Amazingly enough, this article is going to be about something that never gets talked about and that is the Liver. The Liver is something we cannot live without cause we would die without it. It is like a big filter in our bodies filtering the impurities out of our body and does other for our body.
There are many things that we can do to damage our Liver. One of the main things people do to damage the Liver is drinking alcohol. Other things we take into our body that are not good affects our Liver.
Things like contaminated water and food are some main sources of the culprit that causes the different type of diseases that damage the Liver. As we go on in this post we are going to study what the Liver is and what we can do to keep it healthy.
The Liver is the largest organ in the body. It is wedge-shaped with four lobes equally sized found in the right upper abdomen of the vertebrates. It is a large granular in texture that is dark reddish-brown in color. The Liver weights about 3 to 3.6 pounds and it’s width is about (15cm) 5.9 inches.
Blood coming from the digestive area carrying toxins, medications, and nutrients flows through the liver where it is processed, some of it stored, and detoxified and returned back into the blood.
The Liver carries out many metabolic functions in our bodies and it does it by the liver cells. The liver emulsifies fats by producing and excreting a greenish liquid called bile which is used or stored in the gallbladder. Part of the bile flows directly into the duodenum.
So what are the main functions of the Liver? Here are three…
1. Cleans the blood
2. Produces a digestive liquid called bile that we already talked about
3. Stores energy… It does it in the form of sugar(glucose)… which is called glycogen
1. Eat a liver Healthy Diet which will also be good for the stomach and colon. Eating the right types of food that are liver-friendly.
Foods that are good for the liver…
Vegetables such as…
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Mustard Greens
Grapes…
Red or purple grapes are the best.
Tea…
Studies have shown tea may be helpful to the liver.
Nuts…
Not only said to be beneficial to the heart but also to the liver.
Fish…
Beneficial to the heart health with omega-3 fatty acids are also beneficial to the liver too. Omega-3 helps with inflammation of the liver it also helps with the fatty liver by decreasing the fat. Helps people that have liver disease and obesity.
“Be cautious when using omega-3 because it also thins the blood“. Always ask your healthcare provider first before taking any supplements.
Coffee…
We’ve all heard coffee was good for you and it wasn’t good for you about all our lives, but coffee is actually good for the liver. One of the best drinks you can drink to promote liver health.
2. Avoid…alcohol, toxins, and recreational drugs.
Alcohol is toxic to liver cells
Toxins such as artificial sweeteners, Acetaminophen, automobile exhaust, formaldehyde, and cigarettes
Recreational drugs…
Amphetamines
Alcohol
Benzodiazepines
Cocaine
Ecstasy
Heroin
LSD
Marijuana
3. Exercise can improve the health and overall function of the Liver.
4. Reduce Stress – Stress is linked to increased risk of liver disease deaths. Stress causes many illnesses of the body.
Milk Thistle – is used for cleansing and support. It helps in detoxification of the liver.
These hepatic herbs are good for liver support… they help stimulate digestion and bile production…
Dandelion Root
Turmeric
Artichoke Leaf
By detoxing the liver it gets rid of the old deposits of cholesterol, poisons, drug residues, and fats among other things.
This article by livegreaterhealth is for all the people who care about their bodies and taking care of their Liver. The liver helps out every organ of the body in some way. The more we know about taking care of it and keeping it healthy the longer and better our lives will be. We want to help everybody live longer and healthier lives by using this website and giving knowledge to them.
livegreaterhealth has put together another health topic that affects a great lot of people in today’s world. We would like to know what you think about the website and how it has helped you. If you know anything that we have left out that you would like to know please let us know by leaving a comment and we will get back to you.
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Thanks for this information. I thought omega 3 is just for protecting your brain function, heart and controlling bad cholesterol. I didn't know that it is helpful in protecting your liver too. I would love to see you write about how omega 3 can protect your liver too in the future! :)
Thank you for the comment, Alicia. I will write an article about omega-3 and how it helps the liver I may add it to this article. Thanks for asking I appreciate that if there is anything else you would like to know about just leave me a comment.
Hey Fred, thanks for all your info on how the liver functions, cleans the blood, produces bile and stores energy in the form of glucose.
Throughout my life, I’ve been terrible at consuming veg until the day we purchased a juicer. Nowadays we mix fruit with many of the veg you mention here which help maintain the liver in a healthy state meanwhile fish, tea, coffee and nuts are all favourites of mine.
I watched the video demonstrate the advantages of taking a spoonful of olive oil with lemon first thing in a morning. I’m going to do this for a month and see if I feel a difference.
Thanks again Fred,
Simon.
Thanks for the comment, Simon. It's hard to realize what all the liver does for our body and when we do we start to appreciate it more. Taking all these healthy foods and drinks does more than just help our liver they are good for other parts of our body.
Hi Fred,
I really appreciate the information you provide on your site. I really enjoy reading your articles because they are very informative and I always leave your site having learned something new. I can appreciate the fact that you provide me with info that motivates me to change something in my lifestyle to help me live healthier. I didn't know the liver was responsible for cleaning the blood, that is really neat. I love the different food you provide, changing your diet is always the best step to a healthier lifestyle. Thanks for that detox video, that is really interesting, I think I will try it.
Thank you for the comment, Melissa. I try to give the most and best information for the reader. So they won't have to say what next? That helps them want to do something to help themselves. I may not have stated it in the post, but the liver has nearly 500 hundred jobs in the body. I am glad that it has helped you. If there is anything else I can help you with leave me a message and I will get back to you.
Hello Fred!
The liver is indeed a necessary organ and after having read your post I realize what important tasks it carries out for the body. It’s amazing what’s going on inside the body and we aren’t even aware of it.
I’m very relieved to learn that tea is not damaging the liver because I love tea and drink several cups per day.
Thank you for sharing the video on how to detox the liver with olive oil and lemon. I want to make it a habit to take this potion each day. Must buy a lot of lemons and big bottles of olive oil from now on!
Pernilla
Thank you for the comment, Pernilla. Until I started studying it I didn't realize how many jobs it does for our body. I found that was nearly 500 and that shocked me that it could do so many. That means all the more we need to take care of it and keep it healthy.
Hey Fred,
Thank you for a very informative post. Having completed a pre-med degree, I have learned that the liver is one of the vital organs of the body that it plays a major role in the body's detox process. The liver is so important that each individual is advised to take really good care of it.
By the way, you mentioned taking liver supplements to keep help our liver healthy. But doctors and health advocates also say that taking supplements, even natural and herbal supplements, can also have some negative side effects to the liver. What's your opinion on this?
Thank you for the comment, Alice. Vitamins E and C are known to help with fatty liver and also a healthy diet helps with fatty liver and that's just a start. Antioxidants in them and also like in fruits and vegetables they all help with fatty liver disease. Anything that helps with inflammation also is good for the liver. Not taking care of this is more than likely why more people die of liver disease. I believe there are many herbs that will help the liver that has not been tried.
Hey Fred, nice article about this very important organ. Also liked the video about liver detoxing. I just want to add that fatty liver has become a huge problem these days. Fatty liver, caused by unhealthy (fast food), can lead to cirrhosis of the liver, which always ends fatal.
Thanks for the comment, Felix. Yes, fatty liver is a big problem today and whatever we can do to help with decreasing that is what we need to do. If things are let go too far it can become something that can not be reversed. One thing is to cut back on fast foods.
I had no idea that tea can be good for your liver, I drink a lot of tea! Mostly Orange Pekoe, are there certain teas that are more recommended? I'm often concerned about my liver because of having sinus pain and headaches on a regular basis causes me to use the medications to stop the pain on a regular basis. It is good to see the options to help counteract the bad :) Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Tara for the comment. If you were like me I used to think tea was bad for the liver. I guess more studies were done and found tea beneficial to the liver. Green tea would be one of the best choices for doing the liver well. A lot of medications are bad for the liver but you probably already knew that. Do a liver cleanse occasionally and it will help or watch the video if you want more help.
Due to a medical condition I was born with, I'm always worrying about the state of my liver. I'm always on the lookout for ways to cleanse it and keep it healthy.
Are there certain signs that might indicate you need to do a liver cleanse? And is the liver detox cleanse you have linked here the one you would recommend or are there others that also help?
Thanks for the comment the only way that I would suggest is if you are having problems of some sort that is related to the liver. These liver cleanse would be fine if its something you can do.
I didn't realize the liver weighed over 3 pounds! Ahhhh! I just thought of a giant cow's tongue. lol. I also had no idea that artificial sweeteners were bad for the liver! No wonder my family is always telling me to just add sugar to my coffee and lay off the artificial stuff. Looks like I need a detox!! Are there any "natural" 'good for you' sweeteners you'd recommend for me rather than plain ol' granulated sugar? Keep all the great info coming! I love visiting your site for health related information:)
Thank you for the comment. And for a substitute for sugar, you can use Stevia which is a herb and a sugar substitute. It is much sweeter than sugar and might be just what you are looking for. Most artificial sweeteners are not good for your health. So if you are looking for a healthy sweetener then it has been said that Stevia is 10 times sweeter than sugar.
Hi Fred, it's great you have brought to light the importance of looking after ones liver. Most people don't think twice about this important organ until something goes wrong with it.
I was interested to see that coffee is actually good for the liver, but it does make sense considering it is so high in antioxidants. I'm guessing it would be best to go for good quality and preferably organic coffee for the best results as I know a lot of it is highly pesticided.
We sell a lot of those liver cleanse herbs in the herbal apothecary where I work. In fact I'd say dandelion root and milk thistle are our among best sellers and are just fantastic for detoxifying the liver.
Thanks for a great article!
Thanks for the comment, Stefanie. And talking about liver, in fact, there are several things that are good for it especially in the herb side. But lets talk about how we actually think about it when we are young or before it sinks into to us how important that it is. We just don't care about it because we are ignorant of the knowledge of how important it is to our body. We know we have the heart, lungs, and brain but without the liver keeping our body disease free then none of them would be around very long anyway.