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havana8
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Joined: 09 Sep 2005
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Mon Nov 12, 2007 11:58 am  |
Liver Problems
Symptoms
While the heart pumps and the kidneys regulate and eliminate, the liver functions as a highly complex biochemical laboratory. This vital organ is able to transform nutrients absorbed from foods we eat into substances usable to the body. These include a multitude of enzymes, blood-clotting substances, vitamins and proteins necessary for immune function. The liver is also responsible for breaking down and detoxifying harmful metabolic by-products, hormones and toxins, which are then eliminated via the *gall-bladder or the kidneys. Typical symptoms that suggest liver problems are *jaundice, pale and greasy stools, and discomfort or *pain under the right rib cage. Digestive complaints accompany most liver problems, resulting in *appetite loss, *nausea, bloating or *vomiting of bitter bile. Sometimes the skin itches all over from the effects of bile in the bloodstream.
A fatty and sluggish liver produces very mild digestive symptoms that can pass unnoticed. Difficulty digesting fatty or fried foods often indicates a liver or gall-bladder problem. Hormonal problems such as *PMS and *morning sickness during *pregnancy suggest the liver is not detoxifying quickly enough. Unfortunately, the most serious of liver diseases, *cirrhosis, does not have many obvious symptoms. It is often not recognized until the condition is severe. The liver has an incredible capacity for healing and rejuvenating if the circumstances allow. It continues to function adequately at half its capacity, with only mild outward symptoms.
Causes
The liver is overloaded today with toxic by-products. Virtually all the junk foods, pesticides, hormones and medications we consume today create excess work for the liver. Most packaged and processed foods are filled with artificial substances which are hard on the digestive tract. Fatty deposits impair the liver’s ability to function optimally, and are often caused by the overconsumption of alcohol, or too much food rich in saturated fats and simple sugars but low in fiber. This includes white-flour products, white rice and pasta. Saturated fats should not be confused with the essential fatty acids found in cold-pressed oils like flax seed oil so necessary to many body processes, including the release of bile.
Inadequate bile flow due to gall-bladder problems affects the liver, since the liver manufactures bile. *Hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver caused by infection or poisonous substances, produces a complex of symptoms typical of liver problems. The formation of gallstones is also directly related to diet. *Stress and anger have detrimental effects on the liver and gall-bladder. Poor eating habits, such as eating too hastily and overfilling the stomach, also take their toll. Weighing more than a few extra pounds is also very unhealthy for the liver. Liver disease can affect people of all ages and from all walks of life.
Nutrition
The treatment of liver problems requires a radical change in the diet. The regular consumption of saturated fats in beef and pork, and of trans-fatty acids in margarine, shortening, processed foods and junk foods, constitutes constant abuse of the liver. Eliminate these fats from the diet. The essential fatty acids found in nuts and seeds are needed by the body for proper fat metabolism and liver function, so use cold-pressed, unrefined flax seed, walnut or pumpkin seed oil daily.
Eliminate all white-sugar, white-flour, refined and fried foods. Instead, eat a natural, wholefoods, predominantly vegetarian diet composed largely of fresh raw vegetables and fruits, whole grains, nuts and seeds. Beans, peas, potatoes, brown rice and tofu are good vegetable sources of protein. This diet provides the fiber and enzymes, vitamins and other nutrients needed for the liver’s detoxifying and metabolic activity. Soy beans and soy bean products like tofu are particularly valuable since they contain essential fatty acids and lecithin, which acts as an emulsifying agent and prevents fatty deposits in the liver.
Foods which provide water-soluble fiber, such as apples and rolled oats, are particularly beneficial for the liver because they stimulate bile secretion. Sulphur-containing foods such as turnips, onions and garlic have a cleansing effect on the liver.
Artichokes are natural liver tonics. The bitter substance cynarin that they contain stimulates bile flow. Add fresh artichokes to meals or drink two tablespoons of artichoke juice in water three times daily. Rhubarb also has a stimulating effect on the liver due to substances called anthrachinones, which act on the large intestine and trigger increased bile flow. Another choleretic, or bile-flow stimulating substance, is curcumin which is found in the seasoning turmeric. Black radish, Chinese white radish and red radish should be eaten regularly as they also promote bile flow.
A common quick remedy to stimulate a sluggish liver is a drink of 1 tsp. apple cider or rice vinegar mixed with one teaspoon of honey in a glass of water. Lemon or grapefruit can be used in place of the vinegar.
Nutritional Supplements
Supplements support the liver in its detoxifying function. Lipotropic factors are supplements which prevent fatty substances from being deposited in the liver and help with their removal. Phosphatidylcholine, inositol and methionine are often found in combination as lipotropic factors. Choline and inositol are B vitamins and, with the amino acid methionine, are needed for lecithin metabolism in the body. Lecithin is necessary for the breakdown of fatty substances and protects the liver from fat deposits.
B vitamins also support the liver’s function, including folic acid and B12. Injections of the B vitamins may be dramatically effective in some cases where energy levels have been severely impaired. Many patients can learn to give themselves regular injections until the liver has had a chance to repair and rebuild itself.
Chlorophyll in green food supplements cleanses and rebuilds tissues. Spirulina and wheatgrass or barley grass are excellent supplements. Spirulina is milder in its detoxifying action and will be more useful for those with a less vigorous constitution.
Coenzyme Q10 and cysteine also help most liver disorders.
Daily dosages:
Lipotropic factors, as recommended on the label
• Vitamin B complex, 100 mg
• Spirulina, wheatgrass or barley grass, 1 tbsp.
• Folic acid or B12, 1 mg of each or by injection
• Coenzyme Q10, 100 mg
• L-cysteine, 50 mg
Herbal Remedies
Herbs are excellent for stimulating and regenerating the liver, and assisting in its manufacture of bile for digesting fats. They also prevent *constipation, cleanse the blood and supply nutrients to the bloodstream. The liver is rightly named "king of the glands." It is the largest organ in the body, and has about one-quarter of all the blood in the body circulating through it at all times.
• Drink 1 cup of sage tea. Boil leaves for three minutes, and sip slowly three times daily.
• Drink 1 cup of dandelion tea three times daily for one week to stimulate liver function and promote bile flow.
• Drink one cup of milk thistle or sage tea three times daily for three weeks. Milk thistle is an antioxidant and prevents free-radical damage in the liver.
• Prepare an infusion with 8 tbsp. of hayseed to 1 qt. of boiling water, or 20 drops of hayseed extract in 1 qt. of hot water, steep for ten minutes and strain. Dip a cotton towel in this infusion. Wring out and place hot towel on upper stomach. Wrap a dry wool shawl around it.
Homeopathy
See related conditions such as cirrhosis, hepatitis and jaundice. Consult an experienced homeopath for more extensive treatment.
Tissue Salts
Pay extra attention to diet when healing liver problems. Take 4 tablets four times daily under the tongue, or every two hours if the problem is acute.
Nat sulph is a primary tissue salt for liver problems involving too much bile. A bitter taste in the mouth, a greenish coating on the tongue and green-tinged stools are signs. Nat sulph can also help remedy jaundice and vomiting of bile. Stools are typically loose.
Kali mur is useful when the liver is sluggish and there is lack of bile. Oily, rich foods cause indigestion. The stools tend to be light colored; the tongue is coated with a light gray coating. Kali mur also helps jaundice.
Nat phos will help liver conditions and jaundice linked to overacidity and sour vomiting. There may be just a sour taste in the mouth and green-colored diarrhea. *Colics can also be remedied with Nat phos, when this sourness and overacidity is present.
External/Physical Therapies
Several times a day, relax and sit down and rub both palms firmly together, especially the balls of the thumbs. Have somebody else scratch your back and intensively massage along spine to stimulate the liver to increase activity.
Excerpt from Alive Magazine article
http://www.alive.com/2844a9a2.php?subject_bread_cramb=152 |
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