poisons from the air we breathe, including smoke and other chemicals that we may ingest.  Without it, we'd be poisoned by pollutants.
• The liver manufactures clotting  factors that stop us from bleeding (too much) when we're injured.  Without them, we would bleed out.
• Our liver helps defend us against germs that enter our bodies at all times.  Thanks to the liver, cold germs, flu bugs and their relatives are either killed or at least weakened.  Without this defense, we'd be sitting ducks.

Now that you know all this, how well do you take care of your liver?

• Do we ever drown the liver in beer, alcohol or wine?  For some people, even one drink is too many.
• Medicine is sometimes necessary, but overdoing it, or mixing drugs without doctors' advice can lead to scars in the liver called cirrhoses which are permanent.
• Even aerosol sprays, including bug repellents, mildew sprays, paints and other sprays can be inhaled, and lead to permanent damage done to the liver.
• Sometimes insecticides and other chemicals can pass through the skin and be absorbed into the body, and potentially cause irreparable damage to the liver (and other organs).
• The liver is a non-complainer.  It won't tell us it's in trouble until it's almost at the end of its rope.

Take good care of the things you have been given, especially the things that can't be replaced.  Respect them, protect them and they'll be around for a long time to come.