Cleansing Your Liver For Weight Loss

Weight Loss Is Affected By Your Liver

I saw a female patient recently who had a list of symptoms which pointed me straight away to her liver. I was however perplexed as to why she had a liver problem. Her liver enzymes were abnormally high reflecting liver inflammation and her liver ultrasound showed a fatty liver. I told her the reason she could not lose weight was that her liver was inflamed and overworked but why?

She complained of:

• Bad breath
• Chronic back pain

She did not have a bad diet, she did not drink excess alcohol and she did not smoke. She did not have hepatitis or any other causes of liver disease. She was not on any prescription medications.This lady had come to see me because she wanted to lose weight and look nice in her clothes as she was tired of wearing baggy clothes to hide her large abdomen.

I probed a bit deeper and discovered that her chronic back pain was the biggest health problem she had and that she took anti-inflammatory drugs and codeine every day to quell the pain. I explained to her that unless we could control her back pain without these drugs she would always have a liver and weight problem. If someone overloads their liver with such strong drugs, their liver has to work too hard to break down these drugs, and there is less energy left in the liver to burn fat. The liver is the major fat burning organ in the body and regulates fat metabolism a healthy liver burns fat whereas an overloaded liver stores fat.

Are Liver Detoxes Harmful

The answer is: potentially.

Many of us perceive herbal supplements and other natural remedies as safe, maybe even safer than prescription drugs. But that safety halo isnt always justified.

They can build up in your body, and because we dont know much about them, there can be bad effects because of them, Cox-North explains.

She uses green tea extract as an example. Its included in many liver cleanses, weight loss supplements and other detox products.

There have been reported cases of liver injury thats occurred from taking green tea extract, she says.

Before you freak out, that doesnt mean you should stop drinking green tea. It just means that taking it regularly as a supplement or drinking multiple cups a day may not be the best idea and thats true of many other nutrients that are healthy in smaller doses.

And if you consider wasting your money on products that arent doing anything to make you healthier a type of harm, then yes, liver detoxes are clearly harmful.

People spend a lot of money on these supplements its appalling how much, says Cox-North.

Herbal Supplements To Cleanse Your Liver

Similar to the foods that help your liver perform its job more adequately, there are several herbal supplements that can stimulate the toxin filtration system that naturally occurs within your body.

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Fact: Some Ingredients Can Help You Lose Weight

The three most important factors to help you lose weight are calorie intake, calorie use, and diet quality.

Calorie intake: The recommended daily calorie intake is approximately 2,000 to 3,000 calories for adult men. Your doctor can provide you with a range tailored to your individual health profile.

Calorie output: Exercise is necessary to burn calories and lose weight. Diet changes alone dont work well or long term. Moving and using up calories help the body eliminate extra weight.

Diet quality: While calories are important, if youre eating a lower-calorie diet and all of those calories come from processed junk food, you may still be unable to lose weight.

Processed junk food is low quality. To assist your liver in functioning at its best and to help you lose weight, choose high-quality foods instead.

This includes a variety of:

• vegetables

Currently, no evidence exists to prove that liver cleanses protect against liver disease.

There are more than 100 different forms of liver disease. A few common ones include:

• hepatitis A, B, and C
• alcohol-related liver disease
• non-alcohol-related liver disease

The two biggest risk factors for liver disease are drinking alcohol excessively and having a family history of liver disease.

How Can We Help

At Verde Valley Naturopathic Medicine, Dr. Hayman and Dr. Bailey can assist you in developing a personalized plan for you liver health. With the tools of naturopathic medicine in hand, they specialize in finding the source of the problem and not just treating the symptoms. So whether it is the liver and/or other problems, they can help.

Please contact us today to schedule your next appointment.

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Cant Lose Weight Try A Liver Cleanse

Jan 3, 2019 | Nutrition |

As we start a new year, many people want to finally get their weight down to a healthier level. Sometimes well known methods like decreasing portions, counting points or changing your food choices just dont work so well. Have these methods not worked out for you? You may be one of many people suffering a hidden problem blocking your weight loss efforts. You may have a low functioning liver due to lack of needed nutrients or over-exposure to pollutants. When you have this problem, your liver cant clean your blood well and you cant lose weight until you give your liver a little help. A liver cleanse might be what you need to start a successful weight loss effort.

How does a sluggish liver cause a problem with weight loss?

Your liver does over a hundred different functions for your body. One of these functions is to neutralize waste products and toxic substances and clean them out of your bloodstream. Then your liver sends the neutralized toxins to your kidneys, bowel, lungs, or even your skin for elimination from your body.

However if your liver is sluggish and cannot do this job well, the toxins build up in your blood stream and can damage your body and brain. But your body will try to protect you from this build up by storing the toxic products in extra fat cells. These fat cells dont want to give up the fat because they have the waste products trapped inside..This is when you have a real hard time losing weight no matter how hard you try.

How To Do A Fatty Liver Detox For Weight Loss

Allowing the liver to use its stored fat by fasting is one of the quickest ways to lose weight and reverse fatty liver. Although, many people can struggle with fasting.

A detox shake helps to curb hunger while providing the liver with nutrients to detox for weight loss. Having a low-calorie shake full of micro-nutrients and amino acids is an easy way to jump-start weight loss.

Mix a scoop of optimal detox powder into a cup of nut milk with ice cubes and, youre done! It is that simple to make a liver detox, weight loss shake.

Fish oil is another great nutrient for weight loss as it has been shown to prevent fatty liver. Eating fish, flax seeds, and chia seeds are fantastic sources of anti-inflammatory omega-three fats.

Phosphatidylcholine is a crucial nutrient for fatty liver detox as it is needed to transport fats out of the liver. If fats build up in the liver due to fats not being transported out, fatty liver can develop.

Phosphatidylcholine also promotes bile flow from a sluggish gallbladder. Good bile flow is crucial for liver detox and weight loss.

Your phase 3 liver detox is where your liver dumps the toxins ready for elimination into the bile. Phosphatidylcholine is an essential nutrient involved in phase 3 liver detoxification.

Think of phase 3 liver detoxification as the last doorway involved in liver detox. That detox door via bile flow from the gallbladder needs to be wide open.

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Function Of The Liver

The main function of the liver is to process nutrients absorbed from the small intestine. Bile from the liver secreted into the small intestine helps the body digest fat. In addition, the liver is where the body produces chemicals that you need to function. It takes the raw materials absorbed by the intestine and turns them into chemicals that the body needs. As well as helping to produce beneficial chemicals, the liver also detoxifies the body of potentially dangerous chemicals.

Eat Fresh Grapes And Other Fruits Regularly

White grapes, purple grapes ⦠it doesnât matter. They are a natural source of antioxidants that help activate bile production. They also have anti-aging and heart-protective properties, thanks to their content in a very particular antioxidant: resveratrol. It is one of those fruits most suitable for health. Do not hesitate to consume it when it is in season!

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To Cleanse Your Liver And Lose Weight Quickly Drink Turmeric Detox Tea

Here is a Powerful Turmeric Detox Tea To Cleanse Your Liver & Lose Weight Fast at home! This is one of the best liver cleansing drink to date that actually gets results fast! If you have been trying to lose weight without success, this drink will help you lose at least 10 pounds within the first 4-5 days of consuming it.

Note: If you are on and high blood pressure medications, please consult your doctor before beginning this weight loss & liver cleanse drink.

How The Liver Cleans The Body

So, why dont you need to detox your liver? Because its already an expert at cleansing itself. Its job is to filter your blood and provide nutrients to the rest of your body.

After your blood picks up nutrients from your gut, its first stop is the liver. Liver cells called hepatocytes process and package those nutrients. They also metabolize and excrete toxins, rendering them harmless.

Another set of cells in the liver called macrophages help rid the blood of dead cells and cellular debris and help clear the blood of any invading microbes.

Your liver is designed to take care of itself, Cox-North says.

Aside from being self-sufficient, its also regenerative its one of the few organs in your body that can actually repair itself and has the ability to grow new cells after it has been damaged.

However, this ability is limited if your liver is severely damaged. So as awesome as your livers regenerative abilities are, it doesnt mean you should stop practicing healthy habits to keep your liver in top shape.

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Eat More Vegetables And Leafy Greens

Spinach, watercress, Brussels sprouts, arugula, endive ⦠are ideal to help us cleanse the liver and intestine of accumulated waste and toxins. Besides, its chlorophyll content helps us detoxify the body, which is also very convenient.

Read: Why is it important to eat fruits and vegetables according to the WHO?

Why Is It Necessary To Purify Your Liver

Basically, your lifestyle, the unhealthy and imbalanced food that you eat, and a lack of exercise are all key reasons to purify your liver.

Its important to do a liver detoxification diet once in a while in order to improve your liver functioning and increase your energy levels. Afterwards, you may even be more willing to do physical activity, wake up earlier, work harder at work or at school, etc.

In general, you will feel a lot better in many ways. Some people say that their skin type even changes: they stop having acne, for example. No matter what, the majority of the people who do a liver detox notice positive health results.

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Does Anything Actually Help Cleanse The Liver

Most liver cleanse products involve herbs, vitamins, supplements or a combination of those things.

The problem is that none of these types of products are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, meaning theres no science to prove they have any impact on your liver, Cox-North says.

A few things, like milk thistle or turmeric, that have been popularized as liver detox solutions, could potentially be healthy for your liver, but theres not enough research to prove that theyre helpful or safe.

There may be a single ingredient in a liver cleanse that does have some data to show it might be helpful with inflammation of the liver. But for the most part, we tell people not to take them, Cox-North says.

Why? Because some of those supplements might not be as harmless as they seem.

Saturday Hydrate Hydrate Hydrate

During detoxification, more toxins are likely to be released, says Claire. Ensure you drink at least two litres of filtered water a day to help excrete them. Your intake can include herbal teas. Dandelion and peppermint help to support detoxification by stimulating bile flow. Peppermint also relaxes bile ducts, helping to break down fats. Turmeric is a powerful liver protector, so try a turmeric latte or tea, says Claire.

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Benefits Of A Liver Cleanse

The liver, which is the bodyâs largest solid organ, carries out many functions necessary for survival, including blood detoxification and purification as well as metabolism of fats, proteins and carbohydrates. Since the average person consume various forms of toxins from food, water, and drugs daily, the importance of the liver is not to be overlooked.

In fact, good health is impossible without the proper functioning of the liver. Unfortunately, in our society, there is a tendency to abuse and overtax the liver. Despite this trend, the liver has an astounding ability to regenerate itself, if given the chance.

You may be wondering what a liver cleanse can do for you. Well read below to discover 4 reasons we highly recommend doing a liver cleanse.

The Benefits Of Green Tea

Youve already heard about all the benefits of green tea, which is rich in antioxidants that help detox, as well as boost the metabolism. Because of the catechin content, its also good for improving liver function.

It should be taken at breakfast or early afternoon. Green tea never fails its a delicious remedy and will really help improve your health.

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By now your liver will be working more efficiently. Find time to exercise, as toxic metals can be excreted through sweat. Gentle walking, cycling and jogging away from traffic can lessen the toxic burden of exhaust fumes and help the lymph system circulate waste products away from the liver, says Claire.

She advises against swimming, as chlorine adds to the toxins your liver has to process. Book a hot yoga session or sauna and massage to help the liver excrete those circulating toxins, she suggests.

Myth #: Liver Cleanses Can Correct Existing Liver Damage

Liver cleanses have not been proven to treat existing liver damage, saysWoreta, but there are many other forms of treatment available for thosewho are affected. Here are a few types of liver disease and theiravailable treatment options:

• Hepatitis A and B. You should be vaccinated against hepatitis A and B if you are not immune or have any other underlying liver disease. Highly effective oral medications for patients with chronic hepatitis B infection are available as well.
• Alcoholic liver disease. All alcohol consumption should cease in order to allow the liver the best chance for recovery. The liver has an amazing ability to regenerate and heal once active injury has been stopped.
• Hepatitis C. Highly effective, well-tolerated oral medications now exist to treat hepatitis C.
• Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The most effective treatment for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is weight loss, which has been shown to decrease the amount of fat in the liver and the inflammation caused by the fat.

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How Do I Know If I Need A Cleanse

There are some early warning signs your liver may be overtaxed: excessive fatigue, hormonal imbalances, bloating and excessive gas, heavy metals toxicity, and poor sleep. Because toxins are eliminated out of the body through our stool, poor digestive function may be another sign your liver needs support.

Signs You Might Need A Liver Cleanse Or Detox

Think back to the time in your life when you felt the healthiest. How does your current state compare? If you feel significantly less vital, then it could be a sign that your liver needs some support or that your diet and lifestyle need a general overhaul. Here are some signs your liver needs a little support:

• You crave sugar often.
• You experience frequent gas and bloating.

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