By the time most children are 2 years old, their liver has already begin to experience stress. Just imagine the struggling liver of the average adult! With the constant exposure to chemicals, oils, hormones, antibiotics and preservatives added to foods most people consume every day; combined with a litany of medications, including heartburn medications, it has become essential to care for your liver with a professional cleansing.

The liver has 500 functions, one of which is cleansing the body of toxins. Incredibly, most people maintain their car oil filter far more diligently than they consider cleansing their own body’s filtration system. Chemicals that are carried through the bloodstream to the liver for disposal have to pass through the liver’s P-450 enzymes or P-450 pathways in order to exit the body. A liver that is overwhelmed with toxins has P-450 pathways that are blocked, making the filtration process sluggish. This happens with the introduction of only two medications. It doesn’t even count the other medications, chemicals, coffee, alcohol and even grapefruit juice that may be ingested on a daily basis.

"I’ve had liver tests and they came out fine – How can I tell if my liver is overwhelmed?"
TCM approaches the body organs as if they were sentient entities. In TCM ingesting toxins is not the only thing that overwhelms the liver. Emotional outbursts and irritability have adverse affects on the liver and its ability to keep blood flowing. A liver stressed out with emotions produce the following symptoms:

Stomach distention (inflammation)

Intestinal distention

Acid Reflux

Breast distention

Menstrual issues (flow which is too light or too heavy and fibroids)

Headaches (including migraines)

Redness of the face and eyes

Dizziness

A purple tongue

"How can I safely cleanse my liver?"
Conventional medicine does not include testing for an overwhelmed liver, and there are no remedies in this genre for cleansing the liver. There are herbal remedies available, but if you do not know in what way your liver is stressed or toxic, you can’t really approach it with an appropriate cleansing method.

It is imperative that you have a cleansed colon before cleansing the liver. A blocked colon (constipation) cannot expel the toxins the liver passes along.

To be tested for a stressed out, sluggish liver the safest way to have it cleansed is to visit a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner. They will test you, treat you with acupuncture, and give you specific herbal remedies designed especially for your needs. For information on finding a TCM practioner near you, please read this article Finding a Good Chinese Herbalist. Check with your insurance company to see if they cover acupuncture treatments.

Make this year the year you will step out of an unhealthy lifestyle, and into the best life you can live!



*Please know that I am not a medical doctor or a health practitioner. I cannot diagnose your stomach problems nor can I guarantee a cure. I am here to share my knowledge, which applications have worked for me and to offer suggestions of where you may go physically, emotionally and spiritually for healing and self-empowerment. If you choose to explore alternative medicine, do not independently stop taking your prescribed medications. Always consult with your current doctor as well as your new practitioner when changing your medical program. Find a Naturopath near you.