I love going out to my garden to pick greens this time of year.  My garden is flourishing with lettuce, arugula, kale, swiss chard and cilantro.  Nothing tastes better than freshly picked vegetables. How cute is my garden hat from Vietnam?  I hope you are enjoying the spring greens either from you garden or the farmers market. 

I have recently had a number of clients coming to  me with high cholesterol.  They have been told by their doctor if they don't get thier levels down they may have to take medication.  They would prefer to make changes in their diet and lifestyle instead.   Even though they have cut back on the foods commonly assciated with high cholesterol, eggs, diary and meat, their levels are still too high.  They feel very frustrated.  

What is the answer? 

Their liver may need some care.  

 

If you have high or even slightly elevated cholesterol levels your liver may need some care and healing. First let me explain a little about cholesterol.

Cholesterol Defined

Cholesterol is a fat soluble steroid. In fact, it is the most abundant steroid in the body. Far from being harmful, when properly regulated, it is a critically important molecule, essential in the formation of a number of key compounds, including:

• Vitamin D
• Progesterone
• Estrogen
• Testosterone
• Adrenaline

It is also essential in the formation of every cell membrane in your body, not to mention the fact that your brain is mostly made up of cholesterol. We need cholesterol to be healthy. But we need the right amount, not too little, not too much.

Your Liver is Essential for Making and Removing Cholesterol

The liver is central to the regulation of cholesterol levels in the body. Not only does it synthesize cholesterol for export to other cells, but it also removes cholesterol from the body by converting it to bile salts and putting it into the bile where it can be eliminated in the feces.

Here is an example of how it may work. If your liver thinks the ovaries need more cholesterol to produce estrogen, the liver produces new cholesterol, bundles it with a protein in the form of an LDL (Low-density lipoprotein) and sends it into the bloodstream. When that LDL leaves your liver, any cell that needs it can claim it. Your liver can produce about 1,000 mg of cholesterol a day, so this stuff is always present [source: Gordon]. To reclaim unused LDL's, your liver bundles cholesterol into HDL's, (High-density lipoprotein) which pass through your body and collect stray LDL's. When these lipoproteins return to the liver, it clears them.

The HDL are like little Packmen which go around gobbling up the excess LDL.

The vast majority of cases of high LDL cholesterol are caused by a blockage of the liver's LDL clearing mechanism. This occurs when your diet has caused your liver to get clogged. Depending on how many liver cells are blocked, this can lead to anything from a minor rise in cholesterol levels on up to a "you really need to do something about this" level.

High levels of LDL cholesterol (the so-called "bad cholesterol") greatly increase the risk for atherosclerosis because LDL particles contribute to the formation of atherosclerotic plaques.

As I said, HDL is involved in removing the excess LDL. Excess cholesterol is eliminated from the body via the liver, which secretes cholesterol in bile or converts it to bile salts. Low HDL levels ("good cholesterol") can be a health risk, because clearing the cholesterol works to prevent plaque formation, or even cause regression of plaques once they have formed. HDL may also have anti-inflammatory properties that help reduce the risk of atherosclerosis.

While this is a very simplified description of the process of cholesterol in your liver, just know if you have been told you have high cholesterol your liver is already begging for attention. 

Healing and Protective Foods for the Liver Include:

• cilantro
• celery
• sprouts
• onions
• garlic
• grapefruit
• apples
• red peppers
• turmeric
• ginger

Fortunately, for most of us the liver is wildly regenerative. It heals better than most organs in the body! In fact it can regenerate up to 80% of itself, if it is not impaired.

Give your liver some loving care this summer by signing up for the...

Nourishing Foods Summer Cleanse - Restore Your Liver July 15-19

• Are you curious about liver cleansing? The way I do it is very gentle.
• Have you always wanted to do a liver cleanse but just don't know how?

Click here to learn more about the Restore Your Liver Cleanse .

In the meantime here are 2 recipes which will bring some healing to your liver today.

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