Signs Of A Toxic Liver And How To Deal With It

By Editorial Staff in Health and Fitness On 3rd February 2018
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Toxic Liver

The liver is probably one of the most important organs of the body for keeping you in vibrant health, and very often you don’t realise that you have a liver problem, because the symptoms are similar to so many other health issues.

So here are 8 signs of a toxic liver:

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Fatigue

If you feel fatigue the most part of the day, and even straight after you get up, check your liver.

A tired liver will leave you feeling tired and old but it doesn’t scream out in pain or creak like your joints. It suffers in silence so that you may not realise it is your liver that has a problem. The few signs of a tired liver are easily confused with other symptoms of ageing. You can also suffer from poor sleep, easy bruising, brittle bones, fluid retention and kidney problems and much more. This is your liver crying out for help.

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Jaundice

Jaundice is the yellowish staining of the skin and sclerae (the whites of the eyes) that is caused by high levels of the chemical bilirubin in the blood. Bilirubin is a brownish yellow substance found in bile. It is produced when the liver breaks down old red blood cells. Bilirubin is removed from the body through the stool (feces) and gives stool its normal brown color. The color of the skin and sclerae vary depending on the level of bilirubin. Excessive hemolysis or breakdown of red blood cells causes the formation of higher than normal amounts of bilirubin. When bilirubin levels increase, the liver may not be able to process the excess amounts. Jaundice then occurs. When the bilirubin level is mildly elevated, they are yellowish. When the bilirubin level is high, they tend to be brown. Icterus is the term for yellowing of the sclerae

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Lack of appetite

If you notice that your appetite has changed lately, check your liver.

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Blood clotting

Liver problems often affect our blood. So, it can start clotting faster than before.

High Levels of Cholesterol and Blood Clotting Disorders

Your liver processes cholesterol, so when it starts to become toxic, consequently your blood cholesterol levels rise. Improving your diet will help your liver recover and lower your cholesterol, even if liver toxicity is the culprit. The Harvard Medical School published a helpful article in 2005 that explains the liver’s role in cholesterol production and regulation.

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SKIN Sensitivity AND SKIN Problems

Itchy skin or spider veins on the surface of the skin can be a result of edema or swelling happening under the skin. Skin may also appear red or flushed. In patients who are also diabetic, skin may look bronzed when liver failure is imminent.

Unexplained Weight Gain

With a sluggish liver, calorie reduction and hours spent at the gym per week mean little; that weight will keep piling on. The body’s tendency to store unfiltered toxins in its fat cells is just one reason for this.

You see, the liver is also responsible for metabolizing fat. When it’s running sluggishly, fat will simply circulate from the gut through bile and right back to the organ.

Bad Breath

Do you feel like, no matter how much your brush your teeth and floss, your bad breath keeps coming back? As Dr. Frank Lipman reports, it could be a sign of liver malfunction.

Fetor hepaticus occurs when foul-smelling toxins accumulate in the body. It tends to make breath smell musty and fecal-like.

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How To Detox Your Liver

After the brain, the liver is the second organ in complexity of functioning. That is why the slightest failure in its work can provoke a lot of problems. To protect the liver from intoxication you should change your diet and your lifestyle.

Active lifestyle, excluding smoking, excessive drinking of alcohol and abuse of medicines, contributes to the proper functioning of the liver and the preservation of its health. Limit unhealthy foods, sweets, fizzy drinks and very fatty foods from your diet and your liver will thank you in the future.

Stop Eating Processed Pork Products

Along with liver damage as a result of viral infections, painkiller and alcohol abuse, and lifestyle-related diseases, there are other risk factors for liver cancer, including pork consumption.

Reports have strongly linked pork consumption to cirrhosis of the liver – in fact this association is stronger than that between alcohol and cirrhosis and has been seen across many countries consistently for at least 40 years. Other studies have also shown a connection between pork consumption and liver cancer.

Most pigs raised in the U.S. are fed grains and seed oils, which increase their content of omega-6 fatty acids and pro-inflammatory arachidonic acid. Consumption of this meat may contribute to a higher risk for liver disease. Also, most pork is in processed form – such as smoked ham, sausages, bacon, and processed lunchmeat – which are preserved in different ways, including the addition of chemical preservatives such as nitrates. Nitrates are converted into nitrosamines, which have clearly been linked to an increased risk of certain cancers.

Not only that, meat that is cooked at high temperatures can contain as many as 20 different kinds of cancer-causing compounds, including nitrosamines. Last but not least, pigs eat just about anything, making them a potential breeding ground for dangerous infections caused by retroviruses and other parasites. Some of these may contribute to cancer risk when we consume pork − including liver cancer.

Drink Raw Vegetable Juice

It can be nearly impossible to eat all of the raw vegetables you need to make your liver cleanse effective. However, by juicing a variety of raw vegetables, you can easily get the 4–5 servings of fresh, organic vegetables you need. Even vegetables that aren’t your favorites can be disguised and enjoyed in a fresh vegetable juice!

With impaired liver function, juicing vegetables has the added benefit of making the vegetables easier to digest and more readily available for absorption.

Vegetables ideal for a liver cleanse include cabbage, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts. While that combination may not sound very enjoyable, you can add other vegetables that you enjoy to the mix including carrots, cucumber, beets and greens.

All of these vegetables help to reduce acid levels in the body, helping to create a more friendly pH balance. Experiment with your favorite flavor combinations; you can add fresh herbs including parsley, mint and others to make the juices more enjoyable.

Try my kid-friendly Orange Carrot Ginger Juice. Fresh, organic carrots are essential to any liver cleanse. In the liver, the beta carotene is converted into vitamin A to help flush out the toxins in the body while reducing fat in the liver.

The high fiber content helps support a healthy digestive tract, hastening the elimination of toxins in your body. The ginger root helps to soothe the digestive tract, reduce intestinal gas, and has strong anti-inflammatory compounds. The fresh oranges in this recipe not only add tangy sweetness, but also add significant vitamin C, additional vitamin A and vitamin B6.

Avoid Aspartame

Aspartame, an artificial sweetener also known as NutraSweet or Equal, is present in more than 6,000 products. Research has clearly shown that aspartame is a cancer-causing agent.

In one laboratory study, mice regularly given aspartame (from before their births until their deaths) showed a significantly higher incidence of both liver and lung cancer.

Another study, conducted by the European Ramazzini Foundation, an independent cancer research facility, confirmed aspartame’s carcinogenic potential. Male and female mice were given aspartame starting at 12 days of gestation until their deaths. Scarily, autopsies in male mice revealed malignant cancers of both the liver and lungs.

According to the report authors, “Aspartame in our experimental conditions induces in males a significant dose-related increased incidence of hepatocellular carcinomas [malignant liver cancer]. “

Exercise regularly.

Regular exercise not only helps you maintain a healthy body weight, it does good things for your liver, as well. Studies have shown that just 150 minutes of activity per week (that’s just 1/2 an hour, five days per week) is enough to improve liver enzyme levels, and overall liver function. It can also reduce your chances of developing fatty liver disease

Load Up on Potassium-Rich Foods

Are you getting the recommended 4,700 milligrams per day of potassium? Chances are, you aren’t. Potassium-rich foods help to lower systolic blood pressure, lower cholesterol and support a healthy cardiovascular system, in addition to helping cleanse your liver. If you have been tempted to take potassium supplements, instead add these healthful foods to your diet.

Potassium-rich foods:

Potatoes, with Skin (1 potato = 1,081 mg, 23% DV)

Avocados (1 avocado = 975 mg, 21% DV)

Lima Beans (1 cup = 955 mg, 20% DV)

Winter Squash (1 cup = 896 mg, 19% DV)

Sweet Potato, Cooked with Skin (5” sweet potato = 855 mg, 18% DV)

Prunes, AKA Dried Plums (1/2 cup = 637 mg, 14% DV)

Coconut Water (1 cup = 600 mg, 13% DV)

Brussels Sprouts, Cooked (1 cup = 504 mg, 11% DV)

Beets (1 cup = 442 mg, 9% DV)

Fresh Tomatoes (1 cup = 427 mg, 9%) and Tomato Products such as Canned Sauce (1 cup = 909 mg, 19% DV)

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Eat Real Liver or Take Liver Tablets

Liver from young, healthy, grass-fed cattle or chicken liver is rich with vitamins A and B, folic acid, choline, iron, copper, zinc, chromium and CoQ10. Liver is one of the most nutrient-dense foods we can eat.

If you can’t stomach eating liver, you can take beef liver pills. Seek a supplement that guarantees no hormones, pesticides or antibiotics are used in the feeding and care of the cattle.