LIVER/GALL BLADDER DETOXIFICATION
After the bowel, the liver is the next most important organ to cleanse or detoxify. The liver is truly amazing; it is your body’s own detoxifying organ. It daily prevents death by changing every chemical, toxin or drug that circulates through your body into non-toxic byproducts, which are excreted in the bile out into the intestinal tract, enabling you to get the bad out regularly. For example, when you drink a can of diet pop with Nutrasweet, your liver changes the aspartame (the sweetener in Nutrasweet) into a nontoxic chemical to be removed via bile into the small intestinal tract.
The liver does this for everything you breathe, drink, or eat. All chemicals, toxins and medications must be detoxified by the liver, or they would cause you great harm. Air pollution, chemicals like fluoride and chlorine in water, and of course all the toxins in food—all of it has to be broken down by the liver. The problem arises when too many of these chemicals and toxins enter our body. The liver is already working hard enough to keep chemicals and byproducts made inside the body from making the body toxic. When we pour in more chemicals and toxins from the outside, the liver can get overworked.
Chemicals and toxins to be detoxified are either exogenous (from outside the body) or endogenous (by product of cellular metabolism from inside the body.) Adam and Eve’s livers just had to deal with endogenous chemicals, because they lived in a pure world. But today, our liver must work double-time, working equally hard on both exogenous and endogenous toxins and chemicals. The end result is toxic buildup in the blood, because the liver simply cannot do it all.
We’ve illustrated this principle with the image of an air filter in a closed room with a fire in the fireplace. If the flue is partially closed, the air filter can do its job and clear the room of any smoke. But if the flue is closed completely, the air filter can’t keep up with the demand, and the room will remain full of smoke. In this illustration, the original smoke in the room represents the regular endogenous cellular byproducts of metabolism that must be purified daily to keep you healthy. The added smoke resulting from the closed flue represents the exogenous toxins and chemicals from this world which cannot be cleared.
So we need our livers to get the bad out, to get rid of the smoke, so to speak. This is the purpose of the liver detoxification program, which essentially opens the door and windows and lets all the smoke out so you can start clean and fresh—this time without adding more smoke to the room.
Remember that your liver was designed to handle the endogenous load, but not the exogenous load of today’s environment. Because our environment is toxic, our liver becomes overburdened and toxic. Unfortunately, we can’t get rid of all exogenous toxins by modifying our environment, because the air around us is loaded with chemicals and pollutants. But we can choose foods and water that will reduce the toxic overload on our livers. We can choose preservative-free, pesticide-free and herbicide-free organic food. We can choose distilled water or reverse osmosis water, as opposed to tap water. Every bit helps to keep your liver working properly and prevent internal toxicity.
Without your liver, you would die immediately. People with colon/rectal cancer have a better survival rate than people with liver cancer, because you can live without a colon, but not without your liver. Liver cancer prevents the liver from functioning properly, resulting in toxic and chemical overload on your body and, ultimately, death.
Many components are helpful for toxins to be neutralized for excretion.
They are
1) Silymarin (milk thistle), a powerful herb that is very liver protective and is a liver-specific antioxidant, meaning it helps liver cells live longer and break down less due to the oxidizing effect of detoxification, which is very corrosive to the liver.
2) Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage) contain sulfur, which supports liver detoxification
3) Alpha linolenic acid, which is found in flax seed oil, from the omega three-fatty acid family.
4) Vitamin C and bioflavonoids found in red and green peppers, powerful antioxidants that help protect the liver against oxidative damage.
5) Vitamin E, from seeds, which improves the liver’s oxygen radical detoxification system.
6) Beta-carotene (carrots, yams), which aid the liver’s antioxidant properties.
7) Trace minerals, such as zinc, copper and manganese (seeds, nuts).
What can you do to help your liver?
1) Detoxify the liver 2-4 times a year
2) Stay on Liver Maintenance Program (see appendix) which include the following herbs, organic milk thistle, a liver protectant along with other liver
specific herbs: chaparral - a strong detoxifier and antioxidant, dandelion - a liver tonic, barberry, gentian, oregon grape - bile flow stimulants.
3) Eat as many organic vegetables as possible, especially greens like broccoli, dandelion, kale, collards, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, cabbage and carrots.
4) Do not eat foods that are artificial or have preservatives.
5) Drink and cook with distilled or reverse osmosis water only.
6) Have plenty of food-source antioxidants in your diet, like Vitamins E, C and A, all of which are found in SupremeFood. Vitamin E is also found in whole grains, seeds, Vitamin C in green and red peppers and citrus fruit, and Vitamin A in carrots and yams.
7) Don’t breathe chemical fumes; keep windows open.
8) Exercise regularly, especially rebounding celular exercise; this circulates and detoxifies the blood quicker.
9) Reduce structural misalignments (via spinal manipulation) which cause nerve pressure to liver and decrease liver function.
10) Reduce mental stress; this flows from spiritual health and stress reduction techniques (Mental Health chapter). When we live in the love of God, it brings us joy and peace.
11) Spiritual health gives you God’s love, joy and peace.
After one of my patients went through our bowel and liver detox program for some long-standing health problems, she came into my office amazed, saying, “I can’t believe how great I feel. I haven’t felt like this in years!”
Her statement says it all. Remember GET THE GOOD IN, GET THE BAD OUT