How To Support Your Liver Naturally

The Liver is the powerhouse of your body.  It is responsible for over 500 known functions.  It processes everything we come into contact with; from what we ingest, put on our skin, or breath in.  It all reaches our liver and in remarkably fast time.  From the point of rubbing something onto your skin, it takes only 20 minutes for it to reach your liver.

Because it regulates the storage and release of sugars and fats, the liver is a very important player in digestion and metabolism.  It is what keeps you balanced in the areas of weight gain, cholesterol, and energy levels.  Sluggish energy and weight that just won’t go away are signs of a sluggish liver. 

The liver also produces proteins, enzymes, hormones, blood proteins, immune factors and clotting factors.  Even after producing all these vital factors the liver also plays a big role in detoxifying the body.  It filters heavy metals, drugs, toxic byproducts of normal metabolism, alcohol, and even infectious organisms.  This filtering helps our body to remain balanced - this is called homeostasis. 

As the liver becomes sluggish due to overload, excess alcohol, or age, these filters become less effective and the factors it produces become less in quantity and quality. 

As you can see it is important to keep the liver functioning and healthy.  Liver damage can have an effect on every body function because of the diverse jobs it plays in our body’s homeostasis.  It is completely possible to damage and scar the liver tissue leaving it fibrous and fatty.  Once this damage happens a backlog of toxins and metabolic by-products can lead to very serious issues like impaired brain function and comas.

So how to you help support your liver to ensure you are healthy and happy for a very long time.

Eat a whole food, a traditional diet, consisting of real foods that have been around for thousands of years.  Avoid processed foods, even those with health claims such as soy milk, gluten-free, and trans-fat free.  These products may be good, but they focus on just one type of consumer.  A healthy body needs real foods.  If it is boxed, bagged or canned walk away. If it states all of its benefits on a colorful package... walk away.

Cut back on stimulants like energy drinks, and pre-workout supplements.  Instead drink water, and for a treat on occasion try coconut water, kombucha, kefir, water, or green tea. Make sure your water is filtered and free from chlorine & fluoride.

Eat antioxidant rich foods like Berries. 

Cook all your cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, Brussel sprouts, and broccoli.  They are much easier and better for you if they are steamed slightly and eaten with a fat kike olive oil or butter.  You gain more nutrients from them steamed or roasted than you would in their raw state.

Avoid Alcohol and Drugs; recreational, pharmaceutical, and over the counter ones.  These are mostly processed through your liver and a regular dose of something as simple and seemingly harmless as Tylenol can do more long-term damage than you think.

Don’t overeat; eat until you are almost full.  When you overeat, you stress your digestive system, and in turn, put pressure on your liver to process all that extra sugar, fat and protein quickly and efficiently.  Be gentle to it.  

Using herbal remedies for liver support can be found in folk medicine going far back. One of my favorites is Milk Thistle. If you are lucky enough to find a patch growing nearby, you are truly blessed. The dried herb can be found in capsules and a more powerful tincture can also be found in health food stores.

Your liver is a natural detoxifier, you only need to support it so it can do its job more effectively. Avoid harsh cleanses and detox products, these are extreme and often hard on the body.

There you have it. Be good to your liver.