| Smoothie to raise awareness of liver disease |
12 June 2008 @13:36:56 |
On 5th June, the British Liver Trust were lucky to be selected by the Fresh & Wild store in Bristol to take part in one of their 5% days - where the Trust will receive 5% of takings on that day. In addition to this, Fresh & Wild created a smoothie with your liver in mind. This coincided with a day to raise awareness of liver disease and syndrome X.
 Alex de Stote, Fresh & Wild’s Store Manager, decided to support the charity to help spread the word about some of the lesser known causes of liver disease. He says: “When the British Liver Trust contacted me for support, I was very surprised to learn that liver disease can affect people other than the stereotypical image of people who are alcoholics and drug abusers. With the rising rates of obesity in England I had no idea that this can seriously harm your liver.”
Being overweight or obese puts you at risk of developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and is linked to problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. When all of these factors are present they are known as metabolic syndrome or syndrome X. In the USA, one in four people are thought to have fatty liver and the UK seems to be following this trend. NAFLD can lead to cirrhosis and ultimately complete liver failure.
Tracy Melling, Corporate Fundraiser for the British Liver Trust, says: “We were very fortunate to be chosen for this event. Fresh & Wild were helpful and enthusiastic. They even made a special smoothie on the day called Liver Good Life which consisted of 1 cup of strawberries, 1 banana, 2 oz of wheatgerm and 400 mls of soya milk – all in all a great healthy drink!. We are keen to promote the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and are very grateful to Fresh & Wild for helping us raise awareness."
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