I have a wobbly liver.

If someone had told me that a week ago I would probably have had palpitations and started writing a bucket list.

But as it turns out, a wobbly liver is a good thing. In fact, when it comes to livers, it is a case of the wobblier the better. Who knew?

It seems there are a whole lot of things I didn’t know about the hardest-working organ in the human body.

We all have a pretty good idea what our heart, lungs – even our kidneys are up to at any given time. They all perform vital, but relatively straightforward jobs.

Our livers on the other hand carry out more than 500 separate functions to keep us alive. That’s a pretty impressive workload in anyone’s book.

The largest single organ in the body – our lungs are bigger, but then there are two of them – synthesises proteins, produces biochemicals crucial for digestion, regulates glycogen, produces hormones, detoxifies various metabolites, generates bile, and monitors and controls a long list of other bodily reactions, along with a host of other tasks so long it deserves a medal.

The liver really is the unsung hero of the human body, toiling away behind the scenes while other organs grab the limelight and the credit.

“It carries out an incredible amount of functions,” Nicola Reeve, Prince Philip Hospital’s blood-borne viruses nurse, told me as she and alcohol liaison nurse Vanessa Hartoll prepared to carry out a fibroscan on my poor, over-worked liver.

“Because it does so much it is put under the biggest amount of stress and strain of any organ in the body.

The fibroscan is a simple enough test completed in a matter of minutes and involved the placing of the tip of a probe the size of a toothpaste tube against my stomach.

The probe then fires a sound wave through the skin to the liver with the pulse “bouncing back” for the scanner to measure my internal elasticity.

The process works a little like poking a jelly with your finger. If the jelly wobbles then all is well, if it doesn’t budge then there could be a problem.

“Stiffness in the liver could be an indication of scarring,” Nicola explains. “Scarring could be an early sign of cirrhosis.”

Cirrhosis is most usually associated with alcohol, but liver problems are also caused by obesity and blood-borne viruses, such as hepatitis, and issues arise due to numerous causes - poor diet, drinking too much, lack of exercise, and a poor lifestyle in general.

“With liver damage and Hepatitis C many people may have no specific symptoms as symptoms are often blamed on other things,” said Nicola.

All of these issues can be cured simply through lifestyle choices, but left unchecked liver problems can prove fatal.

Problems can be identified with a simple blood test or a fibroscan.

To raise awareness of the need to take better care of our industrious organs, Nicola and Vanessa will be spending the day in Ammanford on Monday, March 9, highlighting the importance of learning to Love our Livers.

They will be at Turning Point’s office at 21-23 High Street from 10am to 4pm as well as taking their message to on to the street where they will be able to answer questions and offer advice on diet, alcohol intake and a host of other issues that can affect the modest hero of the human body.

“The incredible thing of the liver – even more than the amount of functions it carries out – is its ability to regenerate,” said Nicola.

The liver – given half a chance – can rebuild itself, so learn to love your liver and give it the helping hand it needs.

Make sure you visit Nicola and Vanessa, or, if you are unable to visit the stand but want more information, go to http://www.loveyourliver.org.uk