Let’s Talk Detox
Your liver is the largest organ in your body.
It is estimated that it has over 500 distinct roles in the body.
It's truly a workhorse.
One of its major jobs is detoxification.
And while you have other organs that help with detoxification (kidneys, lungs, skin), they are secondary to the liver.
We are exposed daily to high levels of toxins through food, water, air, our homes, and personal care products.
These toxins get filtered through the liver, kidneys, and lymphatic system and are stored in fat tissue. Toxic buildup prevents the uptake and utilization of nutrients, carbohydrates, and proteins.
When your liver is SO busy working to filter out all these toxins, it has very little energy left to filter blood, drugs, and hormones let alone do its other job as a digestive organ.
If you struggle with hormonal issues or stubborn weight loss, this may be a contributing factor making shedding pounds more difficult for you.
Your liver is also in charge of converting and excreting excess hormones.
If liver function is sub-optimal, then hormones such as estrogen can build up leading to estrogen dominance, which can cause PMS, crime scene periods, excess weight, hot flashes, and an increased risk for cancer.
The liver is also where a huge chunk of thyroid hormone conversion takes place, and an imbalance in the thyroid slows your metabolism resulting in weight gain.
If you’re exercising, your muscles need fuel and your liver helps produce that fuel, but a clogged liver won’t. If your liver is congested, it can’t effectively fuel your muscles during exercise, and instead, excess glucose gets stored as fat. That fat doesn’t just sit there. It can actually contribute to estrogen dominance, especially in women.
Here are 10 common signs your liver needs some extra love…
Abdominal bloating
Menstrual irregularities
Abdominal fat; pot belly; that “spare tire” effect
Joint and muscle pain
Low energy or fatigue
Acid reflux/heartburn
Body odor
Overheating of the body & excessive perspiration
Acne/Rosacea or itchy, blotchy skin
Unexplained weight gain and inability to lose weight even with calorie restriction
Keeping your liver in working order is a matter of reducing its stressful toxic load AND supporting its natural detox ability.
Don't fall into the false thinking that you don't need to support detoxification because you already have a liver and it's designed to do this already.
Our livers are struggling in this modern world we find ourselves in.
The rates of non alcoholic fatty liver disease has been rising. I see these patterns on my clients lab work all the time… these are healthy women.
Insulin resistance plays a big role in this puzzle. As women experience a natural decline in estrogen during her perimenopausal transition, guess what happens? Insulin sensitivity declines, predisposing her to becoming insulin resistant.
To get a complete picture on labs, I like to look at fasting glucose, fasting insulin, HgA1c, eAg. These markers can help five some insight into if/why your liver may be struggling.
Of course what you're eating is also going to have huge impact. You can think of this as foundational.
Eating a nutrient dense diet with the majority of your food coming from whole, unprocessed sources is the foundation. Getting in a wide variety of fresh vegetables, some fruit, organic, grass fed animal protein (needed for liver conjugation pathways) and healthy fats is the foundation. This is how we get the vitamins and minerals required to keep the machinery running smoothly.
Here are some foods to incorporate on a daily/weekly basis to give your liver some extra love and support (think fresh, green, sour & bitter)
Alfalfa
Asparagus
Basil
Broccoli
Citrus (especially the peel)
Collard Greens
Fennel
Ginger
Kale
Radish (and it's leaves)
Fermented foods
Sprouts & Micro-greens
Aside from diet, one of the biggest things overburdening the liver are things like xenoestrogens that mimic estrogen in the body.
Here are examples of common xenoestrogens you are exposed to often especially if you aren't making a conscious effort to avoid them:
BPA, phthalates, PFAs, pesticides and synthetic fragrance.
The average woman wears between 12-18 products before she even leaves the house every morning. These products often contain xenoestrogens. And while it may not seem like a lot, a little bit here and there add up very quickly.
On a side note: This is especially prevalent with our kiddos these days. The push for skin care and fragrances in tweens and teens is huge.
I could literally smell the fragrance of Tide coming from the back seat of my car while driving one of my son's friends home. I can often smell the scents on my son after his ride home on the school bus (that's just from him sitting next to kids with fragrance on). The phthalates in these products is what makes scent stick. And it's everywhere.
If you see fragrance listed on the label (and it's not manufactured in the EU where safety standards are far superior to the US) throw it out.
That may not make me popular but I think it's worth it!
Want to learn more about about EU and US safety standard, greenwashing and what you can do about it? Click HERE
This is not to shame anyone. But it just illustrates how much exposure there is these days.
Phthalates are linked to ADHD, autism, asthma, obesity, early onset puberty, diabetes, weight gain and thyroid dysfunction just to name a few.
We didn't see these issues when we were kids. It's become an epidemic.
Then there's antibiotics, NSAIDS and prescription medications which adds further burden to the liver and disrupts the microbiome. Yes there's a time and a place. However, the use has been normalized to the point where they are over-utilized without understanding how the body can take a hit from them.
OK… so what to do about all of this? There's a lot we can do!
Here's a list to get you started…
Detox your home. If you'd like my Home Detox Handout with tips, swaps and product recs, hit reply and I'm happy to email it to you.
Include daily self care practices that support your lymphatic system and detoxification. If you'd like Detoxification Self Care Practices Handout, send me an email and I'm happy to send it to you.
Eat powerful detoxifying foods like beets, grapefruit, and dandelion greens.
Get 6-9 servings of vegetables and fruit a day (mostly veg with 1-2 servings of fruit).
Make sure you are pooping every day. If you're constipated, you don't need Miralax, you need to figure out why. Hydration, fiber and ability to digest fats are good starting points
Move your body daily. Bonus points for sweating.
Get sunshine.
Drink clean, filtered water.
Do a detox/cleanse quarterly or at least 1 - 2 times per year. I love the 21 Day Purification Program which is why I lead several groups each year. Click here to get on the waitlist for my next group program.
If you'd like to go even deeper there's a lot of insight a GI Map and DUTCH test can provide. These are the tools I use with my 1:1 clients in my Foundational Wellness Program.
Your liver is doing so much behind the scenes…give it some love this summer. You don’t need to overhaul everything at once. Small changes can make a big difference and your liver will thank you.
If this hits home and you want either of my handouts or a spot on my next 21 Day Day Purification group cleanse waitlist, send me an email: joey@nutrientdenselife.com.
I’d love to help you!