Does your liver need some love
In todays modern living our bodies have to deal with a tremendous amount of stress from work stress, financial, marital, family and also the stress from not only the toxins we ingest but also those that we put on our skin and breath in.
Everything in today’s modern society is impacting our health, from the radiation from mobile phones, microwaves etc. to the air that we breath in on a daily basis.
The liver is the largest internal organ in the body and it is responsible for detoxification. On a daily basis the liver works constantly to remove toxins from the body and also fatty substances, these toxins may from pesticides on our fruit and vegetables, second had smoke and pollution and also stored body fat.
When we take part in recreational activities such as drinking alcohol for example the liver works twice as hard to clear the alcohol from our system, meaning other things such as hormones and less vital toxins to remove may end up back into our blood stream until the liver can deal with them.
Sometimes when the liver isn’t functioning correctly it can end up developing fat globules, this can slow own detoxification and lead to other issues such as hormonal imbalances, dysfunctional thyroid, skin problems and also digestive issues. Our bodies main priority is repairing the liver, so in order to do that it will dump body fat to heal the liver, this can often show as a roll of fat around the abdomen, usually under the bra line.
The body has different ways to detoxify:
The kidneys filter toxins and excrete them through your urine
Your bowel removes toxins via your faeces
Your skin removes toxins via sweat
The liver reduces the danger of the toxic loads.
Detoxification goes on inside our bodies on a daily basis, but when our bodies have several toxic loads to deal with it can slow down the process leading to you feeling lethargic and sluggish.
Below are the main things that increase the toxic load to our livers:
Alcohol Caffeine
Trans fats (margarine and certain cooking oils that don’t heat when used for cooking)
Refined sugars
Processed foods
That’s why on our boot camp nutrition we aim at eliminating these things from the diet in favour of real food so that your body can start to do it’s job better, but not only that, after a few weeks of eating this way not only do you feel healthier and start to see changes to your skin and the brightness of your eyes, your body will have dumped lots of unwanted body fat as the liver is not as overworked as before.
Other things to consider are the toxins from the cleaning products that you use and also if you have any plug in air fresheners around the home, it might be worth replacing some of these for some more environmentally friendly versions (you’re also helping the planet too by choosing eco).
I use an essential oil diffuser in my home to help with freshening the air, there’s also some other benefits that come with aromatherapy too, but that’s another post altogether!
Below are some indications that you may need to give your liver some love:
You have a roll of fat high on your abdomen
You have a short temper
You’re impatient or anger easily
You get terrible PMS
Suffer with skin issues, rashes, eczema etc.
Poor sleep patterns (especially following a night of consuming alcohol)
Cellulite
You drink a lot of caffeine
You drink a lot of alcohol
You bloat easily
Be honest with yourself when reading the above list, can you get moody quickly? Are you drinking more alcohol or caffeine than you probably should be?
If you have answered yes to the above, then start making some changes today.
Remove Caffeine, alcohol, processed foods, trans fats and refined sugars from the diet, we also recommend cutting out dairy too as there may be hormones passed through dairy products.
Drink warm water with lemon upon waking (brush the teeth beforehand)
Increase your green and cruciferous vegetable in take: Kale, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, sprouts, and cauliflower.
Eat organic where possible and drink water throughout the day.
Increase exercise too as this speeds up elimination of toxins, but it also increases oxidation and free radical damage so add some antioxidants to the diet.
Green tea, although it does have an amount of caffeine, also has a calming effect along with antioxidants; try replacing your cups of tea/coffee with green tea or herbal drinks.
Spend time doing some relaxation work, especially if mood swings and stress affects you – focus on deep breathing, into the stomach area, other practices such as yoga, tai chi or Pilates can help.
If you’ve tried numerous diets but still find that you struggle, it may be time to focus on your health (especially your liver health) as a number one priority, chase health and thin will follow.
I hope that this helps you, if you have any questions please feel free to ask.
You only get one liver, give it some love.
