Flushing My Liver

Throughout my studies I have read of, in many places, the importance of having a clean liver. Ultimately you want every organ to be clean and functioning properly, but the liver is one of the organs that deals with toxins so if it's all backed up it's almost literally full of S-H-I-T.

The liver regulates most chemical levels in the blood and excretes a product called bile, which helps carry away waste products from the liver. All the blood leaving the stomach and intestines passes through the liver. The liver processes this blood and breaks down the nutrients and drugs into forms that are easier to use for the rest of the body. More than 500 vital functions have been identified with the liver. Some of the more well-known functions include the following:

• Production of bile, which helps carry away waste and break down fats in the small intestine during digestion

• Production of certain proteins for blood plasma

• Production of cholesterol and special proteins to help carry fats through the body

• Conversion of excess glucose into glycogen for storage (glycogen can later be converted back to glucose for energy)

• Regulation of blood levels of amino acids, which form the building blocks of proteins

• Processing of hemoglobin for use of its iron content (the liver stores iron)

• Conversion of poisonous ammonia to urea (urea is an end product of protein metabolism and is excreted in the urine)

• Clearing the blood of drugs and other poisonous substances

• Regulating blood clotting

• Resisting infections by producing immune factors and removing bacteria from the bloodstream

When the liver has broken down harmful substances, its by-products are excreted into the bile or blood. Bile by-products enter the intestine and ultimately leave the body in the form of feces. Blood by-products are filtered out by the kidneys, and leave the body in the form of urine. (source)

The reason I am concerned with this is because I get acne right before and during my period as well as having other horrendous symptoms in general (as some of you well know if you have been lucky enough to be around me). I have read that awful period symptoms happen because your reproductive system needs to drain every month, and when the proper drainage channels are clogged up, you get PMS. 

Now, one of the best things you can do for this is a raw diet. I am TRYING to accomplish this, but have had a really hard time getting close to 100% raw lately. I also know that the more dark greens leafy vegetable juice I drink the less my symptoms are. However, sometimes I just can't bring myself to drink 2 huge glasses of dark green juice a day. Maybe that will change once Raw Generation opens it's doors and we are producing this stuff all day everyday. 

I found something else that I am trying. It's a very potent and pungent concoction that is supposed to flush out your liver. I had to make a few modifications because the original recipe seemed very unpalatable. 

Original Liver Flush

• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 c. lemon juice
• 3-5 cloves garlic
• 1 knob ginger root
• 2 c. orange juice
• cayenne pepper to taste

My Liver Flush

• 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 whole lemon, peeled
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 knob ginger
• 2 whole oranges, peeled
• sprinkle of cayenne pepper
• water and ice
• DIRECTIONS: blend all until thoroughly chopped up and mixed.

I drank one this morning. It was intense. I'm not going to lie. I almost gave up. If I had put any more garlic I wouldn't have been able to drink it. But I am going to try it once a day for as long as I can stand it and see if I notice any differences. The one thing I'll tell you I noticed this morning was that about 10 minutes after I finished it I had to go #2. So maybe it does move things along and force your liver to dump the toxins into the intestines. We'll see! Only time will tell. If any of you are interested in flushing out toxins I suggest starting very slow. One of the side effects of the juice cleanses that are so popular now is getting very sick (a topic for another post- maybe tomorrow)

Wish me luck!