Three Reasons to Love Your Liver
Your liver is a really important organ to take care of. It's your body's second largest organ after your skin and it's role is to detoxify. Detoxification is a legitimate medical term but it gets a bad name because of it's association with overpriced fad products from dubious suppliers. You don't need a tea-tox, you need a healthy respect for your body's very own built-in detoxifier.
Your liver's job is to process and convert. Any substances that might be harmful to you, if accumulated in your body, needs to be transformed by your liver into a less harmful form. Then it can be safely excreted from your body. Harmful substances could be anything from alcohol to prescription medicines to environmental toxins. It's ok to have them in your body as long as there's a way to get the residue out again.
The first reason to love your liver is that you need it to process hormones. An overloaded liver can cause all the problems associated with hormone imbalances - PMS, bloating, skin breakouts, headaches, sluggish energy. Fluctuating estrogen levels through the menopause period can compound this. A loaded liver can also disrupt the healthy function of cortisol and melatonin, which exist in a delicate balance to manage sleep and stress.
The second reason to love your liver is for it's role in metabolism and digestion. An overloaded liver can cause digestive problems such as bloating and constipation. It can also impact your ability to store nutrients, regulate blood sugar and burn body fat.
The third reason to love your liver is to reduce your risk of illness. At the mild end of the spectrum, your liver's detoxifying magic has a role to play in your general immunity. If your liver becomes dangerously overloaded you become vulnerable to serious disease and liver cancer. There's a genetic element to this risk, which can be compounded by factors such as hepatitis, type 2 diabetes, obesity, heavy chemical exposure and over-indulgence in alcohol.
Even if your liver is generally working well it's worth giving it a bit of attention because you never know when you might need it. For example, most people will require a course of antibiotics from time to time. A healthy liver is really important for an efficient body that gives you the energy you need for daily life. Check out these five ways to keep your liver feeling loved.
Your liver's job is to process and convert. Any substances that might be harmful to you, if accumulated in your body, needs to be transformed by your liver into a less harmful form. Then it can be safely excreted from your body. Harmful substances could be anything from alcohol to prescription medicines to environmental toxins. It's ok to have them in your body as long as there's a way to get the residue out again.
The first reason to love your liver is that you need it to process hormones. An overloaded liver can cause all the problems associated with hormone imbalances - PMS, bloating, skin breakouts, headaches, sluggish energy. Fluctuating estrogen levels through the menopause period can compound this. A loaded liver can also disrupt the healthy function of cortisol and melatonin, which exist in a delicate balance to manage sleep and stress.
The second reason to love your liver is for it's role in metabolism and digestion. An overloaded liver can cause digestive problems such as bloating and constipation. It can also impact your ability to store nutrients, regulate blood sugar and burn body fat.
The third reason to love your liver is to reduce your risk of illness. At the mild end of the spectrum, your liver's detoxifying magic has a role to play in your general immunity. If your liver becomes dangerously overloaded you become vulnerable to serious disease and liver cancer. There's a genetic element to this risk, which can be compounded by factors such as hepatitis, type 2 diabetes, obesity, heavy chemical exposure and over-indulgence in alcohol.
Even if your liver is generally working well it's worth giving it a bit of attention because you never know when you might need it. For example, most people will require a course of antibiotics from time to time. A healthy liver is really important for an efficient body that gives you the energy you need for daily life. Check out these five ways to keep your liver feeling loved.