Your liver’s importance to your overall health…
You may have heard friends talk about doing a liver detox. And most people know that too much alcohol can damage the liver, but what do you know how the liver works?
The liver is the largest organ *inside* your body. (The skin is considered the largest organ.) The liver is so essential we cannot live without it. It performs over 500 functions. The liver is about the size of an American football or rugby ball and is located under the lower right ribcage. Like most of the other organs in your body, a large percent of the liver is made up of water. So when you are dehydrated, your liver cannot function properly, cannot perform its 500 functions, and cannot help your body detoxify excess toxins.
The liver is part of the digestive system and acts as a chemical processing factory converting food into glucose. Part of the glucose is used immediately and part is stored for later when you need extra energy. Everything you eat or drink is processed through the liver. Organic, raw or steamed foods are easier for the liver to process. The more chemicals a food contains, the harder the liver has to work.
If you take prescription or over-the-counter drugs, the liver has to work even harder. Some cholesterol medications can affect the functioning of the liver. One of the most common over-the-counter medications, acetaminophen (Tylenol) can damage the liver if taken too frequently. Be sure to read labels as acetaminophen is often found in cold medications and prescription pain pills.
Even your aerosol cleaning products and insecticides can damage the liver.
In addition to being part of the digestive system, the liver cleans the blood. It takes toxins out of the blood and excretes them via fecal matter or urine.
About 80% of the cholesterol in your body is made by the liver. This is the good cholesterol that is needed for growth and good health. And the liver helps your blood clot and stop bleeding. It also stores the water soluble A, E, and K vitamins.
In addition to drinking plenty of water and avoiding excessive amounts of alcohol, what else is good for the liver? Surprisingly, a number or reports say coffee is good for the liver and even tea. The liver likes good fats that are found in olive oil, fatty fish, and nuts. Cruciferous vegetables are a must for a healthy liver diet as well as blueberries, cranberries and grapefruit (though be careful as grapefruit can interfere with certain medications). Less common sources of good nutrients are beetroot juice and prickly pears.
How does reflexology help the liver? When pressure is applied to the liver reflex point the belief is the liver is stimulated to release stored toxins and work more effectively. And this is one of the reasons why you are encouraged to drink extra water after every session, to help flush those toxins out of the body.
And an interesting side note, every vertebrate, every living being with a spinal cord has a liver.
Here’s to a happy and healthy liver this year! We can give it some reflexology love too,