Are you experiencing a variety of symptoms and not sure what is causing them? One of the first organs I look to for help is the liver.
The liver is responsible for many crucial functions in the body. Here are a few roles that the liver has:
Detoxification: the liver helps to detoxify out harmful substances and metabolic waste products so that these do not get built up in your body.
Metabolism: we need help breaking down and absorbing the foods we consume so that we can produce energy.
Storage of important nutrients: the liver stores glycogen in the body for energy production when needed as well as being a reservoir for blood.
Production of protein and digestive enzymes: synthesis of albumin, blood-clotting factors, lipase, bile, cytochrome P450, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and alanine & aspartate aminotransferase (ALT & AST).
Regulation of blood sugar: helps with regulation of glucose when eating meals.
Helping out our immune system: helps to filter and remove unwanted substances from the blood (bacteria, virus, fungus, toxic metals, chemicals, etc.).
If our liver is not performing at its best then we may struggle to perform any of the functions above. This can then lead to blood sugar dysregulation, indigestion, poor metabolism, skin issues, frequent illness, and low energy. The liver directly affects the body, but the symptoms may seem very random to people. Here are a few things that you may experience if your liver is not performing at 100%.
Hormone imbalances
Indigestion
Excessive sweating
Underarm odor
Skin issues
Joint pain
Fatigue
Bloating
White coating on the tongue
Skin and eyes may appear yellowish
Pale stool color
Pain in the right upper part of the abdomen
Loss of appetite
Nausea
Vomiting
Swelling in abdomen or extremities
The first few steps that you can take to start helping out your liver is making healthy dietary changes, reducing toxin exposure, supplement with digestive enzymes or necessary nutrients to support the liver, increase water and trace mineral intake, and get adequate amounts of sleep. If you are still experiencing issues even with taking these first few steps then I suggest consulting a functional medicine practitioner for further evaluation.
Comments