The liver is an essential organ for the function of the human body. Blood that leaves the digestive tract passes through the liver, which extracts and absorbs nutrients and toxins from the blood before it reaches the rest of the body.

Drinking alcohol can cause temporary face and body swelling or serious, life-threatening swelling due to organ damage.

The apple juice diet for the liver refers to a liver detox, cleanse or flush, terms that are used interchangeably. Sometimes it is referred to as a gallstone flush. Apple juice is one of the key ingredients in some versions of a liver cleanse. Other versions rely more on olive oil or walnut oil.

Protein is an essential nutrient needed to build muscle, repair and maintain connective tissue, and synthesize enzymes. Most Americans are not protein deficient, although extreme poverty, old age and vegetarianism are significant risk factors.

Weighing an average of four pounds, the liver is your largest internal organ. It plays a vital role in numerous physiological processes, including metabolic function and blood detoxification.

The liver is the largest gland in the human body and the sole internal organ that has the ability to regenerate itself. Its key functions include secretion of bile, storing vitamins, clotting blood and destroying bacteria.

Pregnancy normally has minimal effect on liver function tests, including most liver enzyme levels. Thus, when liver enzymes are elevated during pregnancy, it usually indicates a liver disorder. According to a July 2013 review in the "International Journal of Critical Illness and Injury Science,"

Liver cysts are small benign growths that occur on the surface of the liver and are typically filled with fluid. These cysts are often discovered incidentally because small liver cysts may not cause any symptoms and require no treatment.

The famous spice and traditional medicine ginger may have some potential as a treatment for alcohol-induced as well as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Autoimmune hepatitis -- a disease in which your immune system targets your hepatocytes, or liver cells -- affects both men and women, although women are more likely to develop this condition.

Lecithin protects the health of your liver several ways. It's a special type of lipid that prevents fats from accumulating in the liver. Plus lecithin is an important source of the nutrient choline, which has a vital role in liver function.

Like many people, you may never have eaten chicken liver. Often used in pate, chicken liver can also be pan-fried for an iron- and protein-rich meal. A 100g serving of chicken liver provides more than half of the dietary reference intake, or DRI, for iron.