The liver is the body's largest organ, weighing three to five pounds in adults, and is the master organ for creating optimal nutrition for all the 50 trillion cells in your body.  The liver routinely performs over 500 known functions to regulate your cell's metabolism and helps your body by providing it with energy, fighting off infections and toxins, helping clot the blood, regulating hormones and much, much more. 

Here is just a partial list of it's critical functions:

• metabolizing alcohol and other drugs and chemicals,
• neutralizing and destroying poisonous substances.

• producing, storing and supplying quick energy (glucose) to keep the mind alert and the body active,
• producing, storing and exporting fat. 

• transporting substances in the blood,
• clotting of blood,
• providing resistance to infection.

• sex hormones,
• thyroid hormones,
• cortisone and other adrenal hormones.

• produces cholesterol, excrets and converts it to other essential substances.

Yet the liver is probably the organ most assaulted by toxic modern lifestyles, full of pollution, stress, junk foods, drugs, etc. In the U.S. 40,000 deaths a year are due to liver disease. Yet most people will never suffer from hepatitis, cirrhosis, or jaundice, the "classic" liver diseases. Toxic modern lifestyles may however promote "subclinical" liver disfunction such as Fatty Liver Disease which is why it's crucial that you take steps to proactively protect the health of your liver.

Early symptoms of liver dysfunction include dizziness, nausea, tinnitus, pale facial complexion, muscle weakness, weight gain/loss, day and night vision complaints, joint stiffness and/ or a decrease in menstruation quantity.  Liver blood deficiency can be triggered through simple Liver Qi stagnation which could be caused by emotional factors or as a complication from spleen Yang (Qi) deficiency.

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent liver disease in the Unites States, representing an estimated 24% of cases of liver disease!  Studies show that 2-5% of American children over the age of 5 are now affected. 

Thankfully there are Holistic Therapies available to encourage healthy liver function to ensure a healthier you!

How CHIROPRACTIC CARE can help:

Your Chiropractor can help ensure that your liver is functioning optimally in several ways. Most importantly, your chiropractor will make sure that the liver is receiving proper nerve flow by adjusting the vertebral levels that innervate the liver. Cleansing the liver, essentially removing chemicals and metabolic intermediaries, will allow the liver to process the chemicals thoroughly and efficiently. Advising on how to minimize the chemical stresses on the liver will also help. Once the liver is returned to normal functionality, then your body can return to a normal chemical balance.

How ACUPUNCTURE can help:

Want more information?   Schedule an appointment with Dr. Heidi to create a customized wellness plan to optimize your health.

1. Garlic:  activates liver enzymes that helps your body flush out toxins. Garlic also holds high amounts of allicin and selenium, two natural compounds that aid in liver cleansing.

2. Grapefruit:  High in both vitamin C and antioxidants, it increases the cleansing processes of the liver by boosting production of liver detoxification enzymes that help flush out carcinogens and other toxins.

3. Beets and Carrots:  Both extremely high in plant-flavonoids and beta-carotene. Both beets and carrots can help stimulate and improve overall liver function.

4. Green Tea:  This liver-loving beverage is chock-full of plant antioxidants known as catechins, known to assist the livers overall functions. 

5.  Dandelion Tea:  improves the function of and maintains optimum liver, kidney, pancreas, spleen, stomach, and gall bladder functions.

6. Leafy Green Vegetables:  extremely high in plant chlorophylls, greens literally suck up environmental toxins from the blood stream. They help neutralize heavy metals, chemicals and pesticides.

7. Avocados:  This nutrient-dense super-food helps the body produce glutathione, which is necessary for the liver to cleanse harmful toxins. 

8. Apples:  High in pectin, apples hold the chemical constituents needed for the body to cleanse and release toxins from the digestive tract. 

9. Whole Grains:  Grains, such as brown rice, are rich in B-complex vitamins, nutrients known to improve overall fat metabolization, liver function and liver decongestion. 

10. Cruciferous Vegetables:  Eating broccoli and cauliflower will increase the amount of glucosinolate in your system, adding to enzyme production in the liver that helps flush out carcinogens, and other toxins.

11. Lemons & Limes:  high in vitamin C, which aids the body in synthesizing toxic material. Drinking freshly-squeezed lemon or lime juice in the morning helps stimulate the liver.

12. Walnuts:  high in the amino acid arginine, walnuts aid the liver in detoxifying ammonia. Walnuts are also high in glutathione and Omega-3 Fatty Acids which support normal liver cleansing actions. 

 13. Cabbage: helps stimulate the activation of two crucial liver detoxifying enzymes that help flush out toxins. Try eating more kimchi, coleslaw, cabbage soup and sauerkraut.

14. Turmeric:  Try adding some of this detoxifying goodness into your next lentil stew or veggie dish for an instant liver pick-me-up.