What are common genetic liver problems?

As is the case with moral values and preference of sports teams, you can also get liver problems from your parents.

Genetic liver problems come in a lot of different forms. One of the more common ones is Gilbert's disease (which doesn't rhyme with Dilbert, but is rather pronounced Gill-bear). It's found in 5 percent of the population who can't metabolize bilirubin normally. The main symptom of mild jaundice (when you start to look like an egg yolk, first seen as yellow in the formerly whites of your eyes) most often appears after exertion, stress, fasting, and infections.

Another condition is hemochromatosis-a common genetic disorder present in about 1 in 250 of us and in the partial form in 4 percent of us- in which people accumulate and overload on iron. Eventually, that iron overload can cause organ damage to pancreas, liver, and heart, which can result in diabetes, or liver or heart failure.

If you suffer from joint disease, severe fatigue, heart disease, impotence, or diabetes, it's worth checking what are called your transferrin levels to determine the levels of iron in your blood. That can let you know if you have the disease or may be a carrier.