05/28/2025
More on Liver Health
According to Chinese medicine the Spring season is associated with Liver Health. And since we’re right in the middle of Spring, it’s not too late to think about your liver and its function. First of all-The liver, which weighs about 3 pounds, is the largest organ in the human body. It performs over 500 functions, including digestion of proteins, mineral storage, bile production and blood filtration. Among its most important jobs are:
Producing important substances. Your liver continually produces bile. This is a chemical that helps turn fats into energy that your body uses. Bile is necessary for the digestive process. Your liver also creates albumin. This is a blood protein that helps carry hormones, drugs, and fatty acids throughout your body. Your liver also creates most of the substances that help your blood clot after injury.
Processing bilirubin. The liver helps your body get rid of bilirubin; a substance found in bile. This happens from the breakdown of your red blood cells. Too much bilirubin in your body can cause jaundice. This is a yellowing of the skin and eyes.
Removing waste products. When you take in a potentially toxic substance, like alcohol or medicine, your liver helps alter it and remove it from your body.
Controlling immune responses. When bacteria, viruses and other harmful organisms enter your body, specialized cells in your liver can find and destroy these organisms.
Maintaining glucose. The liver helps your body maintain a healthy level of blood sugar. Your liver supplies glucose to your blood when it’s needed. It also removes glucose from your blood when there’s too much.
To Maintain and improve your liver function, Try these 9 suggestions to a healthier liver today!
1.Bye Bye Bad Fat
Good fat is good, but bad fat is really bad. If the food is fried, it likely has unhealthy, oxidized.
oils. Skip it! Stick to good, clean fats like coconut oil, avocados, salmon, and olive oil.
skip the late-night snacks. The liver’s regenerative cycle is between 11pm and 3am. If your body is busy digesting food during this time, it disrupts your sleep and the detoxification process. Aim for a 10pm bedtime and 10-12 hours between dinner and breakfast. (Small bedtime snacks allowed to support blood sugar balance.)
2. Be a Toxin Avenger
Make it easier on your liver by reducing the toxins coming into your body. Buy organic foods, drink filtered water, use glass containers for food storage instead of plastic, and choose less toxic skin care products.
3. Fabulous Fiber
Foods rich in soluble fiber help support your liver by binding toxins and moving them on out. Add in chia, flax, fruits, vegetables, beans and oats for a fiber-fueled toxic flush every single day.
4.Herb alert
Milk thistle, with the active constituent of silymarin, has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that support the liver. It may help the liver repair itself by growing new cells.
5. Get Spicy
Lemon zest has a phytonutrient called d-limonene that supports liver detoxification enzymes. Invest in a micro plane grater and make it a breeze to add zest to your morning smoothie or favorite dressing. Or just squeeze fresh lemon juice into a glass of water in the morning.
6. Say Cruciferous
Support the sulfation pathway (especially important for removing excess estrogens) with the addition of cruciferous veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and bok choy.
7. Perfect protein
You need protein but excess amounts can put extra strain on your liver. Choose high quality protein like wild-caught fish or grassfed meats and aim for a little bit with each meal instead of making it your entire meal.
8. Go green!
Your liver really loves greens, especially herbs like cilantro and parsley, and bitter greens like mustard, dandelion, and arugula. Add them to salads, soups, or smoothies. Your taste buds will adjust to the bitter bite in no time and your liver will thank you for the support.
9. Choline Connection
An essential micronutrient, it helps transport triglycerides from the liver and it’s critical for normal liver metabolism. Get it from eggs, non-GMO soy lecithin and avocados.
10. Try a Spring Tonic-Tincture or Tea. Spring tonics are a wonderful way to rid your body of built-up toxins and start preparing for the active warm days ahead. At the Journey Health Shop our hand blended spring tonics are used to stimulate the kidney, liver and gall bladder since these organs tend to accumulate a lot of waste during the winter from being so sedentary and eating a heavy diet. A tonic herb is focused on a particular part of the body and is used to bring it to a proper balance for normal functioning.
Our Spring Tonic contains the following herbs-
Burdock root is a wonderful blood purifier and cleansing tea. It cleanses the liver by stimulating the flow of bile. This herb has also been used to treat skin problems such as acne, psoriasis and eczema which are possible signs of an imbalance in the liver.
Chickw**d speeds fat metabolism and increases overall energy levels.
Cleavers is another classic spring tonic. Cleavers purifies the blood, stimulates lymphatic drainage and is a strong diuretic.
Dandelion Root is a very popular spring tonic and is a wonderful tonic for the liver and gall bladder. It has a mild laxative effect and increases iron absorption.
Nettle Leaf is another popular spring tonic and it’s a very nutritive choice. This herb stimulates the kidneys, cleans the blood and is a great source of iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium. Nettles is a wonderful tonic for the whole body.
Yellow Dock acts as a mild laxative and has a blood-cleansing effect. It is also high in iron.
