In What Shape is Your Liver?
In What Shape Is Your Liver?
One of the most important things you can do for your health is to keep the detoxification organs working at peak efficiency. By that, I mean the colon, skin, lungs, kidneys and liver. The proper operation of each of these is critical to continuing good health, but the one which has the most profound and wide ranging effect on the body is the liver.
Simply speaking, anything that the body ingests, absorbs, breathes, or has injected into it will eventually find its way into the liver. The liver is literally the body’s chemical plant, processing a wide range of chemical substances to either return them to the body in usable form or eliminate them through the lower digestive tract or bladder. Two equally important functions of the liver are to break down both toxic substances to which the body may be exposed, and the various hormones which the body uses for organ system regulation, after they have performed their functions.
The latter is an especially important function of the liver for adult males and females. Over time, continued exposure to toxic environmental substances (e.g., industrial chemicals, cigarette smoke, household chemicals, etc.), poor dietary choices, and prescription or over-the-counter drugs can both clog the liver and compromise its detoxification efficiency.
This is an important distinction. Many of you already understand the importance of periodic liver cleanses. However, if your body has been exposed to any of the above toxic influences, cleansing alone may not be enough to restore your liver to peak operating efficiency. The liver not only has to be free from waste material, but its detoxification pathways must also be restored.
How do we address this problem? Fortunately, natural health professionals have some powerful and effective tools at their disposal to identify a poorly functioning liver and take positive, effective steps to correct the situation. A variety of herbal and nutritional remedies can be applied, based on the client’s specific needs, to expeditiously correct the situation.
My experience has been that, provided there has not been extensive chronic damage, a client with a compromised liver will experience a dramatic positive effect in a relatively short time when effective remedies are applied to both clean out and restore the liver. Clients report increased energy, ability to function in ways they have not in many years, and increased immunity to minor illnesses which regularly afflicted them before.
These are but a few of the many benefits which an optimally functioning liver confers on a person’s state of health. Is your liver in good shape? If it’s not in the shape you’d like it to be, come see us and let us help you get it there.
Peter M. McCarthy, ND
Peter M. McCarthy, ND is a nationally board certified traditional naturopath, and a wellness consultant with Martins Compounding and Wellness Centers in Austin, TX. He is the author of Adrenaline Nation: Chronic Stress is Ruining Our Health and Bankrupting Our Economy – Discover What YOU Can Do About It NOW! Trained in both functional blood work analysis and saliva hormone analysis, he is a former member of the Advisory Committee of the American Naturopathic Certification Board. He is available for individual wellness consultations by appointment at Dripping Springs Pharmacy, 100 Commons Road, Suite 1, Dripping Springs, TX, Monday through Friday from 12 pm til 6 pm.