Commercial Feature -Office of National Statistics has shown that alcohol-related deaths in the United Kingdom has increased year on year since the 1990s rising from 4,023 in 1992 to the highest of 9,031 in 2008 and is still on the rise. Of the deaths recorded the majority were due to issues such as cirrhosis of the liver, alcoholic liver disease, chronic hepatitis, and alcohol poisoning.
Liver related illnesses have long affected older age groups however worryingly victims are becoming younger as the number of people in their teens, 20s or 30s who have died from drink related health problems has increased by 24 per cent.
However, the largest increases were seen among people in their 50s in the last ten years – up 48 per cent among women and 49 per cent among men highlighting the long term affects of drinking. The stats also show that binge drinking among women has dramatically increased in the last few years - as many as 3.5 million women are putting their health at risk through their alcohol consumption.
However the problem is far more complex as people do not realise - or choose to ignore - the potential problems that drinking is having on their liver. With visits to GPs increasing with age the likelihood of younger drinkers understanding their liver health is greatly diminished causing complications later in life.
YorkTest Laboratories, Europe’s leading allergy and food intolerance testing company, is on a crusade to change the way in which people think of their liver with their innovative LiverCheck test. The test which is available for £99 is a simple finger prick test that you can do in the comfort of your own home and checks the health of your liver before it is too late. Once the blood sample has been collected you simply post it away to a laboratory and is tested for ALT & AST enzyme levels. Results are returned to the customer within five days and are easily interpreted in a traffic light colour coded system - green showing there to be no problem, amber showing your liver health is less than optimal and red indicating your liver is damaged.
The LiverCheck is available to buy online at www.yorktest.com costs or by calling 0800 074 6185. YorkTest have over 25 years in home testing including allergy and food intolerance testing and have helped people to identify a multitude of intolerances including wheat and gluten intolerance.