The liver is the largest and the hardest working organ in the human body. It performs over 500 functions, including digestion of proteins, mineral storage, bile production and blood filtration. It regulates blood sugar, makes vitamins, maintains blood at the right thickness and keeps muscles from tremoring. It filters toxins from the blood and clears medications and alcohol. When your muscles grow with regular exercise, your liver makes it possible. It’s very important to heart health. The liver even helps us think more clearly.
The liver is located in the upper right part of the abdomen and protected by the ribcage. It’s a spongy, wedge-shaped, reddish brown in color and about the size of a football. The size varies based on how tall you are and how much you weigh. The liver is not only an essential organ but also a gland that makes proteins and hormones that other parts of the body needs.
As part of the digestive system, the liver must process everything that the stomach and intestines digest and absorb. For nutrition, one of its main jobs is to produce bile, a chemical that converts fat into fuel the body can use. Your liver also creates albumin. This is a blood protein that helps carry hormones, drugs and fatty acids throughout your body. Your liver also creates most of the substances that help your blood clot after injury.
The liver is also responsible for controlling the Immune Responses. When bacteria, viruses and other harmful organisms enter your body, specialized cells in your liver can find and destroy these organisms. Prolonged liver diseases and lifestyles like alcohol, drugs, viruses, and excess weight can damage the liver. You may not even realize when your liver is struggling, because liver disease usually has no symptoms until the problem becomes severe.
The liver helps your body maintain a healthy level of blood sugar. Your liver supplies glucose to your blood when it’s needed. It also removes glucose from your blood when there’s too much.
Three Hacks to Keep your Liver Happy:
1. Leafy Greens & Bitter lettuces: Nutrient-dense leafy greens like spinach, kale, chard, arugula, Swiss chard, collards, Bok choy, radicchio, turnip greens, chicory and endive give your liver the necessary nutrients to function properly.
2. Dandelion tea – a cup of organic dandelion tea can nourish a sluggish liver
3. Castor Oil Packs – helps dilate the common bile duct that is responsible for moving toxins out of the liver and gallbladder. They have been used for centuries to help detoxify the liver. It used to be very messy but now has become much easier to do since a company created a castor oil pack. All you have to do is put organic castor oil on the pack and put over your liver for a minimum of 2 hours and maximum of 3 times a week.
A healthy liver is undoubtedly a key element to a healthy life. But, when the liver gets sick, many problems can follow. Unfortunately, liver disease is on the rise for millions of Americans. Love your liver by being proactive and getting annual blood work through your physician to monitor liver function, doing a liver detox at least once a year for 3 months and use the liver hacks listed above.
Larisa Belote, Health Practitioner & Certified Detox Specialist is a strong believer that your body is a smart machine and can heal itself given a chance with the right set of tools. Call/Txt 732.996.6963 or email: larisa@stepbystep-wellness.com for a FREE 20-minute consult to discover liver detox which would work best for you! Learn which Castor Oil packs are best!
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