Tree of Life. Issue #13. March 15th, 2008.

BLACK CROSS HEALTH NOTE:
The Mighty Liver
by Tiffanydenise

Photo L - TiffanyDenise is the Universal Directress of the Black Cross Society, an auxiliary of the UNIA-ACL.

The liver…the body’s single most effective factory!!!!!

The liver is so misunderstood and yet so mysterious. What is it? What does it do? Why can’t I live without it? The liver is the seat of our soul/spirit our ‘chi’ our ‘ka’. In ancient Chinese medicine it is well understood that the liver is the source of our most sacred power and strength and when it is out of balance the entire system is in threat of sickness.

I know every one of my blogs has talked about how every part of the body is “key” to total body wellness; it’s still all true. The liver is no exception to this rule, and it is by far my favorite organ. It’s amazing. Coming in at 3.5 pounds and performing over 500 tasks, the liver is a force to be reckoned with. It’s the clearing house for the body, our personal homeland security if you will. The liver, in its infinite wisdom, is able to recycle substances and turn waste products into substances that our body can use like taking lactic acid, transforming it into glucose and then into glycogen which is stored energy that stays housed in the liver.

Like every other part of the body the liver is connected to the wellness of the body’s organs and systems. Since it is in-fact the clearing house for all toxins then it would stand to reason that a healthy liver is a healthy you. I have taken you through the process of digestion and have hopefully helped you understand that the foods we eat and the beverages we drink all have to be digested and metabolized by the body. After the food has been broken down into its code language or data, it has yet another stop to make before going on to perform the various tasks within our bodies.

The next step… yep, you guessed it, the liver.

MOST NOTABLY THE LIVER:
-Produces bile which is used to digest fats -Metabolizes nutrients absorbed in the digestive tube, essential for food utilization by the body -Stores energy as glycogen (a sugar) -Cleans waste products, hormones, medication buildup -Synthesizes several substances especially proteins

Because the liver is responsible for cleaning and detoxifying materials before our body can use them, it is of course helpful to make sure we are putting in quality material. When the liver is stressed with an overabundance of cleaning responsibilities it manifest as sickness and DIS-ease; whether it be physical or emotional. Lack of energy, chronic fatigue, feelings of depression, anxiety and fear can overwhelm a person and this can be largely traced to the state of the liver.

Remember that the cells, that produce the tissue, that produce the organ we call the liver, are actual living beings, who like us, have a purpose and a job to do. When they are overworked how do you think they’ll perform? When you are stressed on your job and you are feeling under-appreciated how do you perform? The same can be said for the worker bees of the liver. Performing over 500 tasks is a lot of work! Yet this is exactly what the liver does for us.

On top of all that the liver regenerates itself so that it can maintain its role as primary regulator of your body’s cleanliness and life force. It is a primary site for the body’s immunity which is needed to ward off infections. Therefore if it’s compromised in any way its infection fighting ability is compromised as well.

Additional functions of the liver include:
-Controlling levels of fats, amino acids and glucose in the blood
-Combating infections in the body
-Clearing the blood of particles and infections including bacteria
-Neutralizing and destroying drugs and toxins
-Storing iron, vitamins and other essential chemicals
-Breaking down food and turning it into energy
-Manufacturing, breaking down and regulating numerous hormones including sex hormones
-Making enzymes and proteins which are responsible for most chemical reactions in the body, for example those involved in blood clotting and repair of damaged tissues.
-Production of certain proteins for blood plasma
-Production of cholesterol and special proteins to help carry fats through the body
-Resisting infections by producing immune factors and removing bacteria from the bloodstream

If there is an imbalance in the liver it will manifest as an imbalance within the individual. These imbalances can be either physical or psychological. It is important to understand the role of the liver and its role in keeping our wellness in check! There are many people suffering problems related to a stagnated liver, an overworked liver, or a toxic liver. Some of the things that can be attributed to these various conditions of the liver include:

-Depression -Fear -Lack of motivation & will (unable to move forward with one’s life) -Chronic Fatigue -Fear & Anxiety -Sluggish Feeling -Fibroids -Cysts -Cancer -Insomnia -Lack of strength and drive

Signs and symptoms of liver problems include:
-Yellowish coloring of body parts including teeth, tongue, palms of hand and soles of feet (jaundice)
-Abdominal pain and swelling
-Itchy skin that doesn't seem to go away -Dark urine color
-Pale stool color
-Bloody or tar-colored stool
-Chronic fatigue
-Nausea
-Loss of appetite
-The liver’s role in protecting against degenerative diseases
-The Liver is the primary glucose buffer! The liver is responsible for regulating blood sugar levels. If there is too much sugar in the blood, the liver will send its workers bees to transport the sugars back to the liver for storage as glycogen or fat.
-If it is too little sugar in blood, the liver will release stored glycogen into the bloodstream increasing the blood sugar levels to healthy doses. Diabetes is the result of too much sugar in the blood. Therefore a healthy liver contributes to protecting us against this degenerative disease.

The liver also produces bile which is responsible for digesting fats, however if there is a problem with the production of bile or the storage of bile which is stored in the gallbladder, the individual will most likely have problems digesting fats and as a result fat will build up in the walls of the arteries which can contribute to high cholesterol.

Reproductive Wellness & the Liver

The liver is responsible for not only cleaning and detoxifying but also for breaking down fats via its production of bile, which is ultimately stored in the gallbladder. It makes sure that these fats are carried to the various parts of the body where they are needed. When liver function is impaired the breaking down of fats is impaired which will result in an abundance of the hormone estrogen in the blood.

Estrogen is a class of three hormones that are associated with, among other things, fat content of the body. Estrogen also stimulates cell growth which means too much estrogen can contribute to the onset of various cancers including those of the reproductive organs in both men and women. When liver function is impaired it isn’t able to deactivate hormones such as estrogen, which is often already in excess in both men and women due to our intake of non-organic foods, and other environmental toxins. After hormones have performed their function they must be deactivated by the liver. Failure of a hormone to be deactivated after its purpose has been fulfilled results in sickness and or disease. In the case of estrogen, in both sexes it can lead to cancers of the reproductive organs, breast cancer, and horrible PMS and menstrual cycles in women; not to mention the harmful mental effects that excess estrogen can cause.

Nutrition and the Liver

If the liver is impaired from doing its job in activating nutrients (from the foods we eat) into their bioactive forms, then not only will a well thought out eating protocol be virtually useless, but even the most high end quality supplement that touts its ability to be well-absorbed by the body, will be useless at best and perhaps even slightly toxic.

The liver is the primary regulator of protein synthesis. It can transform one amino acid into another as needed by the body. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and proteins are the building blocks of muscle tissue.

IS YOUR LIVER TOXIC?

Many things can contribute to a toxic liver condition. I have included a few here for your review.

Your liver is being compromised if….

You routinely consume large amounts of overheated, hydrogenated, "junk food" fats Fried foods and hydrogenated oils like margarines and cheap cooking oils are a major source of liver-toxic lipid peroxides (rancid fats) and trans-fatty acids (abnormally structured fats). Lipid peroxides are powerfully immune suppressive, and damage liver cell membranes.

You routinely consume non-organic Coffee Harmful carcinogenic hydrocarbons are produced during the production of coffee and non-organic coffee is of course sprayed with pesticides that are toxic to the body.

You consume alcohol on a regular basis Alcohol is toxic to the body and the liver must break down toxins so that the body can rid itself of them before they can do harm. Chronic alcohol drinkers never allow their body’s adequate time to rid itself of alcohol before inundating it with more alcohol which in turn leaves the toxicity of alcohol residue in the body and it’s extremely damaging to the liver.

You smoke on a regular basis: There is no way around it people, smoking is toxic especially tobacco and the liver must take measures to clean the toxins produced by harmful smoke.

You are a regular driver in crowed cities Diesel: exhaust contains in excess chemicals which are damaging to overall wellness.

You are using birth control pills The untold truth about birth control pills is truly alarming and its immediate and long term effects on women’s health is an atrocity… not to mention the harmful effects of residue from the birth control pills that ends up in our water supply via a woman’s urine. The liver is already responsible for breaking down of the body’s naturally producing hormones like estrogen (synthetic estrogen is a main component in birth control pills). When the liver now has the added task of metabolizing a synthetic estrogen it’s a recipe for disaster.

This disaster manifests itself in many ways including the stereotypical ‘spiteful’ and ‘irrational’ behavior many women seemed to be plagued with. Estrogen again isn’t one hormone, it’s a class of three hormones. Estroil, Estrone and Estradiol. Estradiol is the estrogen essentially associated with hyper emotional states, explosive temper, and obsessive compulsive tendencies. Does this sound like you or someone you know?

You have Candida yeast overgrowth Candida overgrowth

As I explained in my blog on sugar is a yeast that feeds on sugar. Sugar and yeast produce alcohol and alcohol is toxic to the body in excess amounts, not to mention this yeast overgrowth ferments dietary sugars into other toxic materials.

You have been on prescription or non-prescription drugs on a long term basis

Too many non prescription & prescription drugs will produce toxins for the liver to clean. There is residue left from the use of drugs in the body that can also lead to candida overgrowth. This is not a bias against taking conventional drugs this is just scientific fact. Conventional drug therapies when needed work best when incorporated with natural alternatives so as not to become addicted to them or completely dependent on conventional drugs to do things the body should be able to do for itself when it is in balance. Drugs don’t heal the body, they can be used to aid in temporary relief of symptoms but they don’t heal the body.

With all the magnificent things that the liver does, it is no surprise that human beings have yet to figure out an artificial replacement for the liver’s function. It is truly a marvelous and magnificent organ and gland that we simply cannot survive without.

How can you clean your liver and clean you life?

Cleaning of the liver starts with eating clean food. Since it’s the food we eat that will eventually have to be broken down by the liver then the cleaner the food the better the chances the liver has of performing its job with ease. I stress again a whole foods diet. I know that we all like to indulge every now and again, but I am simply asking you to be more mindful and considerate of what you put into your body. What we put in is what we get out.

Drinking plenty of good clean water is also key in keeping toxins flushed from the body, so please drink plenty of water, preferably half your weight in ounces per day would be good. Discontinue the over consumption of simple sugars and simple carbs in the diet, refined sugars, packaged and processes foods. All of these items create a stressful environment for the body and for the liver.

Of course alcohol consumption must be kept at a minimum as too much alcohol can lead to a DIS-eased liver. Cleaning the liver with blood cleansing and strengthening herbs will not only aid in liver wellness but it will also contribute to bringing hormones in balance. Some of the those herbs are chaparral, echinacea, red clover, burdock root, dandelion root, yellow dock, and goldenseal. A liver cleansing tonic consisting of lemon, ginger, garlic, olive oil, cayenne pepper, and water can be taken monthly (5-6 days) to cleanse and detox the liver.

Limiting one’s exposure to environmental toxins as much as possible will also do your body and liver good. This includes house hold toxins that come in the form of, electronics, cleaning supplies, and furniture, etc. Unplugging electronic equipment when not in use not only saves you money but it also saves your liver from extra toxins to clean from your body. You may also consider covering electronic equipment when not in use as well.

Replacing household cleaners with healthier alternatives that don't contain harmful chemicals can also be helpful. The bottom line-when you are in a clean environment mind/ body and spirit you are doing your liver a great service as it is responsible for maintaining your body’s security.

Toxic relationships are also damaging to the liver!!! Everything passes through the liver and is eventually used by the body. If we are in toxic relationships we stress our bodies (we all know this) and therefore when our body is stressed emotionally due to toxic relationships we stress our liver and in return the liver can’t give us the life force, energy and motivation that it’s designed to do. Get out of toxic relationships NOW!

Let’s give the liver what it needs.

Remember your liver daily as you go through your daily activities. Remember that if you are stressed you will stress the liver and if you stress the liver by feeding your body poor quality foods, excessive alcohol, exposing yourself to an excess of environmental stressors, maintaining toxic relationships, etc…then you can be rest-assured that your liver will not be able to perform its functions properly resulting ultimately in sickness of the mind/ body and spirit. Wellness is a choice, you either make it or you don’t, what choice are you making?

Tiffany Newton aka ‘Tiffanydenise’ is a Board Certified Natruopath and Holistic Nutritionist.

Please send your questions or feedback to tiffany@tiffanydenise.com or call Tiffanydenise at 1.866.312.9910.


TREE OF LIFE Vol.1