Your Body's Largest and Most Important Organ How to Care for Your Liver
December 19, 2009
The liver is the body’s largest gland. It is the only internal organ that will regenerate itself if part of it is damaged. Up to 25 percent of the liver can be removed and within a short period of time, it will grow back to its original shape and size.
The liver is the body’s most important organ, functioning as a living filter to clean the system of toxins, metabolize proteins, control hormonal balance, and produce immune-boosting factors.
Bile is the fluid produced by the liver. Your body produces about a quart of bile per day. Bile is essential for digestion of fats. It aids in the absorption of fat soluble vitamins, helps convert beta-carotene into vitamin A, helps with calcium assimilation and promotes peristalsis which is the action of the colon that helps prevent constipation.
Bile does not function properly when the liver is congested, if the bile ducts are clogged, or if there is a lack of the nutrients necessary to make bile. Without enough bile, the liver begins to store fat rather than break it down. A sign of this is a roll of fat around the waistline.
One of the liver’s most important jobs is to detoxify our bodies. Ordinary digestion of even the best food creates byproducts that the liver must process and help eliminate. Add to that the substances we consume by choice that make the liver work even harder. These include alcohol, caffeine, sugar, synthetic vitamins and prescription drugs. Then add to that the thousands of chemicals that we are exposed to in our everyday environment. These include pesticides, automobile exhaust, second-hand smoke, chemical food additives, and indoor pollutants from paints, carpet, and cleaners. It is no wonder that many of us have livers that are overworked.
December 19, 2009
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