Most of us don't even think about our livers until we're in pain, but it's so important we can only live a day or two if it shuts down.
Located in the lower right quadrant of the abdomen, the liver is where health begins. It supports every system. It is the primary detoxifier for whatever we eat, inhale or absorb and it converts food to energy and stores it as glycogen. As doctors at The Cleveland Clinic point out, the liver also stores fat-soluble vitamins such as D and E.
The liver gets easily clogged, especially these days with so much processed and chemicalized food, pollution and so many environmental toxins. You need to feed and nourish it to keep it functioning optimally.
Don't Spew Your Bile at Me!
If you're constantly ill-tempered or anxious, you're said to have an angry liver. The liver is often referred to as the "seat of anger."
Many Chinese and Ayurvedic medical practitioners equate chronic anger to poor liver function. In fact, there are numerous examples, based on Chinese research, says the National Institutes of Health.
Talk about a vicious cycle. If you're angry, you aren't happy. If you aren't happy, you probably won't feel much like meditating, praying, thinking positively, practicing gratitude or performing little acts of kindness -- all things to help get you out of that low vibration.
If your liver is not working well, you'll also experience:
Weighty Issues
Toxins are stored in the fat cells, adding up to bigger butts and bellies. Dr. Mark Hyman compares a clogged liver to when the trash collectors go on strike -- waste builds up, it becomes a breeding ground for illness, and your body basically becomes a toxic waste dump.
Hormone Havoc
Overweight women are especially estrogen dominant and this is why: The liver stores hormones and converts fat to energy and, says the Harvard Medical School Health Guide, it can't handle excess. The more fat cells you have, the more get created -- until those fat cells get out of control and actually become an organ, producing estrogen for women and converting testosterone into estrodial for men, leading to an imbalance.
Digestive Disruption
The liver shares a common bile duct with the gallbladder. Bile helps us digest and when the liver is congested, you don't absorb properly, you experience stomach pain, discomfort and possibly gall stones.
What Should You Do If Yours is Angry?
•Feed it well. Kale, garlic, red beets, avocado, lemon, grapefruit, apples, olive oil and walnuts support the liver.
•Avoid alcohol, fried, fatty, smoked and salty foods.
•Use medications, paint thinners, pesticides and anything that can harm it carefully.
•Drink water, because it also flushes toxins and transports nutrients.
•Exercise regularly, since toxins come out in sweat.
•Practice stress reduction. Stress causes inflammation, impairs blood flow and contributes to liver cell death by releasing other harmful rogue cells.
•Supplement. Milk thistle and dandelion root, especially, support liver health.