It’s liver detox week! Before we get into why you should give your liver a good cleaning, as without it you cannot survive, lets discuss what it does.
The liver is the largest internal organ in the body, and in adults it weights roughly 3 pounds; depending on each individual’s size of course. The liver is responsible for a massive amount of functions: from removing toxins in the blood steam through the cells of the liver, the hepatocytes; to storing copper and iron that can be released and used throughout the rest of the body. Your liver is involved heavily in the immune system, detoxifying and the metabolism. The liver also creates a bile that helps break down fats and sugars in the digestion. This bile also rids the liver of waste.
Why should you take care of your liver? It’s quite resilient, and it’s not like you have a liver ache the same way you do when, say you eat something bad and your stomach automatically reacts in a negative way. Considering the vital role the liver plays in digestion, if the liver is not kept clear, then the rest of the digestion will suffer; and we already know the detriments of an unhealthy colon! (Reference week 1 for a quick refresher.)
Much like your colon, there are very few vital systems the liver does not have a direct hand in maintaining- so keeping your liver healthy is crucial to having overall optimum health in the body! As literally everything you eat will have to pass through your liver to be filtered, it’s important to make sure what you are consuming isn’t going to make your liver work overtime. Foods that are high in fats, processed sugars and salts are the most detrimental foods for your liver to break down. When we don’t eat good foods, then things like biliary obstructions can happen, which is when the ducts the bile in your liver travel through become backed up which in turn can lead to: parasites, gallstones, pancreatitis and liver diseases. In taking care of your liver you are also protecting your other organs!
All of this build-up generally gets stored in the liver (in the intrahepatic and extrahepatic ducts) and can lead to the cirrhosis or liver cancer. The scary thing with diseases like cirrhosis is that they are asymptomatic- so even though you may not feel liver pain you may end up with problems like weight loss, fatigue, or nausea which can all be the symptoms for so many other problems in the body; in turn making it hard to diagnose and fix the real problem.
As most of us are aware, an excessive alcohol consumption is one of the largest contributors to liver problems, including fatty liver (hepatic steatosis), liver disease, and alcoholic hepatitis (aka liver inflammation). As we have discussed in previous weeks, a large number of the cancers and diseases are caused by chronic low-grade inflammation, and alcohol is a huge contributor to this. This is not to say that you must stop drinking alcohol. I tried to give up wine once and failed miserably- but it does mean like all other things, only drink in moderation. Remember, even if you don’t drink a lot, if you are drinking often, your liver is constantly having to process it, never giving it a break!
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| Supports A Healthy Liver |
The good part is however, if you always keep your health, you never have to fight to regain it! Products like B Vitamins, Vitamin C, Milk Thistle, Formula L, Amino Acids and Antioxidants are all fantastic products to take to help support healthy liver function. Exercise and a good, clean diet are also key factors in keeping your liver healthy!
One final crazy and fascinating fact about the liver: it is the body’s only organ that can regrow itself. You can lose half their liver (say to a transplant or injury) and those cells will regenerate and grow back. If your liver is transplanted, not only will your liver regrow to normal size, but so will the recipients!
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