Your liver is the largest organ in your body and performs many functions to keep you healthy. The liver processes everything you ingest---food, drink, vitamins, drugs and even air---and regulates a multitude of body functions. You can help to keep your liver functioning efficiently by adhering to a lifestyle that involves avoidance of things that can harm the liver and embraces a healthful diet, regular exercise and routine medical checkups.
Diet
You should not consume excessive amounts of carbohydrates because this can lead to fatty deposits in the liver. These fatty deposits may impair liver function, according to Hepatitis Foundation International.
Once they get through the small intestine and are absorbed into the bloodstream, vitamins need to be processed by the liver. It is particularly difficult for the liver to handle the fat-soluble vitamins A and D, and excessive quantities of vitamin A prove toxic to the liver, notes HFI. For this reason, you should not supplement your diet with more vitamins than you need for good health.
Medications
All medications, whether prescription or over-the-counter drugs, pass through the liver where they get metabolized and detoxified. According to MayoClinic.com, you should take medicine only when it is absolutely necessary, and you should use only the amount you need for effective therapeutic benefit. In this way, you do not subject your liver to the stresses of processing excessive drug quantities.
Chemicals
If you must spray harmful chemicals such as cleaning agents, insecticides, fungicides or paint, exercise extreme care not to breathe in the vapors. Repeated inhalation of the vapors that contain noxious chemicals may cause damage to your liver, warns MayoClinic.com. Use these sprays only in well-ventilated areas, and protect yourself with an appropriate face mask.
Hepatitis Viruses
The three hepatitis viruses, hepatitis A, B and C, cause inflammation of liver tissue that can impair liver function. You contract hepatitis A through oral contact with small amounts of contaminated fecal matter. The best way to avoid this is to thoroughly wash your hands after changing a diaper or using the toilet, according to the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. Hepatitis B infections arise from contact with blood or other body fluids, and hepatitis C is also spread through contact with contaminated blood. To avoid these viruses, you should not have unprotected sex with an infected person or share needles to inject illegal drugs.
Alcohol
One of the most common causes of liver damage is chronic, excessive use of alcoholic beverages. This leads to alcoholic liver disease, which starts with alcoholic fatty liver and can progress to cirrhosis if you do not stop drinking. Moderate use of alcohol---one drink per day for women and two drinks for men---should not cause harm to the liver, but if you have any form of liver disease, you should not drink at all.
