A NEW LEASE—on Life! – October 2009

A NEW LEASE—on Life!

By Judit Rajhathy, B.A., RNCP, D.Ac.

Love Your Liver
(it’s the only one you’ve got!)

 

Rour liver is situated on the upper right side of your abdomen, just below your diaphragm. The main function of this large organ is to remove toxins from your body, process nutrients and to help regulate your metabolism. If your liver is stressed it cannot perform its many duties.

What stresses your liver? Alcohol—as little as two average size drinks a day-can contribute to liver damage, excessive use of drugs, hepatitis, diet filled with pesticides and additives and bad fats, and genetic liver disease. It is interesting to note that Mexico scores highest in alcoholic related liver disease with United States being second and Germany third. So watch those drinks, people!

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) currently affects nations world-wide but particularly developed nations such as Canada, United States, and Great Britain. Eating high fat diets and overeating causes your liver to store fat when it should be burning it and removing excess fat from your body. Symptoms of a fatty liver include elevated cholesterol and triglycerides, syndrome X or insulin resistance, difficulty losing weight, overweight especially in the abdominal area, fatigue, type 2 diabetes.

You clean the filter of your car more frequently than the filter of your body—your liver!

So part of a good solid holistic weight loss program would be to work with your liver to help it restore full function. Often this condition might not show on a liver function test until it is more advanced—so why not start now? The amazing thing about your liver is that it is one of the most resilient organs in your body and can fully heal if given the opportunity.

Steps you can take today to help your health and weight loss:

Avoid deep fried, fatty, and processed foods, excess sugar

Limit intake of commercially grown poultry and meats that are ridden with hormones, antibiotics and steroids

Reduce the consumption of refined carbohydrates (sugar, white refined flours, white rice, white potato)—following a low carbohydrate program similar to south beach to avoid insulin resistance or syndrome X

Utilize fresh, raw low glycemic veggies whether in whole or juice form such as broccoli, spinach, cabbage, etc.

Drink at least two litres of water per day

Avoid artificial sweeteners

Take Milk Thistle (silymarin) to help restore liver function

Take intestinal fiber regularly so that the transit time increases, thereby reducing the ability of these toxins to circulate back to the liver

Exercise regularly to reduce body fat—see you at the gym!!

You change the filter in your car but how often do you clean your liver? Let’s first find out what the liver’s function is in your body.

Dietary

When one improves the liver function through simple dietary habits, it is possible to achieve many health benefits such as weight control and internal cleansing of the body.

You are certainly aware of what your lungs and heart do but do you know what your liver does?

So in a nutshell:

Reduce your consumption of alcohol to occasional social situations

Get vaccinated for hepatitis

Eat healthy—fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean white meats—foods that contain less additives and therefore puts less strain on the liver

Avoid situations that can result in viral hepatitis

Exercise to reduce obesity

Fiber to keep intestinal tract moving regularly so there is no backup of toxins which burden the liver

Get tested to make sure your liver is functioning


For more information about Lake Chapala visit: www.chapala.com


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