Are you intimately connected to your liver?
The liver is responsible for hundreds of functions that affect the entire body. Maintaining and nourishing a healthy liver is central to maintaining hormone balance. And balanced hormone and liver functioning is MORE important than “calories in and out” or other one dimensional rules that do not support overall health and wellness.
Liver function and hormone balance are intimately connected. Liver function has a critical effect on hormones and at the same time is affected by hormones. It is the liver’s job to help dissect the nutrients available in foods once they reach the digestive system spread them throughout the body via the bloodstream and eliminate toxic waste that’s left behind.
The liver takes everything we put into our bodies whether it is swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin and filters it. Health problems can occur if the nutrients that the liver needs to process toxins or excesses are in limited supply. If these nutrients are in short supply, the liver cannot process as quickly or as thoroughly as needed. If the liver becomes overburdened because of insufficient nutrients, the toxins or waste build up and the excess can escape back into the body, leading to serious health concerns.
To regulate sex hormones, the liver also produces special proteins (binding globulins) that support the hormone molecules throughout the body. If the hormone level is too high, the protein also inactivates the body’s own hormone production as part of its duty. Ok, this is a big deal. So if your body is out of balance it deactivates its own hormones, this is not a good thing. We can not run around trying to eat perfectly if our hormones are inactivated. We have to take a breath, step back and get to the root. The Liver. Supporting the liver is going to help your body rebalance and then those hormones will reactivate and do the necessary functions for your body to heal, utilize fat, and have energy.
One of the best ways to achieve and maintain good overall health is to be kind and gentle to your liver. This includes reducing the burden on the liver, and providing adequate supplies of nutrients to assist with detoxification.
The best self care for your liver is:
- Reduce Stress! The minute you are feeling your stress levels rise, add in ANY self care practice to support you toward a more calm and healthy mind set. Meditation, a walk, resting, exercising, staring off into space:)
- Reduce Toxins: The more well known ones like, excessive alcohol, smoking, drugs, prescribed or over the counter medications. Also, pay attention to the smaller daily ones that can add up; household cleaners, lotions, body sprays, laundry detergents, and poor quality water and air.
- Hydration: Drink water upon waking to support all the hard work your body has performed as you were sleeping.
- Nourishment: Go back to a simple eating plan if you feel your liver is over worked. Check out the Conscious Nutrition Food Tree to support how to combine Foods Properly.
A lot of us know these these things, but the daily wear to tear to get everything done doesn’t make these a priority. Feel out how to set your own personal goals to help you lead an effortless, purposeful and energetic life, so then we all love each other more:)
What are these nutrients and foods that support liver and hormone functioning?
- Vegetables: Celery, Beets, Onion, Leafy Greens
- Spices: Ginger, Garlic, Tumeric
- Fruits: Grapefruit, lemons and limes
- Teas: Chanca Piedra Tea, Peppermint, Tumeric Tea, Dandelion
The goal is not to add all of these in one day, but to gently use one of these daily to help your liver gently detoxify versus becoming congested. For example, if you ate a burger, beer and fries, and the next day you wake up with mucus and congestion, concoct a tea or juice to help your body release the good ole American meal. This will help your liver and digestive tract make progress versus becoming overtaxed.
Love your Liver,
Heather Fleming, C.C.N
P.S. Our next RESET program begins September 26th. This a 3-week Liver Love group program that supports your body to heal. Click Here to Learn More
