The liver is situated on the upper right side of the abdomen, just below the diaphragm. It is the largest internal organ of the human body and weigh around 1.5 kg in the average adult. Blood from the digestive system must first filter through the liver before it travels anywhere else in the body.

Functions of the Liver : A healthy liver does the following:

1. It regulates the composition of blood, including the amounts of glucose (sugar), protein and fat that enter the blood stream.
2. It removes bilirubin and other toxins from the blood. Bilirubin is a by-product of the break down into red blood cells.
3. It processes most of the nutrients absorbed by the intestines during digestion and converts those nutrients into forms that can be used by the body. The liver also stores some nutrients such as vitamin A, iron and other minerals.
4. It makes cholesterol, vitamin A, substances that help blood clot and certain proteins.

Symptoms of Liver disease :

1. Skin and eyes appear yellowish.
2. Dark coloured urine.
3. Swelling of the abdomen with pain.
4. Itching on skin.
5. Legs and ankle swelling.
6. Pale coloured stool, sometimes bloody or tar coloured.
7. Chronic fatigue.
8. Vomiting or nausea.
9. Anorexia.

Types of liver diseases and possible causes :

1. Alcohol related liver disease - regularly drinking too much alcohol
2. Non alcoholic fatty liver disease - being over weight ( obese ) may cause fat to build up in the liver
3. Hepatitis - catching a viral infection, regularly drinking too much alcohol
4. Haemochromatosis - a gene that runs in families and may be passed from parents to children
5. Primary billiary cirrhosis - may be caused by a problem with the immune system

Ayurvedic View :

In Ayurveda, liver disorders are grouped under Yakrit Vikara. Yakrit mean liver and vikara refers to disorder or derangement, disfigure or diseased condition. According to Acharya Sushruta, the organ liver is formed from the blood during the embryonic stage. It is considered to be the main site of blood. Both the Acharyas Charaka and Sushruta referred 3000 years back itself, as the site of colour responsible- bile variety (ranjaka pitta) even before body dissection and circulatory study in modern medicine.

According to Ayurveda, possible causes of liver disorders are alcohol intake, suppression of natural urges, intake of spicy and penetrative food and beverages, heavy and blocking agents, sleeping during daytime and awakening during night, any external injury on liver etc.

Treatment of liver disorders in Ayurvedic includes carminative, digestives, laxatives and cholagogue herbs. Panchakarma is very useful in expelling out kapha and pitta aggravated dosh.

Ayurvedic herbs and formulations for liver disorders include:

1. Bhumyamalaki.
2. Sharapunkha.
3. Kumari.
4. Bhringaraja.
5. Amalaki.
6. Draksha.
7. Guduchi
8. Punarnava.
9. Arogyavardhini Vati.
10. Rohitakarishta.
11. Patola katurohinyadi kashaya.
12. Avipattikara choorna.
13. Lohasavam.
14. Punarnava mandur.

A large number of herbs and formulations have been claimed to have hepatoprotective activity. The use of natural remedies for the treatment of liver diseases has a long history, starting with the Ayurvedic treatment, and extending to the Chinese, European and other systems of traditional medicines. The 21st century has seen a paradigm shift towards therapeutic evaluation of herbal products in liver disease models by carefully synergizing the strengths of the traditional systems of medicine with that of the modern concept of evidence based medical evaluation, standardization and randomized placebo controlled clinical trials to support clinical efficacy.

Best Ayurvedic herbal treatment of Fatty Liver Disease - Life Line Ayurvedic Herbal Clinic in Adelaide, South Australia can help you. We ensure long-term results and effective cure for disorders by giving remedies that correct the imbalance in the underlying doshas.