In my journey to reverse my Rosacea and chronic sinusitis I had no idea how important it would be for me to learn more about the liver. In fact, for years I never even put the two together that my skin issues and nasal/respiratory concerns could be rooted from problems in my liver and stomach! That saying 'The more you know, the better' is true! The liver plays a vital role in your overall health and ability to remove the body from all the toxins, so let's talk about it!
The Lowdown on the Liver
The liver plays a role in hundreds of functions so ensuring that it is able to remove toxins efficiently can drastically help improve your overall health.
The main function of the liver is to filter toxins so that they don’t pass into the bloodstream. Another major role the liver plays is in regulating blood sugar and converting nutrients that are in your diet into something your body can use. This is a big deal because everything you ingest will eventually pass thru the liver.
Heed the Warnings!
There are many signs that can help you identify if it may be time to detox your liver but here are some of the common examples:
Irregular digestion
Sluggish and Fatigued
Negative emotions like anxiety or depression
Hormonal Imbalances
Weight gain
3 Common Things to Avoid
Alcohol: Avoiding social drinking can be a hard one to swallow (literally). Trust me, I love a good glass of wine but limiting intake was helpful in my reversal of leaky gut syndrome. Alcohol is processed similar to other toxins by the liver and although it sounds easy, it is quite taxing on the liver. Excessive alcohol abuse can cause destruction to the liver cells and lead to liver disease as well. Try to limit your intake if you do indulge.
Sugar: We’re talking mainly refined sugars (including high fructose corn syrup). The liver mainly uses fructose and eventually converts it to fat, however too much can create fatty deposits leading to liver disease.
Processed Foods: The pesticides, chemical additives, and artificial ingredients often found in processed foods can be very taxing on the liver so aim for non GMO, organic food options instead.
3 Common Things to Consume
Fruits and Veggies: This is an easy one for me but not for some. There are many fruits and vegetables that are great sources of antioxidants and also help reduce inflammation and encourage detoxification of the liver. Some examples include: sweet potato, beets, carrots, avocado, broccoli, bok choy, and banana.
Tumeric: With its amazing anti inflammatory and antioxidant healing properties, turmeric is great to help protect the liver. The main property in turmeric, curcumin, has so many healing properties that this is a great one to add into your diet. I prefer to use organic tumeric and add it to food.
H20: And I mean LOTS of it! Water is crucial to flush out toxins but it’s important to recognize the source of water you are drinking as well so you don’t ingest more toxins in the process. Aim for filtered and purified water. If you aren’t a lover of water consider adding fresh lemon to it-lemon is known to help detoxify the liver! I carry water with me almost everywhere I go and love my Corkcicle insulated bottle-it’s a perfect fit to also add fruits in to have infused water on the go!
This is just the basic beginnings on some things to avoid and consume to help support your liver. Adding supplementation into your diet, including healthy omega-3 fatty acids, is another great way to help support liver function. Regardless of what you try first just know consistency and quality of products/foods matters so start slow and keep going. You’re liver will not only be happy but you will also feel great and find yourself more energized!
For more tips on natural ways to help increase your energy go on and check out some ideas here.
