Liver + Detoxing

Why and how to support our master detox organ

Virtually every topic I’ve covered on substack can be improved by supporting the liver! Chronic infections, skin conditions, gut health, hormones, and more are all in someway connected to the liver.

If you’ve been a subscriber for a while, you’ll know how often I talk about supporting our bodies’ detox capabilities. We have a toxic environment, and our liver has a big job to do. In this article I’ll be discussing the liver, what its functions are, common indicators of a liver/detox imbalance, and ways to support liver health.

What is the liver?

The liver is our largest internal organ and is considered to be a digestive organ, technically. It sits in the upper right hand quadrant of the torso, behind the ribcage. The liver has many jobs, in fact over 500 vital functions have been identified with the liver! It converts nutrients from our diet into substances the body can use, stores them, and supplies cells with them when needed. It also filters out toxic substances and converts them into harmless substances and makes sure they are released from the body.

The liver has a strong connection to the digestive system as blood coming from the digestive organs flows into the liver, carrying nutrients, medications/supplements we may ingest, and even toxins. These are then processed, stored, altered, or detoxed in the liver and then pushed back into the blood or released into the bowel to be eliminated. Pretty amazing. The liver also plays a critical role in metabolism, it helps break down fats, produce energy, and produces bile which helps in the breakdown and absorption of fats.

The liver also helps stabilize blood sugar levels by either removing sugars from the blood to reduce blood sugar levels or releasing sugar into the blood to raise them. Our liver also helps metabolize proteins and carbohydrates to they can be used to create energy. And of course, it helps filter out excess hormones (I spoke to this in the perimenopause/menopause article). Many hormone imbalances can be traced back to poor liver function!