Our Over-worked Liver and Weight Gain
Our Overworked Liver and Weight Gain Weight gain is a problem that most of us experience at some point in our lives. Generally as we grow older, the fat that was so easy to keep off as a healthy young teenager,now begins to stick around the waist line and many other unwanted places. We go on diets and drink slimming teas, try jogging,cutting down on calories, but nothing seems to bring to us the permanent weight loss that we desire.My plan is no quick fix, but is one to get to the root cause of the problem of weight gain and help to bring about a healthy detoxification, through the cleansing of the liver and kidneys and the cleansing of the entire digestive system, without compromising your healthOne of the most important organs in your body for keeping your weight down is your liver. There is nothing more, that you can do for yourself to control your weight, than keeping your liver healthy! When your liver is sluggish every organ in your body is affected and your weight loss efforts are blocked.
The liver performs more than 400 different jobs, and is the body’s most important organ, functioning as a filter to cleanse the body of toxins, metabolize protein, control hormonal balance and produce immune boosting factors. Your liver is a work horse that can even regenerate its own damaged cells! Your liver, however, is not invincible. When it lacks essential nutrients, or when it is overwhelmed by toxins, it no longer performs as it should. Hormone imbalances may develop. Fat may accumulate in the liver and just under the skin, or in other organs. Toxins build up and get into the blood stream.
Among the signs of a toxic liver, are weight gain, especially around the abdomen, cellulite, bloating, indigestion, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, fatigue, mood swings depression, and even skin rashes.
Your liver is a fat burning machine. Each day it produces bile, that emulsifies and absorbs fat in the small intestine. Bile is the real key to the liver’s ability to digest and assimilate fats. If there is not enough bile produced, fat cannot be emulsified. if you have a roll of fat around your waist line, you may have what is commonly called a “fatty liver”. Your liver has stopped processing fat and has started storing it. Only when you bring your liver back to full function, would you lose this fat.
The liver is an efficient metaboliser. It metabolises not only fats , but proteins and carbohydrates for use by the body. It converts various amino acids into various proteins that may have a direct or indirect impact upon your weight. Many proteins transport proteins through the blood stream, and hormone balance is critical to avoid water retention, bloating and cravings, as well other health problems. Proteins also help transport wastes, such as damaged cholesterol, and used estrogen and insulin to the liver, for detoxification and elimination through the kidney.
The liver’s most important function, and the one that puts it at greatest risk for damages, is to detoxify the myriad toxins that assault our bodies daily. Working together with the lungs, kidneys, skin and intestines, a healthy liver detoxifies many harmful substances and eliminates them with out contaminating the bloodstream.
Common liver stressors are caffeine from coffee , chocolate, cocoa, tea, and some soft drinks, kola nut, and a host of over the counter medications.
Sugar is also a terrible liver stressor. You may say you don’t use sugar, but you may be ingesting it from, a lot of prepared food quite unknowingly. In the process of being metabolised, sugar robs your body of valuable nutrients, some of which like zinc, are essential for liver function. Sugar also inhibits your liver’s production of enzymes, needed in the detoxification process.
A major liver stressor, is trans fat or trans fatty acids found in solid fats or semi solid fats like margarine. Trans fat impede your liver’s ability to burn fat.
Some medications also cause the liver to work harder. Sometimes it’s best to look for a natural form of healing to replace a synthetic product.
Not eating adequate amounts of fibre can also put pressure on the liver, for fibre helps remove toxins out of the body. For example, insoluble fibres from flax seed oil, absorbs water in the digestive tract and speeds up the time taken to move materials out through the intestines. Without adequate fibre, 90% of cholesterol and bile acids would be reabsorbed and recirculated to the liver. This taxes your liver and reduces its fat burning abilities.
Regardless of the cause, a sluggest overworked liver, does a poor job metabolising fat and you therefore gain weight. So how do we care for a tired toxic liver? Look for a product that cleanses the liver and probably other organs as well. Dr. Miller’s Wholy Tea is becoming very popular among many people today for the effectiveness with which it cleanses not only the liver but the kidneys and the entire bowel system as well. It contains herbs famous for being just those jobs ,especially the cleansing of the liver and bowels .It contains Permisson leaves, Malva leaves, Marshmallow leaves, Golden and Holy Thistle,and is very pleasant tasting