5. How does your liver work?
The liver is the largest organ in the body weighing between 1.36 and
1.81 kg. Your liver works in many ways. You eat protein in various
forms both vegetarian and animal in origin and form ‘raw’ proteins.
The liver has to create proteins acceptable to the body by first
breaking them down and then actually re-building them. The liver
also makes certain proteins, such as the blood clotting protein
fibrinogen.
The liver turns carbohydrates into two forms. One is ‘instant energy'
in the form of glucose and the other is stored energy in form of
glycogen. The liver produces a hormone which can store excess sugar
present in the blood as glycogen.
Fats are also turned by the liver into forms which deposit under the
skin (subcutaneous layer) and act as insulation and shock absorber.
Bile is a thick yellow or greenish fluid made in the liver. It neutralizes
the acidity of partly digested food in the intestine so that enzymes
can continue to work in the intestine.
The liver is also a storage organ. Several vitamins, iron (removed
from blood pigment, etc) are stored in liver. The liver also neutralizes
poisons and wastes.
