5 Things You Should Be Kind to Your Liver

You only have one liver, it’s important to know how to look after it.

Your liver is the largest organ inside your body and does hundreds of essential jobs.

• Fighting infection and disease
• Destroying poisons and drugs (including alcohol)
• Cleaning the blood
• Controlling the amount of cholesterol
• Processing food once it has been digested

It works hard and can take a lot of abuse, but it is like an elastic band – it can only stretch so far before it breaks. 

Your liver processes most of the nutrients and fats in the food you eat. If you are overweight you increase your risk of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease which over time can cause lasting liver damage. Help your liver to work properly by:

• eating a healthy balanced diet and drinking plenty of water
• eating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, reducing portion sizes and cutting down on your fat and sugar intake
• taking some regular exercise – aim for a total of 30 minutes a day if you can

Diet and exercise have the best effect on your liver health – making long term changes that you can keep up is better than losing weight quickly.

The liver is the main organ of detoxification

From an emotional standpoint, the liver is associated with the emotions anger, frustration and resentment. The liver is associated with anger, irritability, resentment and rage. As you cleanse and clear away old toxic debris from your body, this will tax the liver, making the subject of detox more susceptible angry and irritability.

Alcohol

The liver is your largest internal organ. As well as hundreds of other jobs, it processes the alcohol you drink. If you drink over the recommended daily guidelines (see below), your liver will be unable to process the alcohol you consume quickly enough, which damages the cells in your liver. Love your liver by:

• drinking no more than 14 units of alcohol per week
• taking 3 days off alcohol every week to give your liver a chance to repair itself
• avoiding alcohol if you are pregnant or trying to conceive

Avoid overeating to prevent fatty liver

Fatty liver disease affects nearly one-third of American adults and is one of the leading contributors to liver failure. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is most commonly diagnosed in those who are obese or sedentary and those who eat a highly processed diet.

Drug over use may damage the liver

If you take Tylenol for four days as directed you may be at risk of liver damage, says a new study, according medical news today. Chronic use of some drugs, such as heroin, inhalants, and steroids (appearance- and performance-enhancing drugs), may lead to significant damage to the liver. This damage can be worse when these drugs are combined with alcohol or other drugs.

Sleep: the key to a healthy liver and happier mood

The liver has its own clock, and injury to the liver may mess with the clock. Also, the liver helps to regulate hormones, all vital to the body's sleep-wake cycle. 

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), a Chinese “meridian clock” is used to show the times of day when each organ system is most active.

This is what it says:

1am-3am – Liver

3am-5am – Lungs

5am-7am– Large intestines

7am-9am – Stomach

9am-11am – Spleen & pancreas

11am- 1pm – Heart & mind

1pm-3pm – Small intestine

3pm – 5pm – Bladder

5pm -7 pm – Kidneys

7pm – 9pm – Pericardium

9pm- 11pm – Triple heater (related to metabolism)

11pm- 1am – Gallbladder

Some helpful tips for supporting your liver and a good nights rest are:

• Drinking lemon water in the morning 
• Sip on dandelion root tea throughout the day
• Choose foods from the brassica family (broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts) for their liver supporting properties
• Oatmeal, brown rice, dark greens, barley, fatty fish and nuts
• Try your best to express emotion in a healthy way, rather than suppress it
• Let dinner be your lightest meal of the day
• Try to have your last meal or snack approximately 2 hours before bed
• Turn off your phone, computer or Ipad for at least one hour before bed time. Use this time instead for a good book, journaling, reflection or meditation
• Avoid stimulants such as caffeine and sugar after 3 pm.
• Practice gentle yoga throughout the day
• Make time for you, and what you enjoy doing.

 Dr. Group's Liver Cleanse Soup >>

 

 

 

Image courtesy of Karielyn Tillman from thehealthyfamilyandhome