Liver Lovin'!

I remember being amazed by the liver when I learned about it at school several years ago. It has so many jobs in our bodies and does them all so well. Since we are entering into the season of overindulgence, I thought that our lovely livers should receive some attention and love.

The liver is the largest but also the most important organ in your body. Our livers work their butts off to keep our bodies functioning well. Here are just a few things that this organ does for us:

• Eliminates toxins that we eat, drink, breathe in, put on our skin etc. 
• Cleans and detoxifies our blood
• Stores and distributes critical vitamins and minerals
• Produces bile, which is essential for digestion of fats (Bile breaks up fats into small pieces so that they can be absorbed by the small intestines)
• Controls the production and the elimination of cholesterol
• Helps to prevent infection in the body by removing bacteria
• Makes clotting factors to help prevent excessive bleeding after an injury. 

That is only a snapshot of the liver's job description, but I think it is probably pretty clear how important it is. 

The liver quietly works in the background. We often don't realize that some of the symptoms that we might be experiencing could be linked to a sluggish liver. 

Symptoms that can be linked to a sluggish liver: headaches, brain fogginess, poor caffeine or alcohol tolerance, difficulty losing weight, high cholesterol, constipation, indigestion, insomnia (particularly between 2-4am)

Lucky for us, our livers are forgiving. Even if you think of yourself as a healthy person, a little liver lovin' never hurts. 

Don't worry, I'm not going to suggest a juice cleanse or a cleanse of spinach and celery! 

This is a simple and quick way to give your liver (and the rest of your body) a little love each morning. It is something that I used to suggest to most of my clients. 

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On an empty stomach, start your day with a large glass of warm water with the juice of half of a lemon in it.  (Must be fresh lemon! No limes and no lemon juice from a bottle) 

Drink it with a straw to protect your teeth. 

• This will help detox your liver
• It will stimulate your metabolism
• Alkalinizes the digestive tract (disease cannot exist in an alkaline body)
• Stimulates bile production, which helps eliminate toxins
• Improves bowel function and regularity 
• It will give your body a hit of vitamin C (good for everyone, especially with winter coming!)

For my clients who had limited time in the mornings, I would recommend that they make 2-3 days worth of lemon water at a time and store it in a jug in the fridge. Boil the kettle each morning and add a bit to warm it up to at least room temperature. 

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Easy enough to do during the busy holiday season, right?! Give those livers some love! :)