Liver cleansing...

Hello world!

I've been a little bit MIA the past couple of weeks. I've wanted to do this post for a week now but have just been busy. I'm gearing up to do a big liver cleanse so this is fitting. As you all know, I'm a huge proponent of juicing, drinking hot lemon water and anything else that can truly detox your system after all of the years of medications.

Last month I had posted about the benefits of drinking hot water with lemon (and honey sometimes) and my dad asked a few questions about it but said nothing else after that. Last week he had this to report: " I got results yesterday on blood work done last week. For several weeks prior, I have been drinking (twice daily) a cup of HOT water with 2 tbls of lemon juice, 1 tbls apple cider vinegar, 1 tbls raw honey, and a dash of cinnamon. My good cholesterol was UP, my bad cholesterol was DOWN, triglycerides were DOWN, sugar was DOWN, liver function was BETTER!!!" 

For my dad, that's huge. When I was eight, he had a massive heart attack, quadruple bypasses and has had multiple heart attacks since. In the past couple of years since I started my journey, he has lost quite a bit of weight, too. I'm proud of him for trying to help his own cause. It's not always easy but any improvement to your health is a good thing. 

So let's talk about the liver and why it's so important. The liver is the largest organ inside the body and it filters over 32oz. of blood per minute. The liver has more than 200 functions and plays a role in nearly all body functions such as digestion and conversion of nutrients, eliminating waste, producing bile for fat digestion, energy and nutrient storage, controlling cholesterol levels, monitoring natural hormonal balance, producing immune factors to fight infections, detoxifies the blood by filtering toxins such as alcohol, medications, pesticides, environmental chemicals, dead cells, cigarette smoke, air pollutants and natural waste from digestion and respiration. So is it a coincidence that by improving his liver function, his cholesterol has improved? No, not at all.

Below is an excerpt from Cherie Calbom's website, http://www.juiceladycherie.com. I have a few of her books and have done several cleanses that she talks about.

"The liver is a prime place for the body to store toxins that can’t be excreted. Highly toxic chemicals can pass through the liver, including residues from pesticides and herbicides. And it doesn’t take a megadose of toxins or irritating substances to weaken the liver of some individuals. It can be damaged by a variety of medications, alcohol, and viruses.

Alcoholics are notorious for having bad livers because alcohol is a powerful liver toxin. Over time, heavy drinkers can develop severe scarring of the liver and loss of cells in that vital organ. Chronic heavy drinkers with damaged, poorly functioning livers are also at high risk of liver cancer. This is a result of the chronic scarring, inflammation, and exposure to toxins. But it may not be only heavy drinking that causes problems for some people. Researchers have found even small amounts of alcohol can cause fat deposits in the livers of susceptible individuals.

As a consequence of our modern diet, many people have considerable congestion and even gallstones in their liver. This may be true even though a person has not had a history of gallstones. Gallstones in the liver are an impediment to acquiring and maintaining good health, youthfulness, and vitality. They are, indeed, one of the major reasons people become ill and have difficulty recuperating from illness or recovering from disease.

Liver congestion and stagnation are quite common, yet conventional medicine has no way to determine this. Relying on blood tests for diagnostic purposes concerning liver congestion is inadequate. Most people who have a physical ailment have perfectly normal liver enzymes in the blood, despite suffering liver congestion and stagnation. Liver enzymes become elevated in the blood only when there is advanced liver cell destruction, as in hepatitis or liver inflammation. Liver cells contain large amounts of enzymes, and when they are ruptured, the enzymes enter the blood and signal liver abnormalities. By then, the damage has already occurred. It takes many years of congestion before such an event becomes possible. Therefore, cleansing the liver is an excellent preventative measure as well as a healing, restorative, and rejuvenating practice."

Symptoms of a Toxic Liver

• Abdominal discomfort
• Aches and pains
• Brown spots on the face and hands
• Dark circles under the eyes
• Anal itching
• Bad breath
• Body odor
• Sallow or jaundiced complexion
• Whitish or yellow tongue coating
• Digestive problems (belching and flatulence)
• Dizziness
• Drowsiness after eating
• Fatigue
• Frequent urination at night
• Migraine headaches or headaches that involve a feeling of fullness or heaviness in the head
• Inability to tolerate heat or cold
• Sleeplessness (insomnia)
• Loss of memory or inability to concentrate
• Irritability
• Loss of sexual desire
• Lower back pain
• Malaise
• Menstrual problems
• Nervousness and anxiety
• Pain around the right shoulder blade and shoulder (also connected with gallbladder congestion) Puffy eyes and/or face
• Red nose
• Small red spots on the skin (either smooth or raised and hard— known as cherry angiomas)
• Sinus problems
• Allergies
• Candidiasis
• Constipation
• Hemorrhoids
• Cellulite
• Premenstrual syndrome

Benefits of Cleansing the Liver

• Clearer, brighter complexion
• Dark circles disappear from under the eyes
• Some age spots may disappear
• Digestion improves
• Weight loss becomes easier; cellulite goes away
• Energy increases
• Sleep improves; need to urinate during the night improves
• Aches and pains disappear
• Headaches often cease
• Memory improves
• Mood is better
• Allergies go away
• Facial puffiness disappears

After the decade and a half that I spent on such toxic medications, I frequently do a series of cleanses, liver being one of them. If your liver isn't functioning properly, the rest of your body wont either. 

xoxo