The liver. It’s like the Cinderella of your entire system. It’s your body’s largest internal organ and has hundreds of functions, filtering toxins and foreign substances from the bloodstream, breaking them down, and excreting them. But it doesn’t have a Fairy Godmother or cute little mice to help when the going gets tough. It’s working 24/7, with little rest, and zero respect.
Can you tell I’m living with a princess-obsessed four year old? But I digress.
Some of these toxins are produced within, including excess hormones and neurotransmitters, but the majority come from external sources – the food we eat, the air we breathe, and the stuff we put on our skin.
When your liver becomes overworked as a result of stress or excessive exposure to toxins, your entire system can be thrown off balance, and your health can be severely compromised.
How you ask?
Key nutrient deficiencies, that’s how.
Since the liver is also responsible for producing bile, another form of detoxification that is metabolically necessary for the breakdown and assimilation of fats and proteins from your food, if it’s not firing on all cylinders, your body is unable to cleanse itself and absorb nutrients, which is a recipe for disaster, leading to some of the following ailments that you might otherwise have chalked up to “part of life”. Not so much, my friends.
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1. Digestive problems
Constipation, belly bloat, and ongoing indigestion all relate to liver stress. The liver is supposed to release bile that helps to break down food and lubricate the intestines. In weak or stressed livers, this process is compromised.
2. Aches and pains
The liver helps to purify and produce new blood. When it’s out of balance, sufficient amounts of healthy blood may not be reaching tendons, muscles, and tissues, leading to reduced flexibility and tension in those areas, as well as arthritis.
3. Fatigue
Because the liver is responsible for storing excess glucose for energy usage later, if stressed, this function is compromised. Not to mention, the build up of toxins that occur as from the liver not removing waste efficiently can bog down other organs and bodily processes. It’s like when you have too many windows open on your computer. How does it run? S-L-O-W…
4. Mood swings
Since our bodies and minds are connected, when the liver becomes stagnant, so do our emotions. Feelings of depression, anger, irritability, and impatience are common with liver stress. Liver stress can cause difficulty in making decisions, poor judgement, and brain fog.
But wait, there’s more!
In addition to the above buzz killers, the following have been linked to a stressed out liver:
- Allergies
- Asthma
- Bad breath
- Sugar cravings
- Fibromyalgia
- Fluid retention
- Headaches
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Erratic blood sugar
- Hormone imbalance
- Compromised immune system
- Skin rashes or breakouts
Do any of these sound familiar?
The good news is that it is all reversible with a good old-fashioned vay-cay for Cinderelly. A vacation that includes time away from its usual workload, spa treatments, and delicious, healing food.
Can I get an amen?
“If the liver is impaired from constructing even one of the thousands of enzyme systems the body requires, there is an impairment in overall body function and a resultant greater metabolic stress on the individual.”
So here are seven important foods you may want to begin incorporating into your diet in order to maintain a healthy liver. Click here to find out how to repair your liver.
If you’re looking for a detox for your liver, here are 5 Effective Tips For a Spring Detox to Rejuvenate Your Liver.
Have you ever given your liver a vacation? I’d LOVE to hear! Please leave a comment!
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Kristen Boucher is a registered nurse, healthy living junkie, health & wellness coach, real foodie, full-time working wife to an amazing husband, cloth-diapering crunchy mama of two beautiful girls, creator of The Superwoman Slim Down: A Real Food Detox & Cleanse for Real Women, Lose Weight, Feel Great: 8 Weeks to a New You, and Founder of MIX | Wellness Solutions For A Balanced Life, where she inspires busy women to eliminate the overwhelm to lose weight, kick cravings, stress less, and cook delicious, healthy, and family-friendly meals so they can gain confidence, double their energy, and save money without crazy diets, countless hours at the gym, or quitting their day job. Kristen can be found pushing the envelope at www.mixwellness.com and on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+.
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