Follow Us on Google
The liver is the most important organ to look into when it comes to one’s hormones. Especially for women as you approach 40 and beyond, protecting and supporting your liver is a critical piece to ensure you make the transition to menopause without tears. You should bear in mind that your liver’s primary job is to act as a filter to cycle out toxins, excess hormones, and other junk from your body and prepare them to be safely expelled. Unfortunately, along with hormonal imbalances (especially estrogen) that comes with perimenopause, is an increase in the hormonal burden on your liver during this period. So while it’s busy tackling the everyday toxins you encounter in food, drugs, water, air, cosmetics, skin products/contact etc…now it also has to rev up its functionality to ensure dangerous estrogens aren’t recirculating into your body. When your liver fails to do this efficiently, the most common result is estrogen dominance, which is an epidemic among women over 35.
If you’re dealing with…
•Symptoms of estrogen dominance, including fibroids, intense PMS, heavy periods
•Digestive distress, constipation, and bloating
•Tummy fat that can’t budge, no matter what you do
•Sluggish energy all day and trouble sleeping at night
•Brain fog, headaches or migraines
•Skin issues like eczema, dry skin, or age spots
•Chronic infections and being prone to cold
•Anxiety, depression, and unstable moods and more…
Then be rest assured that giving your liver some tender care is going to make a massive difference in how you feel and how your body functions.
Here are some easy ways you can take to protect and support your liver:
Proper nutrition and diet eliminate and replace inflammatory foods like gluten, dairy, sugar, alcohol with protein, healthy fat and cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, kale, radish, mustard, cauliflower). With the inflammatory foods out of the way, your liver stays a happy one. This way, you protect your liver from damage and ensure it performs its job as it should!
Increase your fiber intake – when one get less than half the fiber needed every day, your digestion may show it. Chronic constipation leads to toxins, hormones, and cellular waste not being eliminated from your body as fast as it should. Consequently, chances are that they could be taken back into your bloodstream, leading to double work for your already overburdened liver.
Check out this simple smoothie to flush away toxins before they cause more damage:
Super greens (dandelion; spinach; Gongronema – utazi in Igbo, arokeke -Yoruba) help your liver detoxify your body and cycle out waste.
Garlic activates liver enzymes to help your body flush out toxins effectively while also protecting your liver from damage
Avocados naturally protect and repair your liver (Don’t throw away the seeds – they are packed with powerful nutrients, too!)
Turmeric is a powerhouse to relieve liver congestion and normalize its function to get it working as it should again
Beetroot is packed with key vitamins like iron, calcium, B vitamins, and antioxidants that your liver needs, and they also absorb heavy metals to speed up the detox process.
Lemon triggers liver enzyme production more than any other food!
Directions:
Choose one or two vegetables from the super greens +
1 inch turmeric, 2 cloves garlic, 1 medium sized beetroot and blend together. Add the avocado, continue to blend until smooth. Then squeeze in the juice of half a lemon. Enjoy!
This combo is one of the safest and easiest ways to quickly increase your daily fiber requirements, kickstart your digestion, and lower overall inflammation.
Supplementation: It may not be so easy to get all the essential nutrients you need through food alone. One may not actually have the time or even the energy to follow through with a diet protocol strictly. That’s when supplementation comes in. Supplements are the easiest and fastest way to experience massive health turnarounds, with minimal effort on your part. Within seconds every day, your body, including the liver, can get supplies of essential minerals it needs to work optimally. Please note- It is always best to speak to your health practitioner before any supplementation.
Some of the liver-supporting supplements include:
Vitamin C- to supply essential antioxidants that your liver needs to detoxify your body and hormones. Take 500 – 1000 mg 2x per day (once in the morning and once later in the day)
Vitamin B complex – Bvitamins protect your liver from damage and are very key in major phases of detoxification. If you wish to use B supplements, take the activated forms. This is easier for your liver to put to use immediately. Take 1 capsule per day, with a meal.
Magnesium- may be the missing cure to a healthy liver. This nutrient is essential for neutralizing and eliminating estrogen from your body. Take about 500 mg per day, about 30 minutes before bed time.
To ensure the junk gets out-Powerful ingredients like zinc, selenium, turmeric, moringa/green tea extract, may provide antioxidants and essential nutrients your body needs to cycle out toxins and restore balance! Try to incorporate them in your regime.
Since your hormone levels are constantly fluctuating and toxins are virtually inevitable in the world we live in, everyone can benefit from these key liver-supporting nutrients!
Liver-supporting essential oils: Essential oils, can work wonders to reduce overall inflammation, speed up the detoxification process, and support your liver’s ability to function at its best. Some of the good liver-supporting essential oils include-lemon, rosemary, turmeric, and frankincense. Be sure to dilute these with a carrier oil before applying directly onto your abdomen around your liver. The amazing healing properties of these oils will help soothe your liver and restore its effectiveness.
