Keep Your Liver Running Clean

A fatty liver isn't something we normally consider when we're feeling out of sorts. But picture this scenario: you're sitting at your desk writing out a report and you have a full, heavy feeling. You're groggy and you can't think. What have you eaten for breakfast and lunch day in and day out? What's happening?

Your Liver's Function

Your liver is the central processor of fats. It specifically produces bile which is stored in the gall bladder. It gets added to the digestive process as foods move from the stomach towards the small intestine through the duodenum. What I've learned is in this 6 inch "tunnel" the bile begins breaking up the fats and oils from globules into tiny particles so it can convert into glycogen for storage in the liver.

Fatty Liver

But the liver can get too much fat. The web site, www.liverdoctor.com, is an excellent source of information. In an article on Fatty Livers, a person who is typically overweight and older than 30 may have Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

According to the article, in a liver that has too much fat, "the liver cells and the spaces in the liver are filled with fat so the liver becomes slightly enlarged and heavier. The liver has a yellow greasy appearance. There may be discomfort over the liver, which is situated in the right upper abdominal area. There may be gallstones composed of cholesterol and bile salts."

The American Liver Foundation states that "eating excess calories causes fat to build up in the liver . . . alcohol abuse, rapid weight loss and malnutrition may also lead to fatty liver."

Cleansing the Liver

A health educator in a business networking group of mine recommends www.liverdoctor.com for its liver cleansing diet. Mary, who writes a regular health column for the Mountain Views Observer published in Sierra Madre, California, had once used butter because she had worked for an environmental nutritionist who didn't like the use of all forms of hydrogenated fats and oils. But a year ago, after blood tests showed unsettling liver enzyme levels, Mary stopped consuming dairy, as well as gluten grains, chocolates and sugars.

Mary said the liver can regenerate, rebuild and repair itself almost faster than any other organ in the body. She recommends taking the nutritional steps to do so. She also says that since she eliminated most fats and glutens many of her aches and pains are gone. She even went zip-lining, rock wall climbing and played some Wii exercise games during a birthday get-together with her sisters.

So if you have lost your zest for living then consider your liver. As Mary pointed out to me, the liver comes from "one who lives." An out-of-balance liver can result in a down feeling. But it's an organ that will respond when the body is given the proper nutrition.