The silent organ that could be failing you

Free Malaysia Today

Traditional Chinese medicine practitioner Chin Vee Koeng reveals how liver disease can develop unnoticed for years - and offers simple steps you can take right now to protect, strengthen, and heal your liver.   Story by: Dinesh Kumar Maganathan  Shot by: Afizi Ismail  Presented by: Mahirah Khan  Edited by: Maheshan Morgan   Read More:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/2025/10/15/the-silent-organ-that-could-be-failing-without-you-knowing   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com  Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5  Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM  Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h  Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp  Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX  Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb  Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj  Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Download FMT News App:  Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46  App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ  Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP   #FMTLifestyle #Liver #Thomsonhealth

Transcript

00:00The liver. It works quietly in the background, processing everything that you eat, drink,

00:06and even breathe. And because it's so essential, keeping it healthy means supporting it with

00:11balanced meals, enough hydration, and avoiding toxins that make your liver work over time.

00:17Now I used to think that my liver was only something that I should worry about if I was

00:22not watching what I consume. But after talking to traditional Chinese medicine practitioner

00:28Chen V Kiong, I realized that it's actually one of the busiest and the most overlooked organs in my body.

00:36More than 50% of liver disease is caused by NAFLD. What it means is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

00:45It can cause by obesity, a lot of this sedentary lifestyle. You don't do much exercise. Actually

00:53it's also due to poor diets. Excesses of calories, sugar, it can turn into the triglyceride

01:01in our body. So your liver needs to process and also metabolic it. Once it's stuck inside,

01:09it will trigger and become fatty liver. According to Chen, the tricky part is that the liver doesn't

01:14warn you early enough if it's damaged. And damage can build up silently for years before you notice

01:20that anything is even wrong. Because our liver have a different kind of nerve system compared to other

01:27organs. So it's often called a silenced organ. Early signs of this liver disease cannot be detected

01:35because it doesn't cause you any pain or you do not have a special kind of symptoms. So it's very

01:41difficult to detect that. It can also swift the functions to another organs so that you cannot feel

01:48early symptoms. So when it's damaged, let's say for example cirrhosis, you can see it collapse quickly

01:56and also deteriorate in a very quick way. Chen also warned that poor liver health can affect other

02:02systems like the heart and the cognitive function. When the liver's detoxification function is compromised,

02:09then toxins can enter the brain and cause forgetfulness and even confusion.

02:13Well that's why Chen says that it's important to try and spot subtle warning signs before it's too

02:19late. Persistent fatigue, unexplained weight gain or even weight loss, yellowing of the skin or the eyes,

02:27and a discomfort in the middle upper part of your abdomen.

02:31Okay sometimes you have this dark urine or this stool pile, you think it's the digestive system

02:39but actually it's caused by liver. Also you have a bad breath, you thought it's a stomach problem or you

02:46have some kind of lung problem, actually it's caused by liver itself. Since you can't really rely on

02:52concrete symptoms, well prevention becomes the first line of defense and that starts with diet. The first

03:00thing that you must take less oil, less sugar, less salty and the best way is eating food like a vegan.

03:09So the most ideal way is to cook yourself. Of course in Malaysia we have a lot of nice street food,

03:16it's oily and salty. After that you need to take supplement to compensate it. According to Chen,

03:23supplements like liverin which contain milk thistle extract can help to ease early signs of liver strain.

03:30support detoxification pathways and may help maintain overall healthy energy levels. He also

03:37suggests combining supplement intake with regular exercise and etiquette sleep, both of which give the

03:43liver more time to detox naturally. Ultimately even if you are seemingly healthy, Chen suggests checking

03:51your liver every couple of years and if you are high risk then get tested every year.

03:56Because you don't feel anything doesn't mean that it's nothing happened inside. So it's advice

04:02everyone to go and do a re-screening or do medical checkup before it's too late. So the real action plan is

04:10simple. Eat cleaner, move more, sleep earlier, consider liver supportive supplements and check your liver

04:19regularly. Prevention isn't just possible, it's far easier than treating late stage liver disease.

04:25Mahira Khan and Dinesh Kumar, maganadan FMT.

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