Liver Fat

The liver and kidneys are remarkable pieces of organic engineering, working to eliminate undesirable substances. When the body is not firing on all cylinders, it tends to store toxins instead of eliminating them.

Your liver is like a chemical processing plant, converting everything you eat, breathe and absorb through your skin into life-sustaining substances. It plays a vital role in the digestive process as it is responsible for producing bile, a substance stored in the gallbladder that aids the breakdown of fats. Your liver also processes digested food and disperses it throughout your body.

The liver also acts as an excretory organ, filtering toxins from your blood and converting them into waste, which is excreted into the bile produced for this purpose or blood and expelled in the form of feces or urine. A diet high in fats, sugars and alcohol, along with environmental toxins such as pesticides and nitrates, can seriously affect your health by interfering with the liver’s functions. Fortunately, your liver has amazing powers of regeneration and a liver detox can work wonders for your whole body.

The liver is the largest organ inside your body and has an enormous amount of blood flowing through it every minute. It consists of two main lobes that appear flat and smooth, but which are actually made up of many thousands of microscopic cells.

These liver cells are separated by spaces that act like a filter or sieve through which the unfiltered blood flows. Liver cells play an essential role in ridding the blood of unwanted substances. They ingest and break down toxic matter such as dead cells, micro-organisms, and chemicals, such as nitrates or preservatives, drugs and other debris from the blood stream.

To prevent your liver from becoming overworked, it is important to limit your intake of toxins such as:

Alcohol: Excess alcohol causes the liver to metabolize fat less efficiently, so that it is stored in the liver and other organs instead. As a result, the liver becomes fatty and inflamed and functions less efficiently. Avoiding alcohol is the best way to prevent liver damage, but drinking responsibly can also help.

Medication: Many prescription drugs and over-the-counter remedies can damage your liver. Ask yourself if a medication is really necessary and, if not, try an alternative remedy.

Environmental: It is impossible to completely avoid toxins such as pesticides and food additives, but you can limit your intake

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Contrary to the another article written on this topic, I must correct them!, the liver is the largest gland in the human body, it is not an organ. The skin is the largest organ of the human body.

The liver is a complex and important gland and is responsible for processing and utilizing all the products we take in through our digestive system.

The small intestine absorbs nutrients as food is moved along the intestinal walls. There are numerous veins which carry these nutrients to what is known as the portal vein which enters the liver. The liver then does amazing things with these various products, it produces bile and stores it in the gall bladder, bile is essential for the absorbtion of fat molecules. The liver stores sugar and when the body requires it, then it is released into the bloodstream.

Alcohol is made by a process called fermentation, sugar is the main ingredient in this process and then, depending on the type of spirits or ale that is being made, other ingredients are added such as barley for an ale, or grapes for a wine and so on.

The liver must metabolize all we ingest and if we drink alcohol faster than our liver can metabolize it, this can create toxicity within the body, or alcohol poisoning.

Almost anyone who has ever experienced an “hang-over”, has experienced a form of alcohol poisoning. If you have ever experience the “dry-heaves”, when you vomit and a small amount of yellowish-greenish liquid is all that comes up, then you have caused your liver to expel its own bile.

If a person continues to drink alcohol in excess of what the liver can process you will not only feel the effects of the alcohol within your bloodstream and your central nervous system; you will also be causing your liver stress and a failure to complete it functions normally.

Prolonged alcohol consumption can also create a form of herpertension or a raised blood pressure within the portal vein from the digestive tract.

This is the beginnings of Cirrhosis of the liver. As the liver tries to compensate for the deficiency of normal liver cells, it will increase its size and cause enlargement of the liver or (hepatomegaly) in medical terms.

The abdomen around the liver will be very tender to touch and there will be a constant dull aching.

There will be biochemical defects as well and because the liver cannot keep up with the absorbtion rate, accumulations of these products will cause a yellow discolouration of the skin or (Jaundice).

Another biochemical effect will be the lack of protein being absorbed into the body, this will lead to fluid retention and swelling in the abdominal region.

Another abnormality will be the lack of blood clotting abilities, the blood will therefore be very thin, and this will cause the skin to bruise very, very easily, and cuts will bleed out profusely.

In late stage Cirrhosis there will be a sweet smell to the breath, this is most common.

There will also be very high amounts of ammonia in the bloodstream and this will cause very grave disturbances effecting the chemistry within the brain.

The effects being hallucinations, confused speech, memory laspe and eventually coma.

The liver is a very important part of the human body and although it is resilient, we must have respect for it.

The effects of alcohol are very detrimental to the liver if we over do it.

To get drunk every night or very weekend will cause the liver to work overtime, and if we continue an abusive pattern of behaviour the liver will make us pay sooner or later.

Think before you drink!

Reference: (Good Housekeeping Family Health & Medical Guide

Publishers: (Hearst Corp. 1979)

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How to know if you need a liver detox diet

Someday you may notice that your body is so out of sync. You tire easily, have digestion problems, get bloated, struggle to lose weight, and feel your metabolism is practically at a stand still. These may all be signs that the liver is in trouble and needs detoxification or even medical attention.

The liver is the largest organ in the body and has numerous functions. In fact, it is the liver that manages the entire immune system and regulates metabolism, fats and proteins. The liver also acts as a manufacturing plant. When it works properly, the liver turns glucose (sugar) into another form glycogen for storage. It can release glucose when needed to maintain sugar levels in the blood. In addition, the liver acts as a storehouse for vital nutrients, iron, vitamin A, vitamin B, and B complex vitamins. The liver also creates more carbohydrates from fats and proteins.

As a detoxifying machine the liver works hard to rid toxins that attack and cause damage to the liver and other organs. Foods that are no longer fresh contain toxins and so do leftover foods from a previous meal.

You need to heed the signals the liver is putting out. You may have a fatty liver, developing liver failure, or simply have a sluggish liver that needs cleansing. There are many causes of a sluggish liver, liver disease and liver failure. You probably know that the most common cause is alcoholism. Other causes are overeating, diets rich in fats and sugars, analgesics and acetaminophen, some prescription drugs, household cleansers, pesticides, toxic chemicals in the workplace, and infections from hepatitis A, B and C.

If you are having some symptoms of poor liver function and want to reverse the damage, you can detox the liver with an alcohol-free liver tonic. Liver tonics are available at health food stores and pharmacies. You may also want to incorporate some of these suggestions into your daily lifestyle.

1. Limit or avoid alcohol, foods with preservatives, candies, pastries, ice cream, chips, creamy sauces and gravies, fried foods. If your diet contains these, you may end up with a fatty liver which can lead to even more serious diseases of the liver.

2. Avoid eating when you are not hungry. Instead eat a light snack.

3. Avoid getting dehydrated. Drink at least eight glasses of water, preferably filtered water since tap water may contain harmful sediments from the pipes.

4. Avoid sugars. The liver converts sugar into fat. Too much sugar will cause you to get fat and will damage your liver, heart and kidneys.

5. Limit eating meat to two or three times a week. Substitute beans and proteinrich food.

6. Avoid fats, especially saturated fats.

7. Eat carrot, beats, alfalfa and parsley to protect the liver from toxins.

You can find extensive information to cleanse the liver in the book, “The Liver Cleansing Diet.” This book includes an eight-week plan complete with easy recipes to follow. If you need to lose weight, you will probably lose a few pounds with the plan.

_______________________

Source:

Cabot, Sandra, M.D. The Liver Cleansing Diet. 1996.

Scottsdale, Arizona, S.C.B. International. 1997.

Internet site: www.whas.com.au.

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