If you had asked me a few years ago what my liver did, I would have said something to do with alcohol…or is that the kidneys?
We should be thankful every day for the liver, especially in modern times. The liver is an amazing filtration system for the blood stream that processes both the nutrients and chemicals we absorb from food. Its purpose is to keep the blood as clean and pure as possible.
It’s important to note that our livers function differently based on genetics. Like the rest of the body, the liver has evolved over thousands of years. So its ability to process certain foods depends on that person’s ancestral heritage and what they have traditionally eaten. Certain people are not genetically predisposed to digesting certain foods. For example, the Japanese are better than Western peoples at processing raw fish.
Many foods common in the modern-day diet greatly challenge the liver. Processed foods, refined sugars, and chemicals contain little (if any) nutrients and many toxins that require filtering. If your liver is constantly taxed with filtering toxic food, it will be less able to eliminate any poisonous chemicals it may encounter. On the other hand, if you’re eating mostly nutritious, fresh food, thus not over-taxing your liver, it will have a better chance to filter poisons that find their way into the body.
Every drug, virus, bacterium, artificial chemical, pesticide, hormone (both taken in or self made) has to be broken down (metabolised) by the enzyme pathways inside the liver cells. This is a massive job for any organ to have to do. If your beleaguered liver becomes completely overworked and congested, it will itself eventually break down. You must, therefore, respect this vital organ and look after it. –Dr. Nishi Joshi
Also important to understand, many toxic chemicals commonly found in modern-day diets are fat soluble and will not dissolve in water. The liver has great difficulty filtering fat soluble chemicals and, as a result, will send them to fat stores. These toxins will remain as fat stores until the body needs to convert them into energy. Simply eating nutritious foods and minimizing toxins will reduce the liver’s likelihood to create fat cells.
Detoxes are wonderful for helping the liver to cleanse itself. Raw dark green vegetables are particularly important for liver cleansing. These vegetables, which include spinach, cabbage, and broccoli, are high in B Vitamins and minerals that the liver needs to cleanse its detoxification pathways.
Source: Joshi, Nish. Dr Joshi’s Holistic Detox. Hodder Mobius, London. 2005.
