Taking care of your liver, so that your liver can take care of you.
The liver is responsible for detoxification, but also metabolism and assimilation. These functions help keep our bodies functioning optimally, so it is important to maintain a healthy liver. Here are steps you can implement:
- Drink plenty of water: Ensure that you are consuming your 2litres of water per day. This helps the filtration system in the liver function optimally.
- Consume Antioxidants: Antioxidants help protect the liver from damage. You can add additional antioxidant rich foods to your diet or include supplements to boost your intake. Ensure that you are consuming adequate amounts of Vitamin A and Vitamin E especially. [Careful not to overdo these either.]
- Reduce stress: Your liver metabolizes your stress hormones. By reducing your stress levels and thus your stress hormones, you take strain off of your liver. This gives your liver the chance to properly metabolize other important compounds such as toxins, lipids, proteins and carbohydrates.
- Minimize alcohol and Trans fats: alcohol metabolism in the liver releases a toxin before being metabolized into a non-harmful substance. This may cause liver damage especially over prolonged periods. Trans fats are difficult for the liver to break down and causes oxidative stress which over time may also affect liver function.
- Supplementation: There are herbs and supplements that you can take to nourish and assist your liver health and function. Try herbs such as Burdock and Dandelion root or Essential Phospholipid supplements. (It is important to speak to your doctor before taking herbs that may stimulate the liver, especially if you are taking chronic medication.)
Even though the liver has the ability to regenerate, we still want to make sure we take the best possible care of this hard-working organ.